Instigator / Pro
1
1467
rating
3
debates
0.0%
won
Topic
#2111

It does not make sense to believe in God.

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
18
Better sources
0
12
Better legibility
1
6
Better conduct
0
6

After 6 votes and with 41 points ahead, the winner is...

Barney
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
4
Time for argument
Twelve hours
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
42
1815
rating
53
debates
100.0%
won
Description

Religious people are deluded in their belief in God.

Round 1
Pro
#1
Religion provides nothing that of value that cannot be gained through other means such as literature or science. There is no proof in the existence of God and anything of value gained through faith is not proof there is a God. It's better not to believe in something without evidence. Fin. 
Con
#2
Preamble:
I shall prove my case on two fronts, which shall be given their own sections below
  1. Inheritance
  2. Value

Burden of Proof
This debate is about the basis for peoples belief in God, not if they are ultimately correct.

Definitions
To avoid semantic issues…
Merriam-Webster defines the following:
  • Make sense is to be reasonable” [1].
  • God is a being or object that is worshipped as having more than natural attributes and powers” [2].


I. Inheritance:
It is reasonable for children to believe their parents. To not believe them, leads to various dangers; such as burning one's hand on a hot stove.

This is the primary mode of transmission for religion, as written in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion: There are “clear patterns of transmission of parental religious characteristics to children” [3].

If there's any doubt here, I can easily break this into a couple syllogisms.


II. Value:
Even pro agrees there's value gained by being religious. That he insists it could be gained from other means, does not guarantee it would be gained by other means.

Belief in God gives easy access to a community of people instilled with similar ethics. More importantly, it results in living longer [4].
Round 2
Pro
#3
Forfeited
Con
#4
Extend.
Round 3
Pro
#5
Forfeited
Con
#6
Extend.
Round 4
Pro
#7
Forfeited
Con
#8
Fin.