I'm not trying to get at anything. And this thread was never about general honesty among or between religious and non-religious people.
A simple question was asked...is it more honest to affirm that there is no factual evidence for a god or to assert that there is to back up your beliefs.
Pure and simple. Anyone who read more into it than that is too sensitive...
And, yes, I agree with you that honesty has nothing to do with religion or lack thereof (not inherently, anyway).
Religion does not require honesty; it requires faith. They are not mutually exclusive, nor are they mutually required.
You asked a question by stating a premise. You claimed, or asserted, in your question that atheists are more honest than christians and in the phrasing asked that your premise be disproven.
Neither is more or less honest than the other, as a general rule - it comes down to the individual. There is your answer.
We agree to agree! Honestly, in a way you're making my point.
I concede that my title could've been more specific. It may have been unintentionally too 'click-bait-ish'. I thought my point (and the specificity of it) was obvious following my conclusions and particularly, the last paragraph. Guess not...
Just to be clear to those who didn't get the point...I wasn't claiming Christians are inherently dishonest in all that they do because they're Christians or that Atheists are naturally more honest because of their views.
It was only in regards to the very specific situation described in the OP.
Thanks for your thoughts in this thread and have a good evening.
O K..... with regard to your clarified question:
I claim that a man who keeps his mind open to a "self revealing supernatural power" is more intellectually honest than a man who closes his mind to the possibility of such a supernatural power.
"God in the Dock" by C.S. Lewis is the best essay on this subject that I've found.
