I read it, my response was accurate.  

Why are you so insistent on twisting things around just so you can say it's a choice?  first it's just a choice, then it's a choice in certain circumstances, then it's a choice only when the person HAS a choice (when they're bisexual); had you just come out and said "Sometiems it's a choice" in the beginning, we wouldn't be having this argument and you wouldn't be flailing about trying to find  a way to justify your statement. 

so yes, when a person is bisexual and has an option to be attracted to either gender and choses to be monogamous to the point of chosing one sexuality over another, then sure, he has that choice.  An awfully specific example, but yes, in that rare case, it can be a choice.  

Thanks, that's all I wanted to know.

But that's not the case at all. See, you're not CHOSING your sexuality, you're still 70/30 or whatever...just because you're CHOSING who or what gender to be with, that doesn't mean you chose your sexuality.  So the argument still doesn't work. 

Thanks, that's all I wanted to know.

1) Currently, the atheist answer to "why did the Big Band occur" is "we don't know". What do you think about the fact that, for the deist, the answer to "how is God the origin of all things" is also "we don't know"? What footing are they on, the same, or not? Is one more or less fulfilling than the other in terms of the need for answers?

b) How do you feel about the fact that deists consider "God being the origin of all things" as being the end of answers, while for the atheis, once the answer to "why the big bang occured" is answered, a new question may need to be posed.

2) a) Does a new question need to be posed, or will there be a point where an answer will be self-fulfilling, in that it won't require an answer to be explained? Or do we just not know? In other words, is the question of origins recursive for the atheist, or will there ever be an end to the chain?

To rephrase, is the question on origins a never-ending quest for answers, for the naturalist? In other words, is there just no bottom line answer? Is it a quest for infinity? It seems that whenever we find an origin for something, in the natural world, that something needs an origin, and so on. If that were true, what would be the position to take, since as a naturalist, there should be an answer to absolutely everything. Would there ever be no answer?

3) I wasn't saying that. I was just trying to understand both sides and compare them. I wasn't using God as a patch, I personally believe in God regardless of the question marks life has presented to me. I believe in God for greater reasons than that. But I was just trying to understand the atheist and the deist position, and to compare them, and try to see if Runa's initial statement was a fair one, and I still don't believe it is. Maybe you can help me find out.

Actually I wouldn't call that a choice Runa. Yes you can be attracted to both genders, but into whom you fall in love, do you really can control that?

I don't think that you fully understand the nature - nurture concept happydophine. You see we know that genes are inherited, but environment in which we live can infulence their expression. So for you to say that 30% or 50% of people are gay because of how they were brought up is bullocks. Even if environment influneced them being gay, they are only gay because they have "gay genes".

Some of the things you're saying, I'm not sure I understand, but I'll try to cover every aspect of my views and hopefully you'll get your answer.

1.) The question would never be "how is God the origin of all things" because it's based upon the premise that God exists, which is unjustified. Why know the Big Band occured. Deists make the unjustified assumption that God is the explanation to the mystery of the universe, but in doing so, they also create another mystery - where did God come from? So no, they are not on equal footing. Because you're still assuming He/She/Them/It exists. So not only is the existence of God unjustified; it also creates more questions than answers. 

The two most popular options for why the universe began are 1.) The Universe started on it's own, and 2.) A Creator created the Universe. Athiests (except for strong atheists) do not believe either. They make no assumptions. But Deists assume the 2nd possibility with no justification. Their stance is based on an assumption and is therefore weak. And it still doesn't solve anything.

b.) Firstly, I feel that the stance "God is the origin of all things" is flawed because it assumes that God exists. Secondly, once the answer to "why the big bang occured" is discovered, then there may be a new question, I don't know. It depends on what the answer is...

2.) If something is unexplained, then questions will naturally come. If everything is explained, then there will be no more questions. We could reach some final answer in the future. But as of now, we haven't explained everything - there are still questions. And in the search for the answers to those questions, it is best to not make unjustified assumptions - as it can prevent us from discovering the actual answer. It is quite possible that we humans may never discover the answer to our questions. It's also possible that we have the answer right in front of us, but aren't intelligent enough to recognize it. All I know is, in the search for answers, especially with so many possibilities, do not make assumptions. 

Look at the two stances again 1.) the Universe started, but we don't know why it started, and 2.) God started the Universe, and He started Himself. The difference is the first stance makes no assumptions. We know the universe exists. We just don't know why it exists. That's why we're on a question to figure out why it exists. However, the second stance is extremely flawed. In attempting to solve the ultimate question, it sets up even more perplexing questions. How did God come to existence? He created himself, how? Because he's God. That doesn't seem likely. It's based on the premise that it's conclusion is true.

With such an outlandish claim, there needs to be some extremely convincing justification, but there isn't any. There are tiny shreds of hints that could possibly be the outcome of something significant out there, but that's not enough evidence to justify the existence of an almighty creater.

And assuming God did somehow "bring" himself into existence, there's also infinitely more questions: Is God a male or female? Genderless? Is God the Universe itself? Is He an object? Is he conscious? Does he care about anything? Are there multiple Gods? One? Two? Three? Fifteen? Thirty? Five Hundred Gods? Is every human on Earth a small fragment of God himself? How could God create the universe? The Universe is EVERYTHING. If God wasn't in the Universe...then how could he even exists? Because he's God...oh yeah. Did God create more universe? How many? Is our Universe just the remains of what happens when God takes a leak? Is God in our universe? Does God have a purpose? No, well why is he going through all this trouble? He does have a purpose? Well what is his purpose? And Why has it taken him billions of years to accomplish his purpose? Surely, he could have accomplished his goal within all this time. Why did it take God so long to create our Earth? Why didn't he just snap the Earth into existence the moment he existed? Does God go from universe to universe every few billion years just to check up on his creation? Why doesn't God prove to people that he exists? Surely, he can realize that some people have mistakenly chose to worship the wrong God? Why does God make us live on Earth? Why does he not just send us to Heaven or Hell when we're first born? Surely, He will know if we're good or evil? And if someone thinks God made a mistake, he can just say "I'm God, I don't make mistakes. You were going to be evil, I know it". And then the person will be like, "You're right, I would have been evil, send me to Hell". Why does He put us through test if he knows very well if we will fail or pass? Does God want us to be evil? Then why did he give us free will? He created billions and billions of IMPERFECT humans ALL with free will AND an infinite amount of oppurtunities to become evil. Andone with a decent knowledge of statistics knew that AT LEAST some of them would have turned out evil. And I'm pretty sure God has a decent knowledge of stastics. wait...God knew beforehand that a lot of people would have turned out evil. Why did he just let it happen? Is God a dick? Will I go to Hell for that? If I go to Hell, why must I go for an eternity? Surely, I can change, right? wait, I can't chage? So, I'm stuck evil? So why am I being punished for something I'm stuck with? AND for an eternity? Really?....

etc, etc... And there's infinitely more questions....all unanswerable...and all based on a premise that might be true. Don't make assumptions

2.) If something is unexplained, then questions will naturally come. If everything is explained, then there will be no more questions. We could reach some final answer in the future. But as of now, we haven't explained everything - there are still questions. And in the search for the answers to those questions, it is best to not make unjustified assumptions - as it can prevent us from discovering the actual answer. It is quite possible that we humans may never discover the answer to our questions. It's also possible that we have the answer right in front of us, but aren't intelligent enough to recognize it. All I know is, in the search for answers, especially with so many possibilities, do not make assumptions. 

Look at the two stances again 1.) the Universe started, but we don't know why it started, and 2.) God started the Universe, and He started Himself. The difference is the first stance makes no assumptions. We know the universe exists. We just don't know why it exists. That's why we're on a question to figure out why it exists. However, the second stance is extremely flawed. In attempting to solve the ultimate question, it sets up even more perplexing questions. How did God come to existence? He created himself, how? Because he's God. That doesn't seem likely. It's based on the premise that it's conclusion is true.

With such an outlandish claim, there needs to be some extremely convincing justification, but there isn't any. There are tiny shreds of hints that could possibly be the outcome of something significant out there, but that's not enough evidence to justify the existence of an almighty creater.

And assuming God did somehow "bring" himself into existence, there's also infinitely more questions: Is God a male or female? Genderless? Is God the Universe itself? Is He an object? Is he conscious? Does he care about anything? Are there multiple Gods? One? Two? Three? Fifteen? Thirty? Five Hundred Gods? Is every human on Earth a small fragment of God himself? How could God create the universe? The Universe is EVERYTHING. If God wasn't in the Universe...then how could he even exists? Because he's God...oh yeah. Did God create more universe? How many? Is our Universe just the remains of what happens when God takes a leak? Is God in our universe? Does God have a purpose? No, well why is he going through all this trouble? He does have a purpose? Well what is his purpose? And Why has it taken him billions of years to accomplish his purpose? Surely, he could have accomplished his goal within all this time. Why did it take God so long to create our Earth? Why didn't he just snap the Earth into existence the moment he existed? Does God go from universe to universe every few billion years just to check up on his creation? Why doesn't God prove to people that he exists? Surely, he can realize that some people have mistakenly chose to worship the wrong God? Why does God make us live on Earth? Why does he not just send us to Heaven or Hell when we're first born? Surely, He will know if we're good or evil? And if someone thinks God made a mistake, he can just say "I'm God, I don't make mistakes. You were going to be evil, I know it". And then the person will be like, "You're right, I would have been evil, send me to Hell". Why does He put us through test if he knows very well if we will fail or pass? Does God want us to be evil? Then why did he give us free will? He created billions and billions of IMPERFECT humans ALL with free will AND an infinite amount of oppurtunities to become evil. Andone with a decent knowledge of statistics knew that AT LEAST some of them would have turned out evil. And I'm pretty sure God has a decent knowledge of stastics. wait...God knew beforehand that a lot of people would have turned out evil. Why did he just let it happen? Is God a dick? Will I go to Hell for that? If I go to Hell, why must I go for an eternity? Surely, I can change, right? wait, I can't chage? So, I'm stuck evil? So why am I being punished for something I'm stuck with? AND for an eternity? Really?....

etc, etc... And there's infinitely more questions....all unanswerable...and all based on a premise that might be true. Don't make assumptions

Thank you so much for this. Honestly Jay, hats off.

I feel like this needs to be broken up into parts, so I'll continue reading point 2) while addressing an important part of point 1), if that's cool with you.

1) b) Could there be a case, for the loose atheist, where there may never be an answer? Is that an acceptable outcome? I understand that we don't know, but let's pretend for a moment that there really is no answer and that questions simply tend toward unsolvability, is that acceptable? How would you deal with that possibility (one of two).