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Re: Questions I would like to pose to athiests [message #462139 is a reply to message #462128] Tue, 31 January 2012 06:50 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
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R315r4z0r wrote on Mon, 30 January 2012 23:52

I don't understand. What do their claims have anything to do with the way you or I or anyone else perceives things? They can believe what they want to believe and I can do the same. Just because we may not agree doesn't mean I have to get all pissy and argue with their beliefs.

I know you don't understand. But now you're moving the goalposts; earlier you were saying science isn't opposed to religion - this is only the case if religions don't make scientific claims, which they do all the time. now you're saying you personally don't care whether they're right or not, which is a huge difference.

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Spoony wrote on Mon, 30 January 2012 16:34


may i ask why you used a capital G in 'god'? is it because you're referring to a specific god?

No, not specifically. That's just how I've always seen the word written, so I just assumed it was correct. To be honest, I'm actually not very good at grammar...

well, whether the question refers to a specific god (when people say 'God', they invariably have a specific one in mind) or just any god makes it a completely different question, so it's worth drawing a distinction.

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I'm not sure if you're under the wrong impression of what atheism is or what religion is. Atheism is the rejection of theism (hence the prefix "a"). The broadest definition of theism is merely the belief that at least one 'god' exists. Therefore, the rejection to that would be the idea that not even one 'god' exists. Both are under the even broader term of religion.

trust me, you're the one who doesn't know what those two words mean. an atheist need not assert the non-existence of any particular god. yes, it is theism that is rejected, and theism is a positive belief in a specific god (or several gods) and specific claims about the nature of that god. someone who is not convinced that these things are true - that's enough to be considered an atheist. one might even reject theism on moral grounds rather than (or as well as) on the basis that they consider it fiction.

as for "religion", no. not thinking there's a god doesn't qualify as a religion.

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But to get back to what you were saying, failing to prove the claims of one religion is not evidence to support the belief in atheism. Thinking so is a fallacy and is just as bad any other religion out there claiming to be right.

again, you're just being foolish. the complete lack of evidence for religion X is a good reason to go about your business as if religion X were fiction. it may not conclusively demonstrate that the gods and prophets and commandments held dear by the adherents of religion X are fictional, but it doesn't need to go that far.

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What reason do you have to hold your beliefs over the beliefs of others? Just because they can't prove their religious beliefs are true doesn't mean you don't have to in return.

and yet again you're being foolish.

the first sentence, is that even a serious question? i hope not. as for the second, you're just plain wrong. "hi, these guys over here worship a god and make very specific claims about that god and how he wants us to behave. these guys over here don't find this convincing and go about their lives as if it were fictional. both of you have the same amount of proving to do"
listen to how stupid this is when it's played back to you, r4z0r

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If someone on a murder trial cannot produce evidence to prove that they aren't guilty, that doesn't mean that they are guilty. Until one side can display evidence then the point remains neutral.

actually, i'm glad you brought up this analogy, because it shows why you're wrong. the neutral position is "not guilty". if there's no evidence that the guy did it, and no evidence that the guy didn't do it, the verdict will be "not guilty".

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You can continuously swat down the theories of god(s) that people propose for years on end.

Sure can.

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But doing so will not progress the final verdict of the debate anywhere. The only thing that doing that proves is the fact that nobody actually knows anything.

foolish again. but hey, the conclusion that at least one side of the argument (that side being composed of thousands of mutually contradictory factions) plainly doesn't have a good reason to think their claims are true is enough of a conclusion.

Spoony wrote on Mon, 30 January 2012 16:34

I can see why you would say that. And I would actually agree with you. But I also want to point out my original post wasn't speaking in absolutes; it was more of an observational opinion of mine I was sharing.

doesn't change the fact you were being stupid

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I can see why having someone in power who harbors firm beliefs for something can be a threat against the ideals of those who disagree. But the thing is, however, if we go this route then we wouldn't be talking about the belief in whether or not a supreme being exists anymore. We would be talking about politics and how said person in power is running their country (or town, or group or whatever it is they have power over).

uh? we can talk about politics too. but whether there's a god who really does behave like the god of the bible - that's an important question. it's an enormous relief to me to think there isn't one. finding out there really was such a thing would be the worst news i could possibly imagine, worse than the outbreak of nuclear war. no, this is an important question.

Spoony wrote on Mon, 30 January 2012 16:34


when you say "cram their beliefs down my throat", is it possible what you actually mean is "engage in civilised conversation"? cos that's what people who say that usually turn out to mean
No, I did not. A civilized conversation is what I'd assume to be what we are having now. But an instance of cramming one's ideals into someone else would be getting defensive whenever someone mentions something that is disagreeable. [/quote]
well then, there you go. "cram their beliefs down my throat" is one of those phrases where, once you examine it a little, usually doesn't mean a damn thing. it's like "whoring" in renegade. you might as well not have said it.

Spoony wrote on Mon, 30 January 2012 16:34

Most people who I see that claim to be atheists are usually students. I once new someone who was so outspoken about their belief in atheism that they didn't even know that Jesus was a real person. He thought that the existence of Jesus was part of the religious belief itself and therefore argued that he never existed.

so?

two things. firstly the evidence for the historical Jesus is not conclusive. secondly asserting that a man called Jesus lived in this time and place doesn't vindicate a single word of the bible or christianity.

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I find it very rare to find someone my age who is actually informed enough to make an actual decision about the their beliefs. There are people like that, but they are in the minority.

i'll restrain the urge to just say "that's because you're American", it's too cheap. i'll simply say you're not that well-informed yourself.

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But that is why I said a layer of people who claim to be atheists are moochers. To put it another way, it's very similar to the "TL;DR" concept that you find online. If something is too long, people will just decide to ignore it completely. These people I'm talking about just don't have an interest to learn about other religions and simply turn to atheism by default since they think it is the easiest. If asked to explain why they are atheists, they probably wouldn't be able to provide a convincing position as to why they believe what they believe.

why do they have to? why does the person who just wants to go about their life without any of this religious bullshit have any explaining to do?

of course, many religions say that not only will there be questions for this person... there will be suffering for this person.

Spoony wrote on Mon, 30 January 2012 16:34

Which ones would that be? I'll venture a guess and say atheism, logic and agnosticism?

atheism, agnosticism and religion.

Spoony wrote on Mon, 30 January 2012 16:34

You've lost me. I don't understand your example or why it is any different from any other system of beliefs. Also, I've already said that the lack of evidence is NOT evidence in itself. Meaning if neither belief can prove they are right then neither belief is can be supported.

you've gone back to talking like a damn fool again, i'm afraid.

read the analogy to zeus again. one side behaves as if this god were real and if specific claims about this god and the things he does and the way he wants us to behave are known. the other side behaves as if this were fiction. if there's no evidence for the existence of zeus, this positively supports the way the second group of people are behaving. if however it cannot be conclusively proven that zeus is not real (and it can't), that does not support the way the first group of people are behaving. and you're just an idiot for acting as though the two positions are equivalent and have the same amount of proving to do.


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