Freethought & Rationalism Archive

tommyc · 01-20-2003, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Holy crap! I misspelled "atheist" in the thread title. I've lost faith in myself.

ha, I was going to point that out, but as I've said before I don't like to opint out spelling mistakes for fear of the repurcussions if I make one myself

Shivershot · 01-20-2003, 02:43 AM

One would have to be a God in order to "prove" that no Gods exist. Conundrums are FUN!

Therefore, verily I say to thee, I know for certain that God does not exist. Jeebus? Holy Spook? You guys concur?

It must be emphasized that we work within grand amounts of certainty and uncertainty. While it's certain that the sun will rise tomorrow morning, it is by no means 100%. Our finite capacity to understand concepts forces us to try to fit things into rational and sortable categories, sometimes where they don't exist. Man is not a rational animal, we're a rationalizing one.

We even go so far to assume that we know anything at all...

Anyhow, the burden of proof lies at the feet of the person making the positive assertion that something does exist. Simply stating that they "feel" certain that God exists is not proof to anyone other than themself. One person's reason is another's paranoid delusion. Popularity does not make a notion correct, either... "If you find yourself agreeing with the majority, check your facts" - unknown

-Shiver

01-20-2003, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hezekiah jones
"No-god" isn't a thing.

True, but neither is God.

The solution here is understanding that the idea of God must cristalize in our own mind.

parkdalian · 01-20-2003, 11:44 AM

It's been said many times here and elsewhere that theists are really atheists with regard to all possible and/or known gods, except the god of their religion.

If it is the case that atheism is based on faith, theists have two contradictory faiths: Their own belief in a particular brand of god, and their disbelief in the others. At least "pure" atheists are more consistent in applying the latter to all gods and not arbitrarily accepting any one god.

tommyc · 01-21-2003, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Amos
True, but neither is God.

The solution here is understanding that the idea of God must cristalize in our own mind.

Is this because if you thought of it with any rational reasoning and didn't accept it without questioning, you would realise its all a complete myth?

01-21-2003, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tommyc
Is this because if you thought of it with any rational reasoning and didn't accept it without questioning, you would realise its all a complete myth?

There is no question that the concept God is myth but to deny this on the surface with the rational mind does not convince the inner man (wherein we are God) to take charge of our destiny.

Melkor · 01-21-2003, 12:11 PM

I've always thought of atheism as intrinsically passive... atheism does not actively DO anything... it is merely an absence of something that is defined by those who possess faith.

If a person was never made aware that others exist that possessed faith in inherently unprovable "entities" (for lack of a better term), and was never made aware of the inherently unprovable entities to begin with, that person would not even be an "atheist".

Only the presence of theists necessitate the creation of the atheist label. Through inactivity alone, atheists exercise no faith.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

01-20-2003, 02:43 AM	#82
Shivershot Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Colorado Posts: 28	One would have to be a God in order to "prove" that no Gods exist. Conundrums are FUN! Therefore, verily I say to thee, I know for certain that God does not exist. Jeebus? Holy Spook? You guys concur? It must be emphasized that we work within grand amounts of certainty and uncertainty. While it's certain that the sun will rise tomorrow morning, it is by no means 100%. Our finite capacity to understand concepts forces us to try to fit things into rational and sortable categories, sometimes where they don't exist. Man is not a rational animal, we're a rationalizing one. We even go so far to assume that we know anything at all... Anyhow, the burden of proof lies at the feet of the person making the positive assertion that something does exist. Simply stating that they "feel" certain that God exists is not proof to anyone other than themself. One person's reason is another's paranoid delusion. Popularity does not make a notion correct, either... "If you find yourself agreeing with the majority, check your facts" - unknown -Shiver

01-20-2003, 11:44 AM	#84
parkdalian Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Nouveau-Brunswick Posts: 507	It's been said many times here and elsewhere that theists are really atheists with regard to all possible and/or known gods, except the god of their religion. If it is the case that atheism is based on faith, theists have two contradictory faiths: Their own belief in a particular brand of god, and their disbelief in the others. At least "pure" atheists are more consistent in applying the latter to all gods and not arbitrarily accepting any one god.

01-21-2003, 12:11 PM	#87
Melkor Regular Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: The Void Posts: 396	I've always thought of atheism as intrinsically passive... atheism does not actively DO anything... it is merely an absence of something that is defined by those who possess faith. If a person was never made aware that others exist that possessed faith in inherently unprovable "entities" (for lack of a better term), and was never made aware of the inherently unprovable entities to begin with, that person would not even be an "atheist". Only the presence of theists necessitate the creation of the atheist label. Through inactivity alone, atheists exercise no faith.

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.