(August 11, 2015 at 4:05 am)robvalue Wrote: I'd like to say firstly that this discussion is very polite! Way too polite, so I want to say fuckweasels
Now that's out of the way, I wanted to make an observation. I think we're dealing with two entirely different approaches to beliefs and evidence. I'm not meaning to judge either, simply to observe.
CL, and the vast majority of theists I've ever talked to, are happy to accept evidence that is apparent only to them to justify their beliefs to themselves.
People like me (if there is anyone like me) would never be satisfied believing anything that they couldn't reasonably demonstrate to others; in other words the evidence is virtually useless if it can't be examined by someone else.
For the above reason, I would conclude that various strange things I've experienced are far more likely to be glitches in my system than something actually real. Someone in CL's group may instead interpret them as something real and form beliefs out of them.
Your characterization of the religionist view is overly generous. There is evidence that such inner feelings are caused by ordinary sorts of things and not god. They are ignoring evidence, not simply using a different source that you do not regard as trustworthy.
Not only is there the modern science on this, but anyone with half a brain long ago realized that such inner feelings prove nothing, because contradictory religions have such things in support of them. Since contradictory religions cannot all be true, those inner feelings cannot be proof of any religion.
So, even if you won't judge them, I certainly will. They are being demonstrably stupid and unreasonable.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
