OK, in the last thread I started I saw that the atheists here cite "burden of proof" as to why they do not believe in God. The atheist is not making any claims about the supernatural and therefore those that do make claims about the supernatural have the burden of proof. I also saw a lot of references to a belief in scientific thinking, and one person stated that their belief in science superseded belief in God. It was a surprisingly unanimous opinion and I found it to be fascinating, especially in how exactly it lined up with Modern thinking. I was hoping you could help understand a few more things.
First of all, I would like to hear what idea, concept, proof, or experience brought each of you personally to be Atheist. I know that you all profess that the burden of proof is on the person making the claims, you explained that to me quite well, but the "burden of proof" viewpoint is an assumption that Atheists make, so it would most likely be something you arrived at after deciding there is no God. I think most of you agreed with me that no one could argue a Christian out of faith, and that everyone will tend to believe what they believe until they are given sufficient reasons to change. So what I'm asking is what is it that made you decide to that you were firmly atheist? Or if you were raised in an Atheist home, what is it that made you decide that you personally were going to continue in your parent's (or parents') tradition?
Bonus question: What do you think of the work of Post-Modern philosophers in relation to your Modernist stance? To be sure Post-modernists were no fans of Christianity either, but they seriously challenge much of Modern thought. In specific I would cite Derrida's claim that everything is an interpretation, and Lyotard's assertion that meta-narratives are unreliable. For example, the Modernist meta-narrative of the single, objective, scientific truth that would solve all the world's problems, and it's corollary, the privileged status of science.
I really feel like the last thread gave me a good idea of the basic stance of Atheism, but there is so much more to understand. As with the last thread I'm more interested in seeing what you have to say, but if your reason for becoming an Atheist was a certain proof and you'd like me to take a crack at it, just make a note of it and I'll respond. Otherwise, I'll just be listening. I can't wait to hear from you and thank you for your input.
First of all, I would like to hear what idea, concept, proof, or experience brought each of you personally to be Atheist. I know that you all profess that the burden of proof is on the person making the claims, you explained that to me quite well, but the "burden of proof" viewpoint is an assumption that Atheists make, so it would most likely be something you arrived at after deciding there is no God. I think most of you agreed with me that no one could argue a Christian out of faith, and that everyone will tend to believe what they believe until they are given sufficient reasons to change. So what I'm asking is what is it that made you decide to that you were firmly atheist? Or if you were raised in an Atheist home, what is it that made you decide that you personally were going to continue in your parent's (or parents') tradition?
Bonus question: What do you think of the work of Post-Modern philosophers in relation to your Modernist stance? To be sure Post-modernists were no fans of Christianity either, but they seriously challenge much of Modern thought. In specific I would cite Derrida's claim that everything is an interpretation, and Lyotard's assertion that meta-narratives are unreliable. For example, the Modernist meta-narrative of the single, objective, scientific truth that would solve all the world's problems, and it's corollary, the privileged status of science.
I really feel like the last thread gave me a good idea of the basic stance of Atheism, but there is so much more to understand. As with the last thread I'm more interested in seeing what you have to say, but if your reason for becoming an Atheist was a certain proof and you'd like me to take a crack at it, just make a note of it and I'll respond. Otherwise, I'll just be listening. I can't wait to hear from you and thank you for your input.
