1. I have atheist, christian and hindu friends. I also have quite a few friends who are rather apathetic when it comes to religion.
My grandparents on my mother's side are recovered jehovah's witnesses, as is my mother. The rest of my family is either atheist or religiously apathetic.
2. Midlands, England, United Kingdom.
3. Yes, that's called learning.
4. Just about to graduate with a masters degree in physics.
5. I don't see how a finite universe implies the existence of a god that gets involved in human lives. That seems like a complete non-sequitir to me. Could you explain your reasoning?
6. Since there is no evidence about what happened very close to or before the big bang (or even whether before the big bang is a meaningful concept), I hold no beliefs on the matter. One of the reasons so many people are willing to believe utter nonsense is that they're so damned scared to say "I don't know". I don't have that problem. Not knowing isn't frightening.
7. There are many "fine-tuning" arguments. Some of them rely on misconcepts about physics (or in the case of some ID proponents, straight up lies), some are laughable. What particular fine-tuning arguments are you referring to?
8. I "believe" in evolution the same way you believe in gravity, in that it is simply an observable fact of nature. I believe that the scientific theory of evolution by natural selection gives a good explanation of how evolution occurs.
9. I'll name 3 quickly, since I'd prefer not to derail this into a biology thread:
Fossil records along with dating techniques (e.g. dendrochronology, radio-dating).
The geographic distribution of organisms.
The fact that the DNA of a human is very similar to that of a chimpanzee, slightly less similar to that of a horse, less similar still to that of a spider, less similar still to that of a cactus, etc; the genomes of different species form a perfect family tree.
10. I don't think it does, at least not for me. You don't need to know about evolutionary biology to be struck by the complete lack of evidence for the existence of a deity.
That really doesn't follow. But I'm sure you know that. Are you trying to trick someone into saying something stupid?
11. (you called this 10, btw. you have 2 questions labelled no.10)
Yes. The morals of modern western society (in an average sense) are vastly different to the morals of, for example, the semi-literate desert-thugs that threw together the old testament. There are no absolutes in morality.
You describe yourself as a theist. Which particular theistic entity(s) do you believe in and why? Why do you not believe in any of the others?
Could you post your own answers to the 11 questions you asked?
My grandparents on my mother's side are recovered jehovah's witnesses, as is my mother. The rest of my family is either atheist or religiously apathetic.
2. Midlands, England, United Kingdom.
3. Yes, that's called learning.
4. Just about to graduate with a masters degree in physics.
5. I don't see how a finite universe implies the existence of a god that gets involved in human lives. That seems like a complete non-sequitir to me. Could you explain your reasoning?
6. Since there is no evidence about what happened very close to or before the big bang (or even whether before the big bang is a meaningful concept), I hold no beliefs on the matter. One of the reasons so many people are willing to believe utter nonsense is that they're so damned scared to say "I don't know". I don't have that problem. Not knowing isn't frightening.
7. There are many "fine-tuning" arguments. Some of them rely on misconcepts about physics (or in the case of some ID proponents, straight up lies), some are laughable. What particular fine-tuning arguments are you referring to?
8. I "believe" in evolution the same way you believe in gravity, in that it is simply an observable fact of nature. I believe that the scientific theory of evolution by natural selection gives a good explanation of how evolution occurs.
9. I'll name 3 quickly, since I'd prefer not to derail this into a biology thread:
Fossil records along with dating techniques (e.g. dendrochronology, radio-dating).
The geographic distribution of organisms.
The fact that the DNA of a human is very similar to that of a chimpanzee, slightly less similar to that of a horse, less similar still to that of a spider, less similar still to that of a cactus, etc; the genomes of different species form a perfect family tree.
10. I don't think it does, at least not for me. You don't need to know about evolutionary biology to be struck by the complete lack of evidence for the existence of a deity.
Quote:Ex- If our origins can be explained in a naturalistic way then I believe the origins of the universe can be explained in a naturalistic way too.
That really doesn't follow. But I'm sure you know that. Are you trying to trick someone into saying something stupid?
11. (you called this 10, btw. you have 2 questions labelled no.10)
Yes. The morals of modern western society (in an average sense) are vastly different to the morals of, for example, the semi-literate desert-thugs that threw together the old testament. There are no absolutes in morality.
You describe yourself as a theist. Which particular theistic entity(s) do you believe in and why? Why do you not believe in any of the others?
Could you post your own answers to the 11 questions you asked?
Galileo was a man of science oppressed by the irrational and superstitious. Today, he is used by the irrational and superstitious who claim they are being oppressed by science - Mark Crislip
