(June 22, 2021 at 12:14 pm)Frank Apisa Wrote: I joined this forum to ask some questions of people who use “atheist” as a descriptor (or part of a descriptor)…so, if I may, here goes.
First, a predicate:
My personal take on the question, “Are there any gods?” (which seems to be a subset of, “What is the true nature of the REALITY of existence?”) is:
I do not know if any "gods"** exist or not;
I see no reason to suspect gods CANNOT EXIST...that the existence of gods is impossible;
I see no reason to suspect that gods MUST EXIST...that gods are needed to explain existence;
I do not see enough unambiguous evidence upon which to base a meaningful guess in either direction...
...so I don't.
**When I use the word "god" I mean "The entity (or entities) responsible for the creation of what we humans call 'the physical universe'...IF THERE IS SUCH AN ENTITY."
A few preliminary questions:
Is there anyone here who asserts, “No gods exist?”
Is there anyone here who asserts that he/she KNOWS that no gods exist?
Is there anyone here who asserts that it is impossible for gods to exist?
The real question for me would be, why would a God be a requirement at all?
I do assert Occam's razor, in that it is far more infinitely likely that humans make god/s up as a reflection of their own desires.
It is absolutely true that humans can't know the future. But at the same time, we can discard bad claims.
I am a flat out atheist as far as past and current claims of God/gods/deities made so far. I am an agnostic atheist "technically" as far as the future, but even then, I find it highly unlikely that there will be a super cognition found as an answer. Even then, the idea seems superfluous.