(December 1, 2021 at 9:36 pm)polymath257 Wrote:(December 1, 2021 at 5:14 pm)Neo-Scholastic Wrote: I get the sense that some athiests think that all thiests believe that God is just another thing in a universe of things. I remember writing about this pernicious category error in a thread called " tooth fairy bullshit".
I skimmed that thread, but don't see your argument there.
Some theists do see God in the way you describe. My grandmother certainly did.
I think most theists don't think too deeply about the matter at all.
But no, I don't think that intelligent theists usually say that God is an object in the universe. But I have yet to see what they think the word *does* signify. That's one reason I am, on alternate days, an ignostic: I just don't think the term 'God' is meaningful at all. The other days I think it is (barely), but still see no evidence for such.
So, yes, I am one of those 'douchbag' atheists that see God as equivalent to the tooth fairy. The only difference is that adults believe in God and grow out of believing in the tooth fairy and we have a society that promotes God-belief.
About 40 years ago, I concluded that religion for most people is an accident of birth. Religious beliefs and world views are usually absorbed uncritically before the age of reason.
That as general principle, relatively few people ever seriously think about either their religious beliefs or world view. If they did, atheists would outnumber theists. Further, the broad principles generally seen as conservative or right wing would be in the minority. This is because imo, such world views are designed for the ruling elites and bourgeoisie not for the canon fodder and those at the coal face so to speak.
Thoughts for today: "Give me the child until he is even and I will show you the man" (Aristotle)
"If you could reason with religious people there wouldn't be any' (Greg House)
