(September 20, 2023 at 4:59 am)FrustratedFool Wrote: My lack of being convinced God exists doesn't stand alone. It comes packaged with various inter-related opinions.
My atheism comes as a bundle with:
Agnosticism
Skepticism
Anti-religious sentiment
Nihilism
Materialism/Physicalism
Evolution
A high view of science (scientism?)
Left/ Liberal/ Progressive Politics
Not believing in moral realism
Not believing in freewill
Etc.
Does your atheism tie into other things, or does it stand alone?
My atheism is a byproduct of my skepticism. I believe atheism is the rational results of correctly applying skepticism to the god claim.
I was a skeptic before I was an atheist. I was skeptical about almost every other supernatural claim, but I went years without applying skepticism to my god beliefs. As soon as I did, my theism faded pretty quickly.
I am not a nihilist.
I fully accepted evolution before I was an atheist.
I believe that science is by far the best method we have for determining fact from fiction.
I was a progressive before I was an atheist.
I am a methodological materialist, not a philosophical materialist.
I am not a moral realist. I do, however, have an objective view on morality (search YT for "Matt Dillahunty. The superiority of secular morality").
I am a compatibilist with respect to free will.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.