RE: The Purpose of Atheist Forums and its Prime Directive
September 9, 2024 at 6:50 am
(This post was last modified: September 9, 2024 at 7:02 am by Sheldon.)
(September 8, 2024 at 3:43 pm)Mortalsfool Wrote:The Purpose of Atheist Forums and its Prime Directive
“The forums were created for the purpose of providing friendly discussion and debate between atheists and other like-minded individuals, as well as theists. Theists are more than welcome to join and enter into discussions, but please bear in mind the nature of this community when entering into a discussion.”
Since this post is somewhat critical of this forums conformity with its own PRIME directive, I expect you administrators will not allow it to post. But, if your members are intelligent adults, and not the witless dolts they sometimes respond like, they should be mature enough to read this!
I made it very clear, I came into your particular midst, so I could get an opinion from others holding a different view than my own. With me being a believer I admit, I’m unable to see how my own cognitive bias could be misleading my conclusions. My intent was not to argue any points of my premise, not to convert, but for you practiced individuals to point out its faults I might not see.
My response is a little strong, because there can be no defense that makes sense, when ‘all’ of your critiques where about a premise of which you have never even seen or heard. Obviously this is yet to be learned; You should never open your mouth in argument, unless you can argue both sides of the argument equally well! Anything less make you a ultracrepidarian.
Bearing in mind what your own ‘prime directive’ says; ‘but please bear in mind the nature of this community when entering into a discussion”, it seems you are already well aware of the toxicity in your membership. I can only conclude from the hostile responses, that ‘theists’, are not in fact included in “friendly discussion and debate” as stated in your directive.I liken my experience to stepping into a room full of monkey IQ’s, who mistakenly think having the ability to type words with proper punctuation makes them intelligent.
You swarm intellectual threats, as though your little doses of ignorant denials of belief, make sound counter arguments. Just because you give each other high-fives for the sites tens-of-thousands of inane responses, doesn’t increase their value. They are mere valueless retorts, that seem to somehow satisfy your need for social recognition.
I'm a little late to this one, but this leaped out at me:
"there can be no defense that makes sense, when ‘all’ of your critiques where about a premise of which you have never even seen or heard. Obviously this is yet to be learned; You should never open your mouth in argument, unless you can argue both sides of the argument equally well! Anything less make you a ultracrepidarian."
What do you know about unicorn husbandry? By your rationale if someone claims they've bread unicorns, it is epistemologically unsound for me to disbelieve them, I have to say I find that notion ridiculous.
This oft used argument in religious apologetics, erroneously conflates disbelief with a contrary belief. These arguments often fail to understand that atheism, which is just the lack or absence of belief in any deity or deities, is not at all incompatible with agnosticism, which is the belief that nothing is known, or can be known, about the nature or existence of god.
It is perfectly rational to disbelieve two contradictory claims, if the dearth of evidence justifies it, as one would be obliged to do with all unfalsifiable claims for example, whilst also remaining agnostic about them.
Unless you have experienced all religious experiences for all religions and deities, your belief, by your own rationale, must involve bias on your part, it cannot be otherwise.
It is also clear that a person may set any standard for credulity they wish, so sulking like this on an atheist forum, because others set a different standard for credulity seems absurdly silly.