RE: Do atheists need some faith?
July 19, 2012 at 1:07 pm
(This post was last modified: July 19, 2012 at 1:11 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Oh IDK, have you seen any other species capable of single-handedly marring such a large rock? Do we have any competition from the grey squirrels in the area of nuclear proliferation? Let's not assign to ignorance those "accomplishments" which we have negative personal value judgements of. It isn't exactly easy to exploit an entire planet, at least as far as we know, which is what all reasonable statements of knowledge have as an unspoken provision. Whether or not things exist that are beyond our ability to comprehend is beyond our ability to answer -by definition-, we do not know what we do not know. We may assume that there are such things, but why? Experience tells us that while we often manage to get things dismally wrong our ability to pierce the veil of mystery surrounding us increases exponentially over time.
Might there exist some things which we are incapable of perceiving by any means? Well, lets do a little thought experiment and assume that there are. In what way, if they are completely imperceptible to us, would they be a part of our reality, our universe, our cosmos? None at all. If these imperceptible things were literally dancing a jig on my head right now it wouldn't matter in the least, would it? Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating intellectual laziness, but if we're willing to invoke complete and utter inability to answer such questions then the question itself becomes meaningless.
Now, all that being said, are you entirely sure that the god question deserves this much respect and consideration? I certainly don't think so. Personally, I think it's a question that has escaped scrutiny due to deference to tradition and antiquity and nothing else. Do you see any serious debate as to whether or not dryads are tending the thickets outside our homes? No. Why not? Because that would be idiotic.
Might there exist some things which we are incapable of perceiving by any means? Well, lets do a little thought experiment and assume that there are. In what way, if they are completely imperceptible to us, would they be a part of our reality, our universe, our cosmos? None at all. If these imperceptible things were literally dancing a jig on my head right now it wouldn't matter in the least, would it? Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating intellectual laziness, but if we're willing to invoke complete and utter inability to answer such questions then the question itself becomes meaningless.
Now, all that being said, are you entirely sure that the god question deserves this much respect and consideration? I certainly don't think so. Personally, I think it's a question that has escaped scrutiny due to deference to tradition and antiquity and nothing else. Do you see any serious debate as to whether or not dryads are tending the thickets outside our homes? No. Why not? Because that would be idiotic.
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