Ah... I see you missed the "default position" argument.
When you have to choose, you assume something based on what your experience has taught you.
If other people fail to convince you that gods exist, this experience will likely not include god as explanation for anything.... hence, the default position will never be goddidit.
On the other hand, if you become convinced that god exists, you will incorporate that belief into whatever you expect to find and, as history has shown, arrive at wrong conclusions.... fortunately, science has reduced these conclusions to a few, hence the designation god-of-the-gaps.
I suppose what i'm saying is the default position could be seen as a position of faith in relation to what someone has no primary experience of and is reliant on other people experience and knowledge. I have no issue with someone having a default position as in truth we all must.
Position 2 is a much more complicated position and does allow for a spiritual dimension.
When you have to choose, you assume something based on what your experience has taught you.
If other people fail to convince you that gods exist, this experience will likely not include god as explanation for anything.... hence, the default position will never be goddidit.
On the other hand, if you become convinced that god exists, you will incorporate that belief into whatever you expect to find and, as history has shown, arrive at wrong conclusions.... fortunately, science has reduced these conclusions to a few, hence the designation god-of-the-gaps.
pocaracas Wrote:(December 30, 2012 at 7:56 pm)Mark 13:13 Wrote: Good point pocaracas for the sake of discussion lets assume i'm talking about position 1 then.
Well then, yes. Position 1 is a kind of faith based belief.
However, as you might have noticed by now, it does not describe the majority of atheists. So I would advise you to use this definition with care.
I suppose what i'm saying is the default position could be seen as a position of faith in relation to what someone has no primary experience of and is reliant on other people experience and knowledge. I have no issue with someone having a default position as in truth we all must.
Position 2 is a much more complicated position and does allow for a spiritual dimension.