(April 4, 2014 at 12:21 pm)Rampant.A.I. Wrote: Or a dictionary, apparently.
Quote:a·the·ism
ˈāTHēˌizəm/
noun
1.
disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.
synonyms: nonbelief, disbelief, unbelief, irreligion, skepticism, doubt, agnosticism
The expression of disbelief of a current scientific model has no bearing on whether or not that model is accurate, or make the false dichotomy "if the Big Bang wrong, then God," when there is substantial evidence for Big Bang theory, and no evidence for God. There is substantial evidence for evolution, and for abiogenesis as the possible beginnings of life.
No such evidence exists for God. It makes zero logical sense to say "I reject all current scientific theories that are well-supported by evidence because I do not accept them, but do accept this answer with no evidence behind it," as the explanations "Shiva did it," "Aliens did it," or a self-aware Cosmic Teapot did it" are equally supported by the evidence as:
"I reject Science; therefore a sky wizard who is uncaused used magic to cause the Big Bang, magic to create life, and magic to cause life to appear in its current form"
There are some points well made here but... and it's a big one...
The reality is that most religious people probably do not understand the psychological processes they have gone through to arrive at their belief, why should they, scientific theory has yet to provide a consensus of opinion on this matter too. The same goes for those who choose an atheistic or agnostic position.
It is neither scientific nor good faith to make assumptions about these processes. There is a possibility that the decisions to be religious or non-religious are retro-actions consciously applied to a subconscious decision that has already been made. This is just as likely an explanation as any other right now.
The question should not be why am I an atheist or why is that person religious but rather what does atheism do or what does religion do for us a humans. When we know what the function of this type of process is it will be easier to see why it persists in human psychology.
Arguing the toss is getting us nowhere.
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
