(April 27, 2015 at 3:41 pm)Alex K Wrote:(April 27, 2015 at 3:40 pm)Lek Wrote: You're saying that I have beliefs with no supporting evidence, but I've given you my evidence. I'm not like a suicide bomber in that I'm not trying to hurt anyone else. I'm not even trying to die. The instance which we are discussing would be if someone was trying to kill me.
You might get a sign from God tomorrow telling you to kill some abortion doctors... in light of the standards you have applied in the past (i.e. what you let count as good evidence), it seems very plausible that you might be led down a dangerous path by equally weak evidence. Having low standards of evidence is dangerous because of that.
This reminds me of a discussion I had with a married couple who were quite religious. The husband said that if he heard the voice of God, and it told him to kill his children, he would obey. His wife was less than pleased. I sometimes wonder if I caused that couple to split up, though I have not kept in touch with them and don't know if they are still together or not.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
