(May 8, 2013 at 11:43 pm)Drew_2013 Wrote: Atheists promote the thought in the market place of ideas that God doesn't exist. It only stands to reason if you don't believe God caused our existence that you believe natural forces without plan or intent did. I mean be honest...that is what you think.
Mmm, no. Not entirely. It's A-theism, not a-deism. I've never pointed this out to you before, maybe I should have in your case for theism thread, but, as is my new favorite way of explaining this, atheism isn't a position of disbelief about creators. It's a position of disbelief regarding gods.
The atheist position, such as it is, is one of disbelief regarding religious claims, and an acceptance that, as of this time, we do not know how the universe began. The sole reason for this is that theists haven't properly shouldered their burden of proof; there is no implicit denial of a conscious creator in that. Only a lack of acceptance.
So, yes, we believe that it's possible that the universe came into being via mindless forces, but that's not the same thing as believing that it did so. We don't have a belief regarding how the universe existed, because we don't know. To an atheist (well, to me, I can't speak for the group) all propositions, whether mindless or conscious or what have you, carry the same weight; they are not to be accepted completely without their burden of proof being met. Since none of them have, none of them are "true," to an atheist.
Now, that's not to say all propositions are equally possible, or as good as any other, but there's no implicit belief in any of them.
"YOU take the hard look in the mirror. You are everything that is wrong with this world. The only thing important to you, is you." - ronedee
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