(February 7, 2018 at 6:28 pm)SteveII Wrote:(February 7, 2018 at 6:01 pm)Cyberman Wrote: And what are my beliefs?
The typical atheist believes that God did not create the world ex nihilo and all that there is is a result of time and chance.
First let's get the nots in the right order. The typical atheist does not believe that a god did create the world ex nihilo; not, as you mischaracterised it, the typical atheist does believe that a god did not create the world ex nihilo. Like mathematical operations, word order is important. Where you place qualifiers both positive and negative will vastly alter the meaning of the sentence. The -ism part of atheism is attached to the -theism part, so any attendant beliefs which the a- prefix nehate are purely on your side of the equation.
Now let's look at the second half - all that there is is a result of time and chance. Well, we can all agree to the "time" factor, I hope. Chance? Chemical, biological and physical matter behaving in chemical, biological and physical ways is exactly the opposite of chance. There is an element of randomness, sure; however, given the immense scale of the 'laboratory' and the relatively limited combinations of ways these things can interact, that the Universe is as we see it shouldn't surprise anybody.
Based on all this, what part of the beliefs attributed to me as a typical atheist fails to line up with the natural world quite as well as the typical belief that an undetectable supernatural agency is responsible?
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
