Atheists who become Christians

[fr0d0]

Perhaps that's why religion operates in such an embodied, emotional way. To put flesh on the concepts. I'm sure they started out from the other direction. We see primitive expression address some very complex problems using properly basic practices.

Fascinating also is the fact that we all seem to follow the same interest.

[abaris]

I'm sure they started or from the other direction.

In my opinion, people created religion to fill the gaps. The classic god of the gaps theory. Way back they didn't know anything about the sun, the moon and nature, so the first and longest surviving gods were the sun, the moon and natural phenomena such as lightning.

[fr0d0]

No doubt they did at least to some extent, possibly completely. And like the puddle, its container fit perfectly. I am in no doubt that the authors of Genesis were the opposite.

[The Grand Nudger]

Somehow you always manage to winkle in some angst against me as well. I don't know if I should thank you or join you in beating on me.

Takes practice, but also...opportunity.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Can you be truly skeptical and argue only using pure logic Rob? Or do you need your crutch of evidence?

Logic has very certain limitations, and along with reason, both bow to reality, which is regnant over both those avenues of epistemology when attempting a description.

A god-claim must either be about this reality, or posit another reality, at which point your fallacy is argumentum ex culo.

[robvalue]

You have defined God in such a way that it is impossible to know or find out anything about it. Yet you claim to know things about it.

If you want to hide God behind shields of untestability, then it becomes indistinguishable from nothing. Supernatural causes cannot be demonstrated.

The fact that people have been making the same errors of critical thinking and appeals to emotion for 2000 years does not make them right. It just proves how powerful indoctrination and cognitive dissidence are.

Atheists are not required to produce an alternative answer to all the questions religion pretends to answer in order to dismiss answers that are not supported by reason and evidence.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Remember that the subject is immaterial, atemporal and supernatural.

[robvalue]

Do you know what I say about things that are immaterial and atemporal?

I say they don't exist, in practical terms.

How can I tell it apart from nothing?

[fr0d0]

How can I tell it apart from nothing?

It depends how you look at them Robbie. If you work it out, there are plenty of things you can find out. You can know what it's not, for example. It's not like you have no information to go on. Hence all of the information on the subject.

[robvalue]

We have no information to go on. You're trying to define into existence something for which you can't possibly have any information about. Where are you getting this information from?

How can we know what it's not, and how is that helpful in determining that it even exists?

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Put it this way. What information do you have that the scientific community has not already studied in detail?