Seriously

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Seriously. I have joined to find answers to the big questions in life. I cannot believe in anything just because someone says so... and that goes both ways - both by religions and by nonbelievers. For someone to say there must be a God, for how else can we explain the existence of the universe.... or for someone to say there cannot be a God because we cannot prove the existence of such a God... are equally unacceptable! These are just opposite "view points" but with no real substance. I hope by joining this forum that I can have some proper discussions and ideas/feedback from people who are open-minded and serious.

Well actually just one of those positions is a view without substance. The default is null, so when someone makes a claim (I.e. There is a god), they are making a positive claim that requires evidence to support it. It is logical to thus reject and dismiss that claim if evidence to support it isn't forthcoming.

Universal existence is its own subject, however.

But welcome, hope you enjoy the forum

[LivingNumbers6.626]

Nice! Just go the agnostic route? I'd have to agree with you in some sense. That's why I align with the label "agnostic atheist." PM if you want to chat.

-Q1C

[psychoslice]

If open minded means what you want to hear is what you want to hear, then no, you wont be happy here.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Seriously. I have joined to find answers to the big questions in life. I cannot believe in anything just because someone says so... and that goes both ways - both by religions and by nonbelievers. For someone to say there must be a God, for how else can we explain the existence of the universe.... or for someone to say there cannot be a God because we cannot prove the existence of such a God... are equally unacceptable! These are just opposite "view points" but with no real substance. I hope by joining this forum that I can have some proper discussions and ideas/feedback from people who are open-minded and serious.

Apply Occam's Razor. Think for yourself, and find your own answers. No one here can tell you what to think, but hopefully you've learnt how to think.

[W.Smith]

for someone to say there cannot be a God because we cannot prove the existence of such a God... are equally unacceptable!

That's a strawman argument. That there is no tangible evidence for any of the gods created by the human imagination is a fact. The religious do not even require evidence. They demand that their bullshit be accepted on "faith" which, right there, should be a red flag to anyone with a brain.

5,000 years ago every action on earth was attributed to some god or other, from fire to wind to earthquakes. Those gods have largely been retired as science has demonstrated that they are unnecessary. Medicine no longer 'heals' by driving out demons. Consider the direction of the long-term trends. 'God' is on his way out. He is needed only by mental defectives who insist they cannot function without some sky-daddy watching them 24/7.

Welcome.

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That was actually funny
But tell me this, do you think that there is something or do you think there is nothing after we die?

[Fidel_Castronaut]

That's a strawman argument. That there is no tangible evidence for any of the gods created by the human imagination is a fact. The religious do not even require evidence. They demand that their bullshit be accepted on "faith" which, right there, should be a red flag to anyone with a brain.

5,000 years ago every action on earth was attributed to some god or other, from fire to wind to earthquakes. Those gods have largely been retired as science has demonstrated that they are unnecessary. Medicine no longer 'heals' by driving out demons. Consider the direction of the long-term trends. 'God' is on his way out. He is needed only by mental defectives who insist they cannot function without some sky-daddy watching them 24/7.

Welcome.

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That was actually funny
But tell me this, do you think that there is something or do you think there is nothing after we die?

There is no reaaon to believe there is anything aside belief that there is.

[W.Smith]

Seriously. I have joined to find answers to the big questions in life. I cannot believe in anything just because someone says so... and that goes both ways - both by religions and by nonbelievers. For someone to say there must be a God, for how else can we explain the existence of the universe.... or for someone to say there cannot be a God because we cannot prove the existence of such a God... are equally unacceptable! These are just opposite "view points" but with no real substance. I hope by joining this forum that I can have some proper discussions and ideas/feedback from people who are open-minded and serious.

[Alex K]

But tell me this, do you think that there is something or do you think there is nothing after we die?

Can you emprecision your question a bit, what do you mean by "is there...". Where? Since the world doesn't end when someone dies, there is obviously still something "there".

[W.Smith]

Thanks for all the interesting comments you all made. I agree that the way "God" often is portrayed (as an old guy in the sky for example) does not seem fitting. But if we look past the issue of appearance and instead look at God as something beyond the concept of appearance - perhaps more like a common dominator of all things seem and unseen, what then?
When I ask people who don't believe in God "So what happens when we die, is there nothing there? And if there is nothing there, what is this existence then all about?" the most common answer I get is something like "Well, I do think there is something more... I just don't know what it is.
What do you all think about this 'something more than our normal life'? Personally I find it frustrating we don't know more about our existence... (because that at least ought to be a fact... LOL). So what kind of prof would we need to satisfy our desire to know that the concept of God is real, at least with some certainty? (I call it 'concept' because I don't want the question to be about appearance)

[Alex K]

Personally I find it frustrating we don't know more about our existence... (because that at least ought to be a fact... LOL).

Me too, but have you made an effort to learn all we do know scientifically about our existence? It's a damn lot!