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Testing the strength of your Atheism
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 (January 21, 2015 at 6:54 am)Hoopington Wrote: There is no "strength" in anybody's atheism, you either lack the belief in a/any god/s, or you fucking don't. You make it sound like there are no degrees of certainty concerning atheism? That's probably not what you are trying to say...?
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
  (January 21, 2015 at 7:33 am)Alex K Wrote:(January 21, 2015 at 6:54 am)Hoopington Wrote: There is no "strength" in anybody's atheism, you either lack the belief in a/any god/s, or you fucking don't. That's exactly what I'm trying to say, if there is any degree of uncertainty, you would be agnostic, no? RE: Testing the strength of your Atheism
January 21, 2015 at 8:41 am
(This post was last modified: January 21, 2015 at 8:48 am by Alex K.)
(January 21, 2015 at 8:34 am)Hoopington Wrote:(January 21, 2015 at 7:33 am)Alex K Wrote: You make it sound like there are no degrees of certainty concerning atheism? That's probably not what you are trying to say...? Yes and No. Very important false dichotomy. Everything in life, and especially science for that matter, comes with degrees of belief. An atheist is someone who has, for all practical purposes, come down on the side of not believing, ideally after deliberations due to lack of evidence. Depending a bit on which deity we are exactly talking about, and assuming a sensible definition of its properties, it is rarely sensible to claim absolute 100% certainty that there is no such God, as this would be dogmatic and unscientific. The remaining % may be extremely small, but usually not 0. Hence, most atheists are agnostic atheists. Some claim that no sensible and consistent definition of God as been brought forth that would even deserve discussion (hello rob) which is not an entirely absurd point of view. Very few however will claim that they have possession of the absolute and unalterable truth that there is no sort of God, however defined. Key is here that God is treated as a very unlikely hypothesis among arbitrarily many others, such that it can be safely dismissed for all practical purposes despite the technicality that there cannot be proof in the mathematical/philosophical sense that no trickster God exists in hiding.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
When you are in an absolutely desperate situation with no hope of rescue you may resort to the most desperate thoughts and actions...because trying something, no matter how hopeless, is at least as good if not better than doing nothing at all. What have you got to lose?
The real problem is not when you have run out of ideas and can think of no other options and are panicking, but rather when you are perfectly safe again and you continue to believe that praying and other superstitious behaviours actually have an affect. That's when the real problems start. As we know, supernatural belief is fueled by a sense of being unsafe. Hence why Jehovah's Witnesses come to my door and tell me how unsafe my world is before trying to tempt me with a brochure. My response is to tell them how unsafe their world will soon be if they don't get off my property at once.  RE: Testing the strength of your Atheism
January 21, 2015 at 9:55 am
(This post was last modified: January 21, 2015 at 9:58 am by Spooky.)
This appears to be a re-wording of the statement "there's no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole".
Meh, why would god save me? Am I that arrogant as to think I'm worth the effort? What if I was rescued, was it god? Fuck it. A miracle would be a bottle of Glenlivet 12 materializing in front of me before I die. Everything else would be too circumstantial to attribute to god. I've had a good life, wont be a huge loss to humanity.
I reject your reality and substitute my own!
 (January 21, 2015 at 1:14 am)PreV2 Wrote: Say you were in building in an earthquake zone and a large earthquake struck. If I suddenly decided that god was there, I'd probably wonder why he let a fucking building fall on top of me, and realize that he's the last person I'd want to ask a favor from.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould  RE: Testing the strength of your Atheism
January 21, 2015 at 10:30 am
(This post was last modified: January 21, 2015 at 10:31 am by robvalue.)
There's no such thing as a theist in a foxhole. If someone believes God will always look after them, why are they hiding in a foxhole?
I guess some theists might be in there, like deists, or ones that believe in God but don't trust him. Feel free to send me a private message.
Please visit my website here! It's got lots of information about atheism/theism and support for new atheists. Index of useful threads and discussions Index of my best videos Quickstart guide to the forum  (January 21, 2015 at 1:14 am)PreV2 Wrote: Say you were in building in an earthquake zone and a large earthquake struck. I wouldn't pray i would be upset no one has gotten to me.
Atheism is a non-prophet organization join today.
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I wasn't aware that my lack of belief had a "strength" at all.
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson |
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