My blog

[robvalue]

I just added a discussion of supernatural causation to the Natural and supernatural page. (Scroll down). I realized this was missing and I think it rounds it off nicely.

[robvalue]

[Exian]

I was gonna throw in Jainism because I remember learning about it only through my journey to and through atheism, but then I thought- Hell, he might as well just have a list of religions with a short description, at that point.

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Also, you might as well add a Kalam cosmological argument even though you already have the first one, just to clarify.

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You might also add a YEC and OEC entry, to clarify the difference, but that also goes toward making a list of religions.

[Saxmoof]

How can someone be Gnostic? Surely you'd need conclusive proof that God either does or doesn't exist for that, which is knowledge no-one has (yes, i know it's impossible to prove a negative, burden of proof bla bla bla but still)

[robvalue]

Well it's not a matter of if you can be gnostic as such, it's whether you claim to be gnostic I agree, it's not a stance I'm fond of. The best argument from gnosticism is that you know no coherent definition worthy of any consideration has been put forward. It's all gibberish, and even if you got hold of some powerful thing or other by the collar, the person making the claim would have fuck all idea if it was their god or not. No one has answered that point for me, ever. Just vague statements about, "Well I'd just know!"

You can use "know" in the informal sense, that's what Matt Dillahunty does. It's a word with several meanings, and there's no hard and fast rule for what gnostic is. We know there are no gods as much as we know there is gravity.

Exian: Thanks for the suggestions, I shall add those in! Yeah, I thought I'd put in the more well known religions and leave it there. YEC and OEC are important ones, I'll jam those in.

[Cyberman]

It all hinges on how we're defining the word "god". If it's the big G one of the bible, and it is exactly as described in there - creating the Universe in six days, fixing tiny lamps for the stars into the dome of the sky, making man out of dust and woman out of a bone, flooding the whole planet over the course of a month's rainfall - we can say with as much certainty as we can know anything that that god never existed. As Colonel Ingersoll put it, "They knew no better, but I do not propose to follow the example of a barbarian because he was honestly a barbarian". But a generic god entity that primitive goatherders interpreted as big G and developed a whole mythology around? You tell me.

[robvalue]

Yeah, that's the problem. Atheism is kind of a pre-emptive response to any whacked out claim that might be coming next. The claim may be impossible by nature of being internally inconsistent, or it might be unfalsifiable. Or it could be a table lamp.

Any more jargon gibberish for the pile? I'm sure I've missed loads. Ah, strawman, that's another. And err... does anyone think this is a worthwhile addition to my site?

[robvalue]

Need to do more on my website! I have lots of ideas swimming around but not quite the energy to do them. But I'll try again soon.

I've put the videos of my pets on the website here as well as the next chapter in the Never Ending Story.

[pocaracas]

Hey rob, have I told you got a nice blog going on, yet?

Don't forget to add a little entry on "truth" and "reality" in that glossary you're cooking up.
And keep smiling for the camera!

[robvalue]

Thanks very much! I appreciate it!

Ah yes, I shall add those to the list, thank you!