Exposing the Intellectual Bankruptcy of Atheists Criticizing Religion

[The Valkyrie]

So, I'm thinking of becoming a Satanist.

Can someone tell me which pagan religion is the best for the worship of the Dark Lord?

[TheRocketSurgeon]

So, I'm thinking of becoming a Satanist.

Can someone tell me which pagan religion is the best for the worship of the Dark Lord?

I   the 501st Legion.

[Edwardo Piet]

[LadyForCamus]

I am sure that Evie is familiar with logical positivism.  You can talk theories of knowledge, philosophies of science, and name drop until you are blue in the face.  None of it even comes close to evidence of a supernatural God.  Sorry.  And if your comeback is that we currently have no scientific avenues to reach god's reality, well, that is a pretty sad argument in favor.  It is way more generous than you ought to be.

Chad,

I have a microscopic leprechaun who lives on the tip of my thumb, and dances the jig all day.  Wait, you don't believe me?  Why not?  Just because you can't see the microscopic leprechaun dancing on my thumb, that doesn't mean he doesn't EXIST!  There is more to this world than what we may see with our eyes alone!

Oh, so you looked at my thumb under an electron microscope and...what do you know...there was NO microscopic leprechaun dancing on my thumb...well...that's because he can't be found through empirical scientific methods. He is a part of the nature of reality that we lowly humans haven't figured out how to access.  THAT's why you can't see him.  But he's definitely there!  

Chad, can you honestly say that the next logical step in a sane person's train of rational thought is to simply conclude:  my tiny leprechaun MUST certainly be real?  Am I the only one who sees a gap the size of the Grand Canyon here??

I think I've had too much coffee...

That exactly the subject Sagan and Druyan tackle, in their book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, except the example is the invisible, undetectable pink dragon in their garage. Essentially, though using lofty words and "deepity", what Chad is promoting is magical thinking. It's really no different from every other type of woo-woo... "If you believe in the power of herbal healing, then you'll be healed" ... "Tarot cards can determine your future" ... "There's a faerie world beyond what you can see in the natural world" ... "Jesus can heal you if you just believe" ... "Lord Shiva created the universe, is beyond all space and time, and will destroy the world at the end of days" ... and so on, and so on, ad nauseam.

WOW! Now tell me, which alternate reality does the dragon come from? Because, if I could have BOTH the pink dragon AND the tiny leprechaun I'd be the luckiest gal in all the land!!! .

Kidding aside, that sounds like an interesting read. It amazes me how theists can openly admit how improbable ALL other forms of the magical, and supernatural are, and yet make an exception in their rationality for "God." Why is that??

[Edwardo Piet]

 It amazes me how theists can openly admit how improbable ALL other forms of the magical, and supernatural are, and yet make an exception in their rationality for "God."  Why is that??

Because they think scripture has magical powers.

I know I seem like I'm question begging, but the point is that they think there's something "different" about holy books.

Indoctrination from a young age, or the fact that religion is so popular are a factor I reckon.

[LadyForCamus]

https://i.imgur.com/EdTq5Nd.jpg

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Oh man, how the heck do I insert pics around here? I am getting so old; I can no longer follow technology...

[Edwardo Piet]

use image tags:

[img]URLgoeshere.jpg[/img.] tags (without the period)

[Neo-Scholastic]

I have a microscopic leprechaun who lives on the tip of my thumb, and dances the jig all day.  Wait, you don't believe me?  Why not?  Just because you can't see the microscopic leprechaun dancing on my thumb, that doesn't mean he doesn't EXIST!  ...that's because he can't be found through empirical scientific methods. ...can you honestly say that the next logical step in a sane person's train of rational thought is to simply conclude:  my tiny leprechaun MUST certainly be real?

Your leprechaun example is stupid. It’s an obvious category error, the type that only fools fall into and childish contrarians put forth. Questions about being itself cannot be approached in the same way as questions about particular beings. Metaphysical questions are about what people can know about anything that is, regardless of what it is? For example, what do acorns, people, electrons, oil paintings, and numbers have in common with each other.

Maybe you think such inquiries are pointless or just bullshit. You have that right. But you cannot ignore that such stances come at great cost. Ideas about the fundamental nature of reality touch on the most important and consequential issues of life – values, autonomy, and rationality. They inform our social interactions, personal behavior, and private life of the mind. Your positivist stance disqualifies you from entertaining any meaningful thoughts or beliefs about the human condition.

[TheRealJoeFish]

...Your positivist stance disqualifies you from entertaining any meaningful thoughts or beliefs about the human condition.

That's dumb. You're dumb.

[Cato]

I have a microscopic leprechaun who lives on the tip of my thumb, and dances the jig all day.  Wait, you don't believe me?  Why not?  Just because you can't see the microscopic leprechaun dancing on my thumb, that doesn't mean he doesn't EXIST!  ...that's because he can't be found through empirical scientific methods. ...can you honestly say that the next logical step in a sane person's train of rational thought is to simply conclude:  my tiny leprechaun MUST certainly be real?

Your leprechaun example is stupid. It’s an obvious category error, the type that only fools fall into and childish contrarians put forth.  Questions about being itself cannot be approached in the same way as questions about particular beings. Metaphysical questions are about what people can know about anything that is, regardless of what it is? For example, what do acorns, people, electrons, oil paintings, and numbers have in common with each other.

Maybe you think such inquiries are pointless or just bullshit. You have that right. But you cannot ignore that such stances come at great cost. Ideas about the fundamental nature of reality touch on the most important and consequential issues of life – values, autonomy, and rationality. They inform our social interactions, personal behavior, and private life of the mind. Your positivist stance disqualifies you from entertaining any meaningful thoughts or beliefs about the human condition.

If you maintain this position you'll be forced to concede that consideration of God qua existence is a category error. This was Lady's point despite having not framed it as such.