God of the gaps... maybe?

[Videodrome]

I'm intrigued by different ideas that try to fill the Gaps. This is not strictly Religion, but others try it with highly speculative history. For example, one author Graham Hancock who I do think earnestly researches the strange ancient architecture found around the ancient world.

Some of the more annoying ones like Giorgio Tsoukalos or Erich Von Daniken jump to conclusions and embrace the Ancient Alients theory.

I do think this is fun stuff to ponder, but at the end of the day should be mentally filed away under Speculation.

[robvalue]

My answer to "is there a god" is not just "I don't know", it's "I don't know what you are talking about".

If it's just an intelligent being in another reality that set this reality off, intentionally or otherwise, then I simply don't know. It's probably impossible to tell. No need to guess either way. I don't believe there is, and I don't believe there isn't. Weak atheism.

If it's the above plus [massive loads of spiritual supernatural drivel that doesn't mean anything] then I'm not available for comment. I don't understand what you even mean. But the more ridiculous mega-attributes you try and force down its throat, the more likely it's existing only in your imagination.

I intellectually respect deists more than religious theists, as they have been less duped. (This is probably an unfair comparison as it may well reflect different levels of indoctrination.) But they are still operating under faulty logic. I don't generally mind deists at all, as long as they don't keep going on about spiritual stuff all the time.

[Excited Penguin]

I have only one question for you. Is this colleague of yours attractive at all?

[Iroscato]

I have on occasion cursed the name of every deity in history when things have gone spectacularly wrong. It doesn't hurt to keep a vague, wide net cast I suppose.

[Exian]

My answer to "is there a god" is not just "I don't know", it's "I don't know what you are talking about".

If it's just an intelligent being in another reality that set this reality off, intentionally or otherwise, then I simply don't know. It's probably impossible to tell. No need to guess either way. I don't believe there is, and I don't believe there isn't. Weak atheism.

If it's the above plus [massive loads of spiritual supernatural drivel that doesn't mean anything] then I'm not available for comment. I don't understand what you even mean. But the more ridiculous mega-attributes you try and force down its throat, the more likely it's existing only in your imagination.

I intellectually respect deists more than religious theists, as they have been less duped. (This is probably an unfair comparison as it may well reflect different levels of indoctrination.) But they are still operating under faulty logic. I don't generally mind deists at all, as long as they don't keep going on about spiritual stuff all the time.

For me, the respect (and maybe mutual respect) comes from hanging your toes off the edge of what we know and facing the unknown. Just being there means you took some steps to have an informed belief system. As you've said, this is probably an unfair generalization of all traditional theists, but being a part of a religion means that there is a brochure of your beliefs; a handy generalization.

Another similarity between any given atheist and any given deist is in order to understand what they beileve, you better be prepared to have a lengthy discussion with that individual; there's no one word for it (for example: Protestant, Baptist, etc.). To be clear, I know that each individual theist can't be generalized as far as who they are, just talking about beliefs here.

Another distinction that crops up is that a deist is less likely to hold cognitive dissonance. As long as there is no additional spiritual woo, their understanding of reality is usually squared away, and at the very end there's a god tacked on, for whatever personal reason.

[Meandering Atheist -J-]

The Deist/Spiritualists tend to frustrate me a bit. They have taken this "middle road" sort of approach, thinking that the truth must be somewhere between atheism and theism. They usually just end up defining god in a way that makes him meaningless, powerless, or both.

[Ivan Denisovich]

I don't care if people believe in god of the gaps if they aren't trying to force such nonsense being taught in schools for example. If they keep such silly belief private why should I care?

[houseofcantor]

What do you think about this?

That whacked-out woo not normally worth the briefest consideration suddenly becomes justifiable once a hot chick enters the equation? Is that the question?

[robvalue]

It does surprise me at how desperate some people are to convince others to share their belief. We see regular members still banging their head against a wall trying to convert sceptics with platitudes and endlessly debunked nonsense every day on this forum.