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Atheism vs. God's Existence
#71
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
What is god?  One is expected to believe in what?  No theist has defined a god, yet they believe in one.
You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
-- Homer Simpson

God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion.
-- Superintendent Chalmers

Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
-- Ned Flanders

Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral.
-- The Rev Lovejoy
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#72
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
(May 19, 2016 at 6:08 pm)AAA Wrote:
(May 19, 2016 at 5:46 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: No, he really doesn't.  I mean, he really REALLY doesn't.

Boru
Are you sure? He mentions several times in his book how Darwin explained the design without a designer. He also says: Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose. Plus dictionary.com defined design as: purpose, planning, or intention that exists or is thought to exist behind an action, fact, or material object.

Biological systems definitely exhibit purpose behind their actions especially on the cellular level. Everything is coordinated to respond to stimuli in the most beneficial way for the organism. Do you really think that biological systems don't exhibit apparent design?

Stimbo beat me to it.  The key word in your mined quote is 'appearance'.  Dawkins uses this word, and the accompanying phrase, as hook upon which to hang the very persuasive argument that biological systems appear to be designed when, in fact, they are not.  If you would read Dawkins' books and papers on the subject, instead of simply relying on the mined quotes you pick up from whatever creationist website is currently giving you a chubby, you might grasp this.

Here's an experiment.  Go and visit Dr. Dawkins.  Tell him that you know he believes that life is designed (as defined by your online dictionary) and refuse to listen to his answers.  8-3 odds you give him another stroke.

Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
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#73
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
(May 19, 2016 at 6:42 pm)Stimbo Wrote:
(May 19, 2016 at 6:08 pm)AAA Wrote: Are you sure? He mentions several times in his book how Darwin explained the design without a designer. He also says: Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.

Yes, he used the phrase "gives the appearance" for a reason.

http://www.richannel.org/christmas-lectu...id-objects

Yeah, he thinks they appear designed. Obviously he sees design, but thinks it is the result of mutation and natural selection.
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#74
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
Quote:Yeah, he thinks they appear designed. Obviously he sees design, but thinks it is the result of mutation and natural selection.

Think, really, really hard about the word 'appear'. Biological systems 'appear' designed in precisely the same way that a stage magician can 'appear' to saw a woman in half.

Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
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#75
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
(May 19, 2016 at 6:56 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:
(May 19, 2016 at 6:08 pm)AAA Wrote: Are you sure? He mentions several times in his book how Darwin explained the design without a designer. He also says: Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose. Plus dictionary.com defined design as: purpose, planning, or intention that exists or is thought to exist behind an action, fact, or material object.

Biological systems definitely exhibit purpose behind their actions especially on the cellular level. Everything is coordinated to respond to stimuli in the most beneficial way for the organism. Do you really think that biological systems don't exhibit apparent design?

Stimbo beat me to it.  The key word in your mined quote is 'appearance'.  Dawkins uses this word, and the accompanying phrase, as hook upon which to hang the very persuasive argument that biological systems appear to be designed when, in fact, they are not.  If you would read Dawkins' books and papers on the subject, instead of simply relying on the mined quotes you pick up from whatever creationist website is currently giving you a chubby, you might grasp this.

Here's an experiment.  Go and visit Dr. Dawkins.  Tell him that you know he believes that life is designed (as defined by your online dictionary) and refuse to listen to his answers.  8-3 odds you give him another stroke.

Boru

Obviously he doesn't think that the design is the result of a mind. However, if I were to ask Dawkins if he thought natural selection is a designing force, I bet he would say yes. This is what I said at the beginning anyways. It leads to design without requiring a designer. And it is no "fact" that they are not intelligently designed, and I did read The God Delusion this past semester.
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#76
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
(May 19, 2016 at 7:01 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:
Quote:Yeah, he thinks they appear designed. Obviously he sees design, but thinks it is the result of mutation and natural selection.

Think, really, really hard about the word 'appear'.  Biological systems 'appear' designed in precisely the same way that a stage magician can 'appear' to saw a woman in half.

Boru

That's just an assertion. Maybe they appear designed the way a person genuinely getting chopped in half appears to be chopped in half. Why do we have to assume biological systems are counter-intuitive?
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#77
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
(May 19, 2016 at 7:03 pm)AAA Wrote:
(May 19, 2016 at 6:56 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: Stimbo beat me to it.  The key word in your mined quote is 'appearance'.  Dawkins uses this word, and the accompanying phrase, as hook upon which to hang the very persuasive argument that biological systems appear to be designed when, in fact, they are not.  If you would read Dawkins' books and papers on the subject, instead of simply relying on the mined quotes you pick up from whatever creationist website is currently giving you a chubby, you might grasp this.

Here's an experiment.  Go and visit Dr. Dawkins.  Tell him that you know he believes that life is designed (as defined by your online dictionary) and refuse to listen to his answers.  8-3 odds you give him another stroke.

Boru

Obviously he doesn't think that the design is the result of a mind. However, if I were to ask Dawkins if he thought natural selection is a designing force, I bet he would say yes. This is what I said at the beginning anyways. It leads to design without requiring a designer. And it is no "fact" that they are not intelligently designed, and I did read The God Delusion this past semester.

You might be better off sticking to what someone does say, rather than what your fevered mind imagines the might say.

Oh, and equivocate less. It's dishonest.
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#78
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
(May 19, 2016 at 7:11 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:
(May 19, 2016 at 7:03 pm)AAA Wrote: Obviously he doesn't think that the design is the result of a mind. However, if I were to ask Dawkins if he thought natural selection is a designing force, I bet he would say yes. This is what I said at the beginning anyways. It leads to design without requiring a designer. And it is no "fact" that they are not intelligently designed, and I did read The God Delusion this past semester.

You might be better off sticking to what someone does say, rather than what your fevered mind imagines the might say.

Oh, and equivocate less.  It's dishonest.

Ok, forget about Dawkins then. Do you think that natural selection is a designing force?
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#79
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
Absolutely not. Design implies intent which implies agency, neither of which is a property of natural selection.
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#80
RE: Atheism vs. God's Existence
@AAA
Would it matter if he did, if it wasn't...anymore that it matters that you think there's a designing force, when there isn't?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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