Do you believe in God?

[Absolutezero]

Hmm well thats your opinion on things.

For people that believe in god we'd say that you are the people that come prior to 'judgement day' are the ones that will try to destroy religion etc by using science as your belief system.

But as I'm short of time I won't keep on discussing, I'll just tell you that religion isn't just beliefs its also a powerful way of life, which when you accept it, the facts become clear to yourself, that is why its a 'belief', you cannot just have hard evidence you touch and expect to unravel the mysteries, you have to 'believe'!, think of it this way, if it was that easy to prove one religion was correct then we'd all be affiliated to that one religion, but in the end its up to everyone and what they choose to believe is right for them, and if we all just end up dying and never waking up well then so be it. But if it turns out to be true that there was a god, I'd rather have been the one that believed, at least I'd have a better chance than one who didn't believe in god

Your using pascal's wager and it's already been disproved as a valid argument many, many times.

[FreeLearner]

Dang, my argument failed.

Nice big words ^^ lol.

[RANK 1]

Dang, my argument failed.

Nice big words ^^ lol.

unless you have a two digit IQ none of the words used are even remotely big

[seanieg89]

but how else do you deal with something that can't be proven or disproven. its kinda like Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the electron could be on the other side of the universe or it could be near the atom however the latter is much more likely hence we would generally disregard the former.

My view is we DON'T deal with it. I don't see it as an issue that should affect any of my actions/decisions. And just because something can be neither proven nor disproven is no reason to "choose one to believe in." Also I am not sure about your comparison with Heisenberg's uncertainty principle...from my understanding of quantum mechanics (which is limited I admit), I thought that particles positions are given by a probability density function, a very concrete mathematical object. "Disregarding the former" is simply taking a classical point-particle approximation to the quantum system. This doesn't seem to be that analogous to blurring the distinction between "probable truth" and "truth".

(By the way, in my fence sitting I am merely playing devils advocate. I am FAR closer to atheistic in my beliefs than any organised religion and we probably do have very similar views on most aspects of religion.)

[RANK 1]

My view is we DON'T deal with it. I don't see it as an issue that should affect any of my actions/decisions. And just because something can be neither proven nor disproven is no reason to "choose one to believe in." Also I am not sure about your comparison with Heisenberg's uncertainty principle...from my understanding of quantum mechanics (which is limited I admit), I thought that particles positions are given by a probability density function, a very concrete mathematical object. "Disregarding the former" is simply taking a classical point-particle approximation to the quantum system. This doesn't seem to be that analogous to blurring the distinction between "probable truth" and "truth".

(By the way, in my fence sitting I am merely playing devils advocate. I am FAR closer to atheistic in my beliefs than any organised religion and we probably do have very similar views on most aspects of religion.)

ok you lost me after the 3rd sentence

[funkshen]

you are infuriating. science is not a belief system, do not ever call it that also i think im pretty safe even if a god did exist as he is omnibenevolent.

science is a belief system. it's just not faith based.

My view is we DON'T deal with it. I don't see it as an issue that should affect any of my actions/decisions. And just because something can be neither proven nor disproven is no reason to "choose one to believe in." Also I am not sure about your comparison with Heisenberg's uncertainty principle...from my understanding of quantum mechanics (which is limited I admit), I thought that particles positions are given by a probability density function, a very concrete mathematical object. "Disregarding the former" is simply taking a classical point-particle approximation to the quantum system. This doesn't seem to be that analogous to blurring the distinction between "probable truth" and "truth".

physicists do not agree whether the wave function is real or a good approximation, or whether its collapse is real or a good approximation. for the most part, they don't care though, because it's all metaphysics. most belong to the david mermin school of "shut up and calculate." but yeah, indeterminancy is not an argument relevant to the existence of a deity, it's about the subjective nature of probability.

[Dedication_]

In any case, the contradictions are irrelevant to the main argument against god. Those making the claim that a god exists need to posit a sufficient amount of evidence to prove it, and that simply hasn't been done. Therefore, not believing the claims is the default position.

You just destroyed every Christian's arguement on the planet. Kudos to you, I crown you king

[soloooooo]

You just destroyed every Christian's arguement on the planet. Kudos to you, I crown you king

Conversely those claiming God does not exist (presumption of innocence) must prove it.

[Absolutezero]

Conversely those claiming God does not exist (presumption of innocence) must prove it.

That is true, to an extent. But I'm not claiming that, and the vast majority of atheists aren't claiming that.

[mrbond]

"What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence"

[soloooooo]

"What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence"

Err no.

[Absolutezero]

Err no.

Err yes

[Galapagos]

There's no err about it - if you make a claim based on NO evidence, not only is it NOT up to me to disprove it, but I can dismiss your claim due to lack of evidence.

[Cheesecake_a]

I believe in God (though lately been having doubts at times) but I am more affiliated with religion than not. However, I am not a person that feels I should force my beliefs upon others, and I still respect people who have other beliefs, unless they continue to criticize me/my beliefs/ make fun of them etc. I mean okay, you may think my faith is silly, but I would rather not hear about it, because I do not force my beliefs on anyone else.

I guess as long as we both respect each others way of life etc, then it's okay.

[SchoolIsBoringg]

uh no, fuck it and fuck religion

am still waiting to convert into an atheist.