Quote:
Originally Posted by gargamel
I suspect that an atheist who is 99% sure that there's no god is likely to say he's agnostic, whereas a theist who is 99% sure that there is a god is likely to say that he's gnostic.
I fall into the former of those two categories. It's possible that god exists, but in a court of law, I'd have no problem finding beyond a reasonable doubt that he does not.
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This has bothered me overnight, so I am going to belabor a point I tried to make yesterday.
I don't understand how it is possible that god exists.
The "agnostic" (?) arguments in this thread seemed to be based on the supposition that:
1) There is no current evidence to prove the existence of god.
2) The universe is a big place, so although there is no evidence of god here, somewhere way out there there could be a god.
Therefore it would be shortsighted of us to discount the possibility of there being a god based on the vastness of the universe, and the knowledge that we understand so very little of it.
Do I have that correct? I'm not a smart man, so feel free (anyone) to chime in if you disagree with the above statement.
I view the above as willfull blindness for the following reason:
If you replace the word "god" with any other creature or being for which there is no evidence (Santa Claus), the
argument seems absurd.
In the vastness of the universe is there even the slightest possibility that a man with flying reindeer delivers toys once a year to every child (on a planet just like earth that isn't earth)? To me there isn't.
So, explain to me how can you argue for god, but not Santa? Is it simply because of the word "God" has more gravitas?
I think it's because of the social stigma attached to being an atheist. It is easier by far to say "I don't think so, but I don't know" than say "No, Santa doesn't exist (anywhere), he doesn't care if you are good or bad, he's not watching all of the time, and you're irrational if you believe otherwise."
Those with deep religious faith are comforted by it. It helps ease the difficulties of life. I recognize that. Those struggling with the disconnect between faith and rational thought, find it incrementally easier to take a step back from full disbelief - despite the argument being absurd when using any word other than "god".