But if you read the OT which JC didn’t recend, you have to accept that the christian god is a murdering monster.
I don’t have to accept anything. Sometimes atheists are as fundamentalist as religious folk
3 Likes
No, we simply don’t accept the concept of god based on zero proof.
Which is why I, like many others, am agnostic.
Atheists say that you can’t prove that there is a supreme deity. Well, you can’t prove that there isn’t one, either.
2 Likes
Which reminds me of an old joke that my Brother used to tell about a dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac, who would lie awake at night wondering if there really is a dog.
2 Likes
But obviously the burden of proof is on those that propose a theory, not those that doubt it.
There are an infinite number of possible realities and it’s not necessary to disprove them all. If you tell me there’s a bloke in the sky who built the universe, it’s up to you to prove it, not up to me to disprove it.
1 Like
I don’t claim there isn’t a god. I can’t. But then how does one define a god they don’t believe in? Is there an almighty and omni-present being under a rock on the 4th moon of Jaglon Beta? Don’t know. Pretty sure that none of the suggested gods that humans have come up with on this planet are nonsense.
That’s the burden of proof fallacy. Atheists have absolutely no duty to prove there isn’t a god. It’s up to those asserting something to prove it. See Russell’s Teapot.
By the way, it isn’t a sliding scale where atheism is just a more extreme version of agnosticism.
Atheism is an expression of what you believe. Agnosticism is about what you know.
Technically both me and @Klopptimist are Agnostic and atheists. Neither of us can say there 100% isn’t a god. Neither of us believe there is.
2 Likes
Wrong. We say that there is insufficient evidence to prove there is. You could prove a supreme deity exists if they chose to provide proof. They haven’t.
As it happens, I’m convinced that the Abrahamic god doesn’t exist as the most religious person I’ve ever known (and one of my best mates is a vicar) died in humiliating agony of a brain tumor. Morphine really doesn’t provide a painless death. Been there and it was horrific.
Actually why do I have to prove that I believe in a God that exists? If you don’t, so be it. I am happy to believe in what I believe, just like everyone else should too.
3 Likes
When I look at creation I think there might be a god. Have no idea what he/she would look like. But obviously can’t prove that and don’t feel the need to
2 Likes
What I don’t understand is why some people are so hell bent on finding logic, reason and consistency between the actions of people today, the rules and teachings of a handful of men from thousands of years ago while all the while missing the entire concept of faith. Rather than thinking they are all the same thing, if it could be understood more as a series of Venn diagrams which overlap by different amounts for each individual person, it might lead to better understanding.
I also don’t understand why in this day and age it is so important for people to criticise those that follow a religion. Even some who speak out against practically all other forms of intolerance don’t seem to be willing to give religion the same level of consideration and seem unable to pass criticism without adding insult.
2 Likes
I also don’t understand why people work so hard to disprove something that they don’t feel they have to disprove
I was born and raised Irish Catholic, with all the guilt and insecurity that surrounds that. 1960s Ireland was a place of repression and deference to a church that ultimately gave little to its people.
I believed in God, and at times of trouble found comfort in that belief.
But now I am not so sure.
Cruelty is carried out in his name, and this all powerful deity who has the power to stop the cruelty? Why doesn’t he?
If the all loving God truly exists then why are children starving. Why are women brutalised?
Why is war an option? Why is greed allowed to dominate humanity?
I am ambivalent now as to the existence of a supreme being. I have my own moral compass and my own decision making process on what is right or wrong.
2 Likes
Because human nature dictates that we always have to be right. Even in battles we feign lack of interest in?
Thats a question rather than an answer though.
Very sorry to hear that, but it’s a faulty generalisation fallacy. I had a v similar experience btw. Close friend with brain tumour who was convinced God would heal him but died with a lot of suffering. It’s clear that religious belief doesn’t prevent suffering, but it’s not proof that Gid doesn’t exist
I have similar experiences and similar questions
Can also flip it on it’s head. Quite clearly for a lot of people it is their faith in a God that helps them endure their suffering.
1 Like
Yes no doubt about that too. I actually feel envious of people like my mother who have certainty in God, and has found great comfort and strength in that throughout her life
1 Like