'There Is No God', or 'I Believe There Is No God'?

[widdershins]

I did advise him to get a qualified electrician to take a look at Gods handywork, I also pointed out to him that at the exact same time that God was sorting out his electrics for him, a child somewhere in the world was dying.

My comments didn't go down well.

It won't much when his house burns down while he's sleeping anyway.

[TheCloser]

I guess I am more of a "I don't believe in that type of god" guy.

I am not sure why the universe just can't be the universe with us in it; type of universe.  Why can't we talk about its properties as we can measure them?  And wait 'till we can measure more things if we must?  Or if we do measure something, why can't we change our opinions based on the new measurements?  It just seems odd to me that some people "lock down" a belief despite learning something new.

[Baruch]

I guess I am more of a "I don't believe in that type of god" guy.

I am not sure why the universe just can't be the universe with us in it; type of universe.  Why can't we talk about its properties as we can measure them?  And wait 'till we can measure more things if we must?  Or if we do measure something, why can't we change our opinions based on the new measurements?  It just seems odd to me that some people "lock down" a belief despite learning something new.

People commit to an ideology ... they are lazy or embarrassed to have to change their ideology.  Of course, no problem if one is flexible ... just be shameless and admit one is a stupid ape man.  Besides, your personality is just the accumulation of the bullshit that is your personal story.  The older you are, the deeper the pool.

[TheCloser]

People commit to an ideology ... they are lazy or embarrassed to have to change their ideology.  Of course, no problem if one is flexible ... just be shameless and admit one is a stupid ape man.  Besides, your personality is just the accumulation of the bullshit that is your personal story.  The older you are, the deeper the pool.

yeah, I agree with this. 

personality types express beliefs.  So if someone is full of bullshit life storys their beliefs may just be bullshit.  We do see a lot of that.
most times they don't even know what they don't know.  Worse than that, many of these bullshit artist think that what they know is all anybody needs to know.  And when confronted with their own limited bullshit, they whip out some personal meaning, emotional needs, or some other whoo whoo train of bullshit.  I call them literalalist or fundamentalists.  Some mystic talkers can be exosed quickly too. 

But the non literal people, with normal life experiences,  usually can get on the same page very quickly.  regardless of what they believe.

[AllRight]

I see no evidence of a god, therefore I do not believe there is a god.

[Cavebear]

I bothered to argue with some JVs recently.  They haven't been back...

[widdershins]

yeah, I agree with this. 

personality types express beliefs.  So if someone is full of bullshit life storys their beliefs may just be bullshit.  We do see a lot of that.
most times they don't even know what they don't know.  Worse than that, many of these bullshit artist think that what they know is all anybody needs to know.  And when confronted with their own limited bullshit, they whip out some personal meaning, emotional needs, or some other whoo whoo train of bullshit.  I call them literalalist or fundamentalists.  Some mystic talkers can be exosed quickly too. 

But the non literal people, with normal life experiences,  usually can get on the same page very quickly.  regardless of what they believe.

You said a mouth full right there.  Not only do they not know what they don't know, they don't care to know it.  What they know fits with what they want to believe.  If they learn anything else, that might not be the case, so it's best not to learn anything from "non-supporting sources".

[Cavebear]

You can't know what you don't know.  But you do know that what is irrational is false. Science is a study of what we don't know.  Religion is a study of what some think they know that is false. 

[widdershins]

Bad wording on my part.  You can understand that you don't know something, and that understanding is very important.  Take climate change and evolution for instance.  What is the main difference between deniers and us?  We understand that we don't know the science behind it and refer to the experts who do.  Deniers think they're capable of learning enough about it to decide for themselves with a couple hours of reading web pages that dispute it.  Or sometimes just 5 minutes of a sermon is enough to make them think they know something about the subject.

[Baruch]

So is this just class warfare ... the educated against the unwashed masses?  The unwashed masses have torn down the universities and burned the professors before.

If people are ignorant and stupid ... and a realist says that they are ... where do you fit in?  Are you an ubermensch?  If you are human, and humans are ignorant and stupid, spend time fixing your own ignorance and your own stupidity, rather than decrying the ignorance and stupidity of your neighbor.  Otherwise you are just another bourgeois to be tossed onto the funeral pyre of civilization.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTZZHPR5kEo

Misogyny and puritanism aren't new.  Trump isn't responsible.

[Munch]

I've not gotten a degree in my life and only attended college for a short amount of time. However I always consider myself open to learning stuff, believing in things being balanced and just accepting shit happens in this world and we do what we do to survive in it. I'm fairly certain there are loads of people who their who have formal and advanced education who aren't developed in certain social constructs, even those with higher education that never learn the simple fact of not being a cunt to people on the lower end of the spectrum.

I got raised by a mother who taught me a load of good moral ideals and didn't force on me anything she wanted, just letting me be myself. I use to believe in stuff like god, spirits, afterlife, magic and all that, but slowly I fell away from all that and that same mother of mine doesn't question it. I honestly believe upbringing and ideals of our piers give us more then any college or university, because we can learn a sea of information, but unless we know what to do with it, it doesn't go anywhere.

[widdershins]

So is this just class warfare ... the educated against the unwashed masses?  The unwashed masses have torn down the universities and burned the professors before.

If people are ignorant and stupid ... and a realist says that they are ... where do you fit in?  Are you an ubermensch?  If you are human, and humans are ignorant and stupid, spend time fixing your own ignorance and your own stupidity, rather than decrying the ignorance and stupidity of your neighbor.  Otherwise you are just another bourgeois to be tossed onto the funeral pyre of civilization.


Misogyny and puritanism aren't new.  Trump isn't responsible.

Sometimes you say the most profound, funny and sadly true things, all at the same time.

[Baruch]

Sometimes you say the most profound, funny and sadly true things, all at the same time.

My posting technique is like my photography (way back when).  If you post enough, or take enough photos, some of them are actually good ;-)  But after the fact, you have to appreciate the few good ones from the many "also rans".

[Sorginak]

Agnostics are fickle little people who think they are relying upon knowledge when all they are doing is sitting on a fence without making a proper decision.

I find that stating the obvious gets to the truth of the matter: there is no god. 

[Mike Cl]

Agnostics are fickle little people who think they are relying upon knowledge when all they are doing is sitting on a fence without making a proper decision.

I find that stating the obvious gets to the truth of the matter: there is no god.

I used to call myself an agnostic.  I did that because I said that one cannot prove god does not exist;can't prove a negative.  But I now think that the astounding lack of any evidence of any kind of the existence of any god is proof that none exist. I would love for a theist to come forward (well, hell, they can stay in the background if they wish) and prove me wrong.