Today is National Ask an Atheist Day

[One Brow]

what I don't like is that most atheists have a narrow definition of what god could be! If you believe in cause and effect, god could simply be the original cause!! <-- popular deist idea!

Atheists often find themselves responding to a specific notion of a God/gods because the person with whom theyh are conversing have a specific notion they wish to discuss.

Yes, some God could be the original cause. however, the universe doesn't need an original cause, so such a god is superfluous.

 

[One Brow]

The only way that any event's historical causation does not lead to an infinite regress is that there is a first cause of everything which have been called God.

Modern physics requires the existence of random, uncaused events. In modern physics, one such event is sufficient to be the cause of our space-time continuum. No other first cause is needed.

 

[One Brow]

There are no good counterarguments against the cosmological or the fine tune argument.

You don't need a good counter-argument to a bad argument.

 

[One Brow]

In honor of atheist day, I did a bunch of religions stuff, and then a little extra for those that didn't get any today.
I read a few extra verses, found hidden meaning in all sorts of everyday things, and I said a few extra prayers for those that forgot to remember to say theirs.
I had some good conversations about Christ, and God, and how everything in this world points to them.

Awesome day.

Would do it again.

Thanks for sharing. It's always nice to be aware when people are spreading nonsense.

 

[One Brow]

atheists have no positive value called "respect", and no concept of "tolerance" towards disbelievers in their presumed "right way". You can't find one who will just laugh and say "who the hell really knows anything?" what you do have is pretending atheists who are loaded with christian values nevertheless, but don't want to recognize them as such.

Honestly, you're wrong in many ways here. You will never find me calling for people to be indoctrinated in atheism, or saying that I have some level of certainty that it's impossible to have. As for values, of course I share the same values as many Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc., because out values come from our human nature.

 

[One Brow]

I take the first position, but disagree with conclusion that's made. In my view, the impossibility of not knowing if there is a God or not doesn't rule it out, where atheism is ruling out the possibility of whether a god or divine being or whatever label you want to call it exists, or maybe at the very least leaning towards that view.

Like I don't believe in any God that has been presented to me, but at the same time I put the probability of that one existing at the same unknown percentage that any other possibility exists. Considering that the ultimate part of this is me not knowing in the first place, I never felt it was worth much of my time or effort to consider the probabilities in the first place, other than that I refuse to rule anything out no matter how nutty it seems to me. On the flip side I refuse to rule anything in, so to speak.

Or to put it another way, if some force came down and had the truth and stated it for the world to hear (whether the Judea/Christian/Muslim God exists, whether multiple Gods exist, whether a different God exists, whether a God nobody has ever heard of exists, whether some spiritual otherworldly force exists, or whether no God exists) none of those results would shock me.

I agree with all of that. While I will point out the standard definition of atheist is the lack of belief you say describes you, I will not try to pin the label on you. For many people, it doesn't feel right, and I have no need to force it.

 

[One Brow]

This statement that you can't prove a negative is simply not true.

He was wrong about the first example. You can't prove there is no extant Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I agree that if you claim God is a member of a the Senate, or that God is self-contradictory, you can prove God does not exist. However, I don't think you make those claims for God.

 

[Gameface]

Most theists have a specific notion of what God is. If you live your life according to any set of scriptures you certainly believe that there is a real good chance that God is what your scriptures tell you God is. You can't have it both ways and say that God could just be the original prime mover so atheism is invalid. If you belive in specific claims made in your scriptures as to the nature of God then that is what God you are professing to believe in, not just some unknown supernatural force.

I live on planet Earth in the year 2013 on the North American continent in the Nation of the Unites States. I don't live at the beginning of time. I am surrounded by people with a very specific notion of what God is and more importantly they also believe they know what God wants..., they even know what God wants of ME! Most of these people are kind and gentle and at most just want to let me know that God exists and that He loves me and that He has a plan for my life. However, many feel that the legal system should reflect their notion of what God wants all of us to do and how He wants us all to live.

There is a difference between saying "I believe there is something out there greater than ourselves" and saying "I'm a Christian" or "I'm a Muslim."

I could call myself an agnostic, it wouldn't be inaccurate, but I don't believe in supernatural forces of any kind. I have never seen or heard of a supernatural occurrence of any kind. I believe that reality exists and that all existence is real. Since any God is by definition supernatural I feel perfectly comfortable calling myself an atheist.

 

[Gameface]

The way I see my atheism is not as a declaration that I know God does not exist. I start from the beginning with a blank slate. I have no notion of God. Going from that point the notion of God is introduced. I say, "This claim that God exists is extraordinary! I would like to see what reasons there are to believe that this is true." And that's where I'm at, waiting to see what reasons there are to believe that it is true. That, to me, is a state of atheism. I do not yet believe for lack of any substantive argument in favor of a positive claim that God exists.

 

[One Brow]

I agree with all of that. While I will point out the standard definition of atheist is the lack of belief you say describes you, I will not try to pin the label on you. For many people, it doesn't feel right, and I have no need to force it.

Ophelia Benson on adopting labels:

I think that observation about “well-adjusted people” is brilliant. I think it’s true. It takes a certain…something, a willingness to alienate oneself, a willingness to be a little bit peculiar or off-kilter or pugnacious, to be at odds with things. That doesn’t appeal to everyone. One of our biggest tasks in life is just figuring things out so that we get along, we don’t make big stupid embarrassing mistakes all the time, we’re not always wrong and clumsy. Maybe we’re all four years old at heart, helpless, lost in a sea of people, having no clue about when you’re supposed to drink your orange juice and when you’re supposed to sit down and color. We like sussing it all out and doing a good job. We like succeeding at appearing normal.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/butter...hat-well-adjusted-people-instinctively-avoid/

Spoken about the label "feminist", but applies equally well to "atheist".

 

[moevillini]

One Brow, isn't your day over?

 

[Gameface]

One Brow, isn't your day over?

Cold.

 

[One Brow]

One Brow, isn't your day over?

Technically, the day to ask questions is over. Nothing says I was supposed to answer on the same day.

 

[moevillini]

Oh, so we really shouldn't be asking questions anymore. But you can still answer. Got it!

We'll just have to phrase all our questions in the form of an answer then. Sort of like the Anti-Jeopardy!

 

[Jazz Spazz]

Thanks for sharing. It's always nice to be aware when people are spreading nonsense.

Which is why I'm notified every time you post, it's called a nonsense alert.

 

[babe]

Atheists often find themselves responding to a specific notion of a God/gods because the person with whom theyh are conversing have a specific notion they wish to discuss.

Yes, some God could be the original cause. however, the universe doesn't need an original cause, so such a god is superfluous.

The most basic Christian concept since Constantine and the Holy Trinity attempted to rationalize the Christian God with Genesis creation would claim God is the original cause.

 

[babe]

Honestly, you're wrong in many ways here. You will never find me calling for people to be indoctrinated in atheism, or saying that I have some level of certainty that it's impossible to have. As for values, of course I share the same values as many Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc., because out values come from our human nature.

well at least you didn't resort to the Straw One Brow observation. . . . so where does human nature come from????

 

[babe]

He was wrong about the first example. You can't prove there is no extant Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I agree that if you claim God is a member of a the Senate, or that God is self-contradictory, you can prove God does not exist. However, I don't think you make those claims for God.

I agree with the logic here as stated.

 

[One Brow]

Which is why I'm notified every time you post, it's called a nonsense alert.

Happy to be of service.

 

[One Brow]

The most basic Christian concept since Constantine and the Holy Trinity attempted to rationalize the Christian God with Genesis creation would claim God is the original cause.

I agree, and thanks for playing anti-Jeopardy.

However it's rationalized, it not necessary.