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I think the "I'll believe only once you show me evidence" is preposterous and not the way I approach Atheism. You're misunderstanding what the very definition of faith means - "belief that is not based on proof." Evidence has no place in it. There is no evidence that will convince me to have faith in one particular God. That way of thinking is a misunderstanding of faith..
We are talking at cross purposes as I never mentioned faith at all. I am not saying that there is evidence that will make me have faith. I am talking about any evidence that lends credence to the idea there is a god AT ALL.
This is why I do not use the word atheist to describe myself unless I simply can not help it for some reason. I am just a person that says "If you come up with an idea, any idea at all, and that idea is ENTIRELY devoid of even a scrap of evidence... argument... data... OR reasons... to lend it any credence at all.... then I shall dismiss your idea entirely.... and resist its use and application in our halls of power, education and science".
GIVEN that there is no "argument, evidence, data, or reasons" on offer to even lend a modicum of credence to the idea there is a god at this time.... I dismiss the idea entirely.... and I resist people using it in politics, education and science.
Simple as.
This is not the same as me rejecting the possibility that at some point in the future some such evidence may present itself and I will be forced to re-evaluate my entire world view. In recognising that possibility I still recognise that it is highly unlikely that will happen.
None of that has anything to do with "faith" at all.
Am I the only Atheist that 100% believes there is no God, afterlife, etc etc? Rather than the:
A: We accept the possibility of a God, we just need proof to believe in it.
I'm more the:
B: Your belief in religion is only an emotional response based out of fear for this being all their is. Their is no God, afterlife, this is truly it.
I don't think "B" is an extremeually way of thinking,That's Atheism to me, not "I accept the possibility of, just show me proof..."
You just have to realize that (speaking for myself, anyway, and others that have so stated) that not declaring 100% positivity is simply being intellectually honest since not one of us can prove it.
In a casual conversation I would say the same as you.
Leaving the miniscule chance is more to avoid nitpicking
Last edited by old_cold; 06-21-2011 at 03:57 AM..
Reason: clarification
You just have to realize that (speaking for myself, anyway, and others that have so stated) that not declaring 100% positivity is simply being intellectually honest since not one of us can prove it.
In a casual conversation I would say the same as you.
Leaving the miniscule chance is more to avoid nitpicking
Am I the only Atheist that 100% believes there is no God, afterlife, etc etc?
No, there are now three of us
To say there is a possibility of a god in my mind, also means I have to say there is a likelihood of all of kinds of mythical creatures and weird and wonderful phenomenon. I will not apologise for refusing to intellectually sink to that level. God has been investigated for millenniums, we have the scientific wherewithal to discover this god. There is no evidence people...none...you are simply fudging your logic to even entertain the possibility.
Is there anything that could ever change the views you have now? Even the staunch anti-theist Christopher Hitchens admitted on 60 minutes that he wont say nthat there is nothing that could change his mind, but he has yet to see anything that could come close
It's important to always keep an open mind. If someone makes a claim to me that I think is ridiculous, for example Elvis still being alive, I'll probably roll my eyes, but I'll still hear them out if they claim to have proof. Think about where science would be if scientists were never willing to question what they know as fact. How would incorrect theories ever be revised? When it comes to God, I've waited over 30 years for someone to convince me that I'm wrong. So far, no one has so I think it's safe to say no one will. But that doesn't mean I won't hear someone out if they think they can prove it. Now contrast that with a lot of theists who are not only sure of their beliefs, but refuse to listen to anyone who can disprove them.
There is no evidence people...none...you are simply fudging your logic to even entertain the possibility.
I absolutely agree that there is no evidence. I disagree with your assertion that we are fudging our logic to even entertain the possibility.
It would be fudging the logic to declare there is zero possibility of something that cannot be proven that there is zero possibility of. There could be a god that is outside the universe that we have not been able to detect. Intellectual integrity demands that we acknowledge that is possible. How could we prove such a god does not exist? We can't; therefore it is possible.
There is a difference between possible and probable. A god existing is possible, but it is not probable (aka likely). In fact, it is so improbable, that I really, really don't think a god exists, and I live my life accordingly. But, rigid adherence to the rules of logic force me to admit that it is possible that a god might exist.
How exactly is god existing possible? is there something that makes you say that with reason, or is that just more of the "see how open minded and scientific I am?" game?
Everyone's prayers being answered would be a pretty good indication of a god.
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