So are you an atheist or not? You wrote to me previously:"An atheist may believe in aliens, ghosts, spirits, the soul - just not gods." You certainly come across more as an agnostic.Blob wrote: I claim no such thing.
No and yes. But before you can make that hypothesis sensible, you have to be able to define the terms. Define life, for example. And what is a monster?Let make a hypothesis: "A green monster lives on the Planet pluto"
Do you believe that?
Do you know for sure?
I am an atheist. I have no belief in god.August wrote:So are you an atheist or not? You wrote to me previously:"An atheist may believe in aliens, ghosts, spirits, the soul - just not gods." You certainly come across more as an agnostic.
You know for sure? Have you been there? Are you god?No and yes.Let make a hypothesis: "A green monster lives on the Planet pluto"
Do you believe that?
Do you know for sure?
Fair enough. Allow me to make a less vague hypothesis to avoid getting bogged down in definitional debates that detract from my intended point.But before you can make that hypothesis sensible, you have to be able to define the terms. Define life, for example. And what is a monster?
I'm well aware that our memories change and then disappear when the power is cut, but this doesn't actually address my question.Blob wrote:Our memories are like RAM not ROM. They change and then disappear when the power is cut. A corpse has no memories.Fortigurn wrote:I would love to know how we store our memories, and how our sense of self is preserved throughout this process.
Or perhaps it isn't. Perhaps this is part of the process by which our memories and characters change over the years.
Apologies, and you are right.Fortigurn wrote:I'm well aware that our memories change and then disappear when the power is cut, but this doesn't actually address my question.
Why is that not an absolute statement? "No belief" indicates literally zero, which is absolute, just like you have no belief that you are not a woman. Saying that you have no belief in a god is also making a knowledge claim, or how else can you arrive at your belief?Blob wrote: I am an atheist. I have no belief in god.
Unsure, because I have no basis by which to confirm whether the hypothesis is true or not. It is possible, yes, but I don't know for sure."There is a cube of pure gold of length 1cm on the planet Pluto."
Do you believe that?
Do you know for sure?
As long as you claim not to know the answers then you are correct.Kurieuo wrote:I have a lack of conviction regarding the no god claim, so maybe that also isn't a knowledge claim?Blob wrote:No. "I am an atheist" is a statement of lack of conviction regarding the god claims of others, not a knowledge claim.August wrote:Is atheism not an absolutist ideology too?
Kurieuo
I don't know, but I'm trying to find out.Blob wrote:Apologies, and you are right.Fortigurn wrote:I'm well aware that our memories change and then disappear when the power is cut, but this doesn't actually address my question.
Aren't our brains the exception to the 7 year turnover? I could be mistaken.
It is not an absolute claim because of the distinction between epistemology and ontology. There might be a god (ontological statement), but I don't believe it (epistemological statement). But I would never be so arrogant as to declare my humble opinion to be an absolutely true reality. Therefore my disbelief does not go so far as to exlcude the possibility that deities exist.August wrote:Why is that not an absolute statement?Blob wrote: I am an atheist. I have no belief in god.
That reminds me, I'm all out of lipgloss!"No belief" indicates literally zero, which is absolute, just like you have no belief that you are not a woman.
By not suspending disbelief. I do not believe in alien abduction stories either, although I do not know for sure. But, like god, claims of alien abduction are (fairly) common. So I ask myself: do I believe this? My answer is no, I do not believe it - that is my opinion. But I would never be so arrogant as to declare my humble opinion to be "absolute true reality".Saying that you have no belief in a god is also making a knowledge claim, or how else can you arrive at your belief?
That is a false dichotomy. My atheism is neither absolute nor an idealogy (being a mere lack of belief about something).Does it then follow that atheism falls like every other absolutist ideology, or do you define atheism as non-absolute because it suits your purpose to do so?
My answers would be no and no. I don't believe there is a cube of pure gold of length 1cm on the planet Pluto for a second. It's an unsubstantiated and arbitrary hypothesis. But I acknowledge my lack of belief is epistemological not ontological - I could be wrong.Unsure, because I have no basis by which to confirm whether the hypothesis is true or not. It is possible, yes, but I don't know for sure."There is a cube of pure gold of length 1cm on the planet Pluto."
Do you believe that?
Do you know for sure?
The contradictory and illogical nature of the Christian god; the problem of suffering; the gruesome and incoherent content of the bible; the horrors of Christian nations past; the lack of correlation between "goodness" and "christianity" in practice in the world; Jesus' failure to show up again after 2000 years and counting; the historically specific nature of events and ideas in the bible; the similarity of Jesus and other biblical ideas to prior religions; the vagueness of claimed prophecies; the similarity of Christianity to all other religions many of which claim to be the only true one. And so on.AttentionKMartShoppers wrote:Blobby's world, how has "Christianity crumbled under scrutiny"
Blob, my CONCLUSION is that you DO NOT understand Christianity by those claims you make. There is TONS of information on the external evidence of things of the Bible that confirm the internal things. Oh, and I couldn't help to laugh at the fact you claim that Jesus has not returned 2000 years later. Since when ae you authority on when He returns? Do you read scripture that tells you what MUST take place before it happens? I assume not. Your claim could also be said why hasn't Jesus returned 100 years after he ascended.Blob wrote:The contradictory and illogical nature of the Christian god; the problem of suffering; the gruesome and incoherent content of the bible; the horrors of Christian nations past; the lack of correlation between "goodness" and "christianity" in practice in the world; Jesus' failure to show up again after 2000 years and counting; the historically specific nature of events and ideas in the bible; the similarity of Jesus and other biblical ideas to prior religions; the vagueness of claimed prophecies; the similarity of Christianity to all other religions many of which claim to be the only true one. And so on.AttentionKMartShoppers wrote:Blobby's world, how has "Christianity crumbled under scrutiny"
Atheism is no belief in God, none. Atheists say they know for a FACT that He doesn't exist, there is no way, none whatsoever (although I am strongly inclined to believe they know God exists, they just have rejected Him so much that they can't see it with their own two eyes). Your atheist statement is more of an agnostic statement. I believe ALL people have the spirit of God in them, it is just the persons decision to let it bear fruit or not, and if they don't, they still have it, but they allow that decision to land their fate. SorryBlob wrote:Theist: I believe in god. And I know I am right.
Atheist: I lack belief in god. But he might exist.
.I'd hope so. If every city and character in the bible was total fiction it would be strange.Thinker wrote:There is TONS of information on the external evidence of things of the Bible that confirm the internal things.
Matthew 24:34Oh, and I couldn't help to laugh at the fact you claim that Jesus has not returned 2000 years later. Since when ae you authority on when He returns? Do you read scripture that tells you what MUST take place before it happens?
I agree.Your claim could also be said why hasn't Jesus returned 100 years after he ascended.
I lack belief in god. And that an atheist makes. Call me an agnostic if you wish.This is a little off topic, but I do not believe you are an atheist from reading every single one of your posts although you like to keep claiming you are.
I find the arguments on Christian websites to be flawed and unconvincing. (Don't worry - god will get me in the afterlife for this. You need not feel annoyed by me.)All your "rebuttals" have already been answered logically on tons of Christian websites around the internet, although there may be different views from one another but ultimately are the same thing.
Please draw my attention to any questions directed personally to me that I have missed on these forums. I will happily address them.You like to shift around a lot and change things, and leave questions we ask unanswered.
Many atheists are like me. Not believing in god whilst acknowledging the possibility of being wrong.I don't expect you to reply to this, but you can, I just don't believe what you think you are, that's all.
Correct.Thinker wrote:Atheism is no belief in God, none.
Some might, but most I know do not. Including myself.Atheists say they know for a FACT that He doesn't exist, there is no way, none whatsoever
That is your incredulity that others can have different opinions to yourself. Don't worry, it is a symptom of youth and I was that way too once. Nothing wrong with it at all.(although I am strongly inclined to believe they know God exists, they just have rejected Him so much that they can't see it with their own two eyes).
Consider the hypothesis: "There is a Christian god".Your atheist statement is more of an agnostic statement.
It must be horrible to really believe that, Thinker. Like watching people run willingly into a burning building. Sorry for you.I believe ALL people have the spirit of God in them, it is just the persons decision to let it bear fruit or not, and if they don't, they still have it, but they allow that decision to land their fate. Sorry
Might I add I did NOT mention ALL cities and characters from the Bible have evidence, there are some parts that are of course symbolic for the reader to understand the underlying message. New evidence comes forth every once in a while.Blob wrote:I'd hope so. If every city and character in the bible was total fiction it would be strange.Thinker wrote:There is TONS of information on the external evidence of things of the Bible that confirm the internal things.
So that means the earth and the heavens (space) has already passed away, as in being completely destroyed?Blob wrote:Matthew 24:34Thinker wrote:Oh, and I couldn't help to laugh at the fact you claim that Jesus has not returned 2000 years later. Since when ae you authority on when He returns? Do you read scripture that tells you what MUST take place before it happens?
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Blob wrote:I agree.Thinker wrote:Your claim could also be said why hasn't Jesus returned 100 years after he ascended.
I do think you are an agnostic, you just seem to like to claim you are an atheist. You may lack belief, but is that lack complete?Blob wrote:I lack belief in god. And that an atheist makes. Call me an agnostic if you wish.Thinker wrote:This is a little off topic, but I do not believe you are an atheist from reading every single one of your posts although you like to keep claiming you are.
They are flawed and unconvincing because you don't want to see the truth in it? I do find them convincing, if they actually are truthful. I have done exhaustive research to help me find more truth to back up my pre-existing belief in God. Ever heard of the rather amusing God gene? Ever read the scripture on how all people know God exists even if they deny it? People have been on the quest of the working on the Bible just as other people have been on the quest for where we came from and how we came to be.Blob wrote:I find the arguments on Christian websites to be flawed and unconvincing. (Don't worry - god will get me in the afterlife for this. You need not feel annoyed by me.)Thinker wrote:All your "rebuttals" have already been answered logically on tons of Christian websites around the internet, although there may be different views from one another but ultimately are the same thing.
Anyone care to show him many unanswered questions?Blob wrote:Please draw my attention to any questions directed personally to me that I have missed on these forums. I will happily address them.Thinker wrote:You like to shift around a lot and change things, and leave questions we ask unanswered.
Atheists claim to know there is no God, that is their belief, it is not saying I don't believe in a God or gods but think that there might be one. They are completely opposite of believers.Blob wrote:Many atheists are like me. Not believing in god whilst acknowledging the possibility of being wrong.Thinker wrote:I don't expect you to reply to this, but you can, I just don't believe what you think you are, that's all.
