Not faith nor belief
Posted on: October 12, 2008 - 11:50pm
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Not faith nor belief
I often see posts directed at those who hold beliefs or sometimes even to those that elevate it to the level of faith. However, what of those who hold a mere speculation that 'someone's running the show'? This is not a belief nor is it a faith that necessarily creates a motivation in their actions, just a hunch. Would any of you be concerned of someone holding such a postion? If so why?
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That hunch should not be used to build a belief system. You should first build a way of determining if that hunch is true, making a hypothesis. If it fails that hypothesis throw it away. If that hunch is currently untestable then don't build a belief system around it.
Sounds made up...
Agnostic Atheist
No, I am not angry at your imaginary friends or enemies.
If someone suspects something may be so, it's up to them to investigate and produce evidence, or at least a coherent hypothesis with some reality as a starting point. We get into trouble when belief no longer matches observation. Once this occurs, it can no longer be discussed, and becomes a battle of wills with ad hoc arguments at its center.
"I've yet to witness circumstance successfully manipulated through the babbling of ritualistic nonsense to an imaginary deity." -- me (josh)
If god can do anything, can he make a hot dog so big even he can't eat all of it?
Hello Star,
Welcome to RRS!
speculate (defintions):
1. Wiktionary:
A. to think, meditate or reflect on a suject.
B. to make an inference based on inconclusive evidence; to surmise.
C. to make a risky trade in the hope of making a profit.
( uhh, that's profit, not prophet.
)
2. Encarta:
A. to form a conjecture on the basis of incomplete facts or information.
B. to think over possibilities
C. to engage in financial transactions such as commodity trading that have an element of risk, especially in the short term, with the hope of making a profit.
3. Cambridge:
To guess possible answers to a question when you do not have enough information to be certain.
4. Merriam-Webster's:
A. to meditate on or ponder a subject.
B. to review something idly or casually and often inconclusively.
C. to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence.
So...... which definition are you desiring to employ ?
Xlint replies. Umm, as all is connected, we are what we think, which always influences our actions, individually and collectively.
Atheism Books.
Hypothesis, pfft. We don't need the government spending our tax money on such things. We should dedicate our lives to serving Christ. Christianity isn't a hunch, it is the Truth.
I'm an agnostic atheist who thinks you should love your neughbour.
Are you really that stupid or are you parodying Christians?
I am a True Christian and has been all my life. Your insults do nothing to help you.
I'm an agnostic atheist who thinks you should love your neughbour.
All your life eh. So you were born a True Christian? How fortunate that god decided to endow you with this special knowledge right from birth, while allowing billions to be born without it and consequently burn in hell right. If you had been born in a muslim or hindu country you would still be a True Christian? Is it not possible your True Christianity is a product of merely geography and external influences?
Actually, this guy convinces me. I love the way you capitilise the "True", like it's a Presidental position or something
Psalm 14:1 "the fool hath said in his heart there is a God"-From a 1763 misprinted edition of the bible
Argument from Sadism: Theist presents argument in a wall of text with no punctuation and wrong spelling. Atheist cannot read and is forced to concede.
It is paramount to capitalize "God", "Jesus", "Truth" and "Honesty", because it shows Proper Respect to it.
I'm an agnostic atheist who thinks you should love your neughbour.
BigUniverse wrote,
"Well the things that happen less often are more likely to be the result of the supper natural. A thing like loosing my keys in the morning is not likely supper natural, but finding a thousand dollars or meeting a celebrity might be."
Maybe that would be an idea - Capitalize words if and only if it's something you respect. Of course then typos could lead to fights or people thinking for some strange reason you respect the word And. Hmmm...
george w bush
christianity
fred phelps
Rational Thinking
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
It's because Germans show true appreciation of actual physical matter, and not abstract "verbs" and "adjectives" that scientists conjure.
I'm an agnostic atheist who thinks you should love your neughbour.
BigUniverse wrote,
"Well the things that happen less often are more likely to be the result of the supper natural. A thing like loosing my keys in the morning is not likely supper natural, but finding a thousand dollars or meeting a celebrity might be."
In Christianity, no nouns are abstract!
I'm an agnostic atheist who thinks you should love your neughbour.
LTN is either a parody, completely barking mad or mentally retarded.
No, Matt, he's just a troll. I'll give him no more attention.
You've run out of arguments. This will be an example to all atheists how superior Christian reasoning is.
I'm an agnostic atheist who thinks you should love your neughbour.
You're starting to sound............sarcastic.
No, that can't be right. I'm extremely good at spotting satire. (really) If you were a good satirist, I would have noticed after the first two posts. On the other hand, I can't fathom that you're really that stupid.
god jesus holy ghost yahweh good christmas mary moses john the baptist bible savior messiah heavenly father lord easter cross
Oh, look, I'm not capitalizing. What are you going to do about it?
Clams Scallops Lobsters Crabs Oysters Shrimp Calamari
Instead, I capitalized Evil things. Muhuhahahahaha.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
Hi LoveThyNeighbor , it's me jesus, me god ... so fuck you idol worshiper separatists, get behind me satan, as I told caring bible peter ....
Yes, it is true, I am the eternal .... just as you, who doesn't get it yet. Try science. Understand simple thermodynamics. That is what we are, as I tried to tell the ancients, who tried to kill me .... but you see?, here I am again , me Jesus in your face, as I am truth, as you are exactly as I AM ... as all is ONE.
You are just confused, as the devil of wrong thinking is in your ear. Please do your 40 days alone with your devil, and good luck, to awaking to what you are, as you are GOD .... I did not invent this ride, I am just what I am, eternal , of no beginning, no end, just as you. We are god realizing it self.
Atheism Books.
Wow. Just... wow.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
Yeah "WOW" ... Shit. Understanding thermodynamics is to the end of god of abe creationism type thinking. Thermodynamics is today's gospel. The math, of the "Sum One" .... Science is the best .... Religion says make believe, and even science explains make believe thinking! Amen to science.
Atheism Books.
Is it possible I'm so jaded by the christians around here this guy doesn't even get a reaction from me? Seriously, though, he sounds more like an atheist jerking our chain than most christians I've heard.
Anyway, show me something proper about your 'proper' nouns, and I'll capitilize them.
Psalm 14:1 "the fool hath said in his heart there is a God"-From a 1763 misprinted edition of the bible
Argument from Sadism: Theist presents argument in a wall of text with no punctuation and wrong spelling. Atheist cannot read and is forced to concede.
Empirical testing of Poe's Law in progress.
There are no theists on operating tables.
I would have thought using those words accurately would be the best way to show respect, rather than using them for the opposite of what they mean as you have done numerous times on this website.
It reminds me of a line by Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. "You keep on using that word, but I do not believe it means what you think it means".
Organised religion is the ultimate form of blasphemy.
Censored and blacked out for internet access in ANZ!
AU: http://nocleanfeed.com/ | NZ: http://nzblackout.org/
I'll take Faith over godless science any time of the week.
I'm an agnostic atheist who thinks you should love your neughbour.
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LoveThyNeighbour are you a poor relation of Edward Current by any chance?
http://uk.youtube.com/user/EdwardCurrent
Edit - I've no idea what just happened to that post! Maybe God did it...
Well, I don't think he's just stupid. Really, to be this stupid, I find it hard to believe he could figure out how a keyboard works. No, I say he's totally bat shit crazy.
OP:
Having silly superstitious beleifs is a denial of reality. Speculate all day long but the moment you just accept a belief without any reasonable explanation you have moved over to the "I deny reality" side.
The fact that you have deluded yourself into believing things that are clearly make believe is bad enough. One of the great tragedies that I see is that this silly belief is somehow untouchable. If you believe in something rediculous you will be ridiculed and called out for the absurdity of your claim.... unless it can be considered a religious belief...a spiritual belief. At that point all bets are off and the idiotic claims can no longer be refuted.
It's amazing how normal it is for a person holding rediculous god beliefs to get their feelings hurt. I mean, their pussies must be *really* tender by now. Everytime someone says "well that's just stupid" you fall down and start crying that you are being oppressed. Get in the game and defend your belief systems like EVERYONE ELSE does.
Poe! Poe!
This is so fuckin' poe. It's the only rational explanation.
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
Star_Dust,
Intuition is not a way of knowing the truth of reality. Your hunches and suspicions many make the world seem a friendlier place to you, but really, that's all they are: hunches and suspicions.
I wouldn't be concerned with anyone having a hunch or a feeling that there's "someone running the show." Concern only comes in when that hunch is treated as if it were rationally true. A misunderstanding of the nature of the universe can prove dangerous to yourself and others. Witness the number of people who are willing to commit suicide by slamming planes into buildings or bundling themselves up in dynamite vests, or are willing to kill abortion doctors or homosexuals -- all in the name of their own hunch.
Basically, as long as your feeling or hunch doesn't interfere with rational thinking, there's nothing wrong.
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
I'm sorry, but could you please explain to me what a "Poe" is? It doesn't sound very friendly.
I'm an agnostic atheist who thinks you should love your neughbour.
Poe's Law: http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Poe%27s_Law
As through a glass darkly you seek yourself,
But the light grows weak while under Yggdrasil. --clutch
Dammit, nigel, you did beat me to the punch! My only comeback is that I didn't read this thread today, and I didn't get to read the bit about taking faith over reason any day. That's just too over the top. Oh, yeah, and I was busy doing in depth internet research trying to find our cheeky neighbor.
Anyway, good work.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
I have to admit, yours was better, as you provided evidence to back up your claim. Me, I was just making a claim on a feeling. A hunch, if you will.
So, although I'll admit you win under duress, I will still gloat.
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
Your avatar is......................
I think I'll go shoot myself now.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare