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Wolpert is an atheist, but he says he isn't trying to convert anyone to atheism. If so, he may be the only person on the planet who is willing to share his deep

by Herring 18y ago

Wolpert is an atheist, but he says he isn't trying to convert anyone to atheism. If so, he may be the only person on the planet who is willing to share his deeply held beliefs without caring whether he can convince anyone to believe the same way. Atheism is a "deeply held belief" now? Learn something new every day..

litewulf 18y ago
As a Christian, let me just say I have met very ardent atheists... Atheists can preach just as much as any other religion. Perhaps you are confusing the belief in NO god with simple indifference towards religion?
- Herring 18y ago
  And I've met some very ardent math professors. Passion doesn't turn you into a believer. There are layers of irony here.
  - Herring 18y ago
    Additionally, claiming X doesn't exist and not being able to prove it doesn't make you religious. Common counterexamples being X = invisible pink unicorns or spaghetti monsters. It's a surprisingly simple concept, considering how few people get it. I wonder whether there's a more effective way to communicate it.
    - run4yourlives 18y ago
      The issue though is that because a notion of god as existed as long as we have, writing it off as pink unicorns or spaghetti monsters belittle's it to a meaningless degree; it's a weak counter. There is clearly something very human in a god belief. To suggest that this type of belief is simply a meaningless may in fact be correct, but it leaves a big part of the equation blank. It's like answering math questions without showing your work. I think that's what reasonable people have issues with.
      - Herring 18y ago
        To be precise, I wasn't suggesting anything. I was arguing that those reasons for labeling atheism a belief are wrong. To answer your post, I think the lack of evidence for all religions is a perfectly good counter. I think it shouldn't matter how long some idea has been around, or whether it appeals to our innate human instincts. But clearly both matter to a lot of people. As I'm not one of those people, I have no idea how to address this need.

by Herring 18y ago

litewulf 18y ago

As a Christian, let me just say I have met very ardent atheists... Atheists can preach just as much as any other religion. Perhaps you are confusing the belief in NO god with simple indifference towards religion?

Herring 18y ago
And I've met some very ardent math professors. Passion doesn't turn you into a believer. There are layers of irony here.
- Herring 18y ago
  Additionally, claiming X doesn't exist and not being able to prove it doesn't make you religious. Common counterexamples being X = invisible pink unicorns or spaghetti monsters. It's a surprisingly simple concept, considering how few people get it. I wonder whether there's a more effective way to communicate it.
  - run4yourlives 18y ago
    The issue though is that because a notion of god as existed as long as we have, writing it off as pink unicorns or spaghetti monsters belittle's it to a meaningless degree; it's a weak counter. There is clearly something very human in a god belief. To suggest that this type of belief is simply a meaningless may in fact be correct, but it leaves a big part of the equation blank. It's like answering math questions without showing your work. I think that's what reasonable people have issues with.
    - Herring 18y ago
      To be precise, I wasn't suggesting anything. I was arguing that those reasons for labeling atheism a belief are wrong. To answer your post, I think the lack of evidence for all religions is a perfectly good counter. I think it shouldn't matter how long some idea has been around, or whether it appeals to our innate human instincts. But clearly both matter to a lot of people. As I'm not one of those people, I have no idea how to address this need.