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I claim that many atheists if shown incontrovertible proof that God exists would rearrange their entire belief system simply to preserve their non-rational priv

by Kaizyn 18y ago

I claim that many atheists if shown incontrovertible proof that God exists would rearrange their entire belief system simply to preserve their non-rational privileged belief that God does not exist and there is nothing after death. This is not a religious vs. non-religious issue. Many people are not comfortable accepting every fact they are faced with. You will however find that the reasonable people in both camps do believe in looking at the facts honestly and drawing conclusions from those facts where appropriately. However, rational people of any stripe are rather hard to come by.

philwelch 18y ago
"I claim that many atheists if shown incontrovertible proof that God exists would rearrange their entire belief system simply to preserve their non-rational privileged belief that God does not exist and there is nothing after death." Maybe, but they would be hypocrites for doing so--most atheists will tell you they don't believe in God because there's no evidence for God, whereas most people of faith don't care about evidence at all. That's what I meant by "People of faith can be better empiricists than the demands of faith allow them to be, just as empiricists can be more dogmatic than the demands of empiricism allow them to be."
- Kaizyn 18y ago
  You're mistaken, people of faith care just as much about evidence as secularists. Any respectable belief system, and Christianity is one of them, encourages you to look at the facts and decide for yourself. Asking hard questions and being skeptical is a healthy thing. Because of their implications for how one lives one's life, truth claims about religion especially should be examined.
  - philwelch 18y ago
    This doesn't sound like any Christianity I'm familiar with, and I was raised in it. In fact, to me this sounds a lot like someone is overconfident in their apologetics. Every knowledgeable Christian I've discussed this with ultimately conceded there was a need for faith of the epistemic type, and no room for skepticism.
  - oz 18y ago
    "Because of their implications for how one lives one's life, truth claims about religion especially should be examined." Absolutely. "Any respectable belief system, and Christianity is one of them, encourages you to look at the facts and decide for yourself." I disagree. I grew up in church-my father is a pastor, after all. I don't remember anyone being encouraged to look at the facts. You were to believe it because the Bible says it, and disregard what "those intellectuals" and the 'secular humanists" had to say. I'm in Jamaica, but its quite similar to the fundamentalists in America. And let's be honest: most people don't 'come to faith' because they are convinced of it's truth.

by Kaizyn 18y ago

philwelch 18y ago

"I claim that many atheists if shown incontrovertible proof that God exists would rearrange their entire belief system simply to preserve their non-rational privileged belief that God does not exist and there is nothing after death." Maybe, but they would be hypocrites for doing so--most atheists will tell you they don't believe in God because there's no evidence for God, whereas most people of faith don't care about evidence at all. That's what I meant by "People of faith can be better empiricists than the demands of faith allow them to be, just as empiricists can be more dogmatic than the demands of empiricism allow them to be."

Kaizyn 18y ago
You're mistaken, people of faith care just as much about evidence as secularists. Any respectable belief system, and Christianity is one of them, encourages you to look at the facts and decide for yourself. Asking hard questions and being skeptical is a healthy thing. Because of their implications for how one lives one's life, truth claims about religion especially should be examined.
- philwelch 18y ago
  This doesn't sound like any Christianity I'm familiar with, and I was raised in it. In fact, to me this sounds a lot like someone is overconfident in their apologetics. Every knowledgeable Christian I've discussed this with ultimately conceded there was a need for faith of the epistemic type, and no room for skepticism.
- oz 18y ago
  "Because of their implications for how one lives one's life, truth claims about religion especially should be examined." Absolutely. "Any respectable belief system, and Christianity is one of them, encourages you to look at the facts and decide for yourself." I disagree. I grew up in church-my father is a pastor, after all. I don't remember anyone being encouraged to look at the facts. You were to believe it because the Bible says it, and disregard what "those intellectuals" and the 'secular humanists" had to say. I'm in Jamaica, but its quite similar to the fundamentalists in America. And let's be honest: most people don't 'come to faith' because they are convinced of it's truth.