Jump to content

Professor_Physika

Members
  • Posts

    50
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Professor_Physika


  1. Hi all,

    This post is going out to every forum I have commented on. I have come to the conclusion that my presence is most likely unwanted and unappreciated. I came to this forum under the pretenses that I would be able to enjoy serious discussions concerning theological issues rather than simply being told that my motives are suspect, I am a liar, I am filth, etc etc.

    I hold no ill will towards anyone here and understand that these are your sincerely held beliefs. Unfortunately, the negative reception I have received makes me all the more reserved in my thoughts about being honest with those who don't know my beliefs.

    I hope my presence has not caused any undue secession amongst your ranks and I now respectively depart from this site. I will attempt to delete my account, although a moderator may be required to do that. If this is the case, I ask that it be done.

    Good day to all and thank you for the answers I've received.


  2. Hi all,

    This post is going out to every forum I have commented on. I have come to the conclusion that my presence is most likely unwanted and unappreciated. I came to this forum under the pretenses that I would be able to enjoy serious discussions concerning theological issues rather than simply being told that my motives are suspect, I am a liar, I am filth, etc etc.

    I hold no ill will towards anyone here and understand that these are your sincerely held beliefs. Unfortunately, the negative reception I have received makes me all the more reserved in my thoughts about being honest with those who don't know my beliefs.

    I hope my presence has not caused any undue secession amongst your ranks and I now respectively depart from this site. I will attempt to delete my account, although a moderator may be required to do that. If this is the case, I ask that it be done.

    Good day to all and thank you for the answers I've received.


  3. Hi all,

    This post is going out to every forum I have commented on. I have come to the conclusion that my presence is most likely unwanted and unappreciated. I came to this forum under the pretenses that I would be able to enjoy serious discussions concerning theological issues rather than simply being told that my motives are suspect, I am a liar, I am filth, etc etc.

    I hold no ill will towards anyone here and understand that these are your sincerely held beliefs. Unfortunately, the negative reception I have received makes me all the more reserved in my thoughts about being honest with those who don't know my beliefs.

    I hope my presence has not caused any undue secession amongst your ranks and I now respectively depart from this site. I will attempt to delete my account, although a moderator may be required to do that. If this is the case, I ask that it be done.

    Good day to all and thank you for the answers I've received.


  4. Hi all,

    This post is going out to every forum I have commented on. I have come to the conclusion that my presence is most likely unwanted and unappreciated. I came to this forum under the pretenses that I would be able to enjoy serious discussions concerning theological issues rather than simply being told that my motives are suspect, I am a liar, I am filth, etc etc.

    I hold no ill will towards anyone here and understand that these are your sincerely held beliefs. Unfortunately, the negative reception I have received makes me all the more reserved in my thoughts about being honest with those who don't know my beliefs.

    I hope my presence has not caused any undue secession amongst your ranks and I now respectively depart from this site. I will attempt to delete my account, although a moderator may be required to do that. If this is the case, I ask that it be done.

    Good day to all and thank you for the answers I've received.

  5. Hi all,

    This post is going out to every forum I have commented on. I have come to the conclusion that my presence is most likely unwanted and unappreciated. I came to this forum under the pretenses that I would be able to enjoy serious discussions concerning theological issues rather than simply being told that my motives are suspect, I am a liar, I am filth, etc etc.

    I hold no ill will towards anyone here and understand that these are your sincerely held beliefs. Unfortunately, the negative reception I have received makes me all the more reserved in my thoughts about being honest with those who don't know my beliefs.

    I hope my presence has not caused any undue secession amongst your ranks and I now respectively depart from this site. I will attempt to delete my account, although a moderator may be required to do that. If this is the case, I ask that it be done.

    Good day to all and thank you for the answers I've received.

  6. Hi John81,

    No, I assure you, the burden of proof is on the one making the claim. To be clear, the Bible is the claim, not the proof of the claim. As a skeptic, I question the value of what the Bible has to say.

    But you've here made a positive claim, namely that God provides me with abundant evidence of His existence. I am unaware of said evidence so perhaps it would be more conducive to discussion if you could point me in the right way.

    Thanks :) 

  7. Hi No Nicolaitans,

    As mentioned, I have a dedicated thread evolution if you wish to discuss. I know you state you don't wish to have any discussions, but I do believe that's what we're engaging in at the present. However, I would like to stick to the purpose of this thread, namely the syllogism I laid out and the issues therein.

    Thanks :) 

  8. Hi John81,

    Yes I agree: either I believe or I don't. My position is I don't believe, not I believe there isn't- but we've already had this discussion.

    But, again, you won't convince me through unfounded assertions. As a skeptic, I expect that claims such as you've laid out actually be substantiated before I accept them as truth.

    Thanks

  9. Hi John81,

    I willingly admit I reject belief in God. I'm not sure how I haven't "faced up to this", I've been quite direct in my lack of belief. Furthermore, I don't see the evidence that accepting God would give me any sort of salvation anyway.

    If you wish to convince me that I require salvation and that belief in your god is the only way to that salvation, you have to actually provide a case for the existence of said god.

    Thanks

  10. Hi No Nicolaitans! 

    I believe I should clarify my position on evolution for this to be a fruitful discussion: I accept that the majority of scientists in the relevant fields accept that the theory evolution is the best current example for explaining the present biodiversity on the planet.

    This is simply a factual statement given the influence the theory has in the relevant scientific fields. As for evidence I have directly observed or research I have conducted for myself, I have none (besides the adaptation we see when our pesticide is, at first, very successful and then less so as the immune generations thrive).

    However, is this faith? Or is it at least faith to the point of what you seem to be implying? The evidence I have read about (which is how most science is communicated) has also convinced me as to the theory's validity (although my opinion is of little importance to scientists until I'm actually one myself). Furthermore, if you want to argue that accepting this evidence from a second-hand source is faith, then fine, but I argue that it is distinct from the faith you seem to imply it is. The evidence could of course be incorrect due to the majority of scientists being either inept or biased (it's happened), but that's why I "accept" science tentatively and with the knowledge that it might change.

    To take you example even further, I have never observed Pluto directly. Yet we supposedly have pictures of it, research on it, books about it, and so on. So I'm forced to either accept that scientists are under a grave misapprehension or there is a massive conspiracy to shield the truth from the public. I think we can confidently say that Pluto exists though and if you wish to label this "faith", then fine, be my guest, then I have faith. But most Christians seem to think they have actual justification for believing in their god and that is what I'm here to investigate.

    If you'd like to discuss evolution, I have a dedicated topic called "Opinions About Evolution?". Thanks :) 

  11. why don't you answer them first? :)

    Hi Miss Daisy!

    I'd be happy to provide my opinions on the questions I've laid out, although my purpose here is mainly to understand what others believe and why.

    1) Is atheism a religion?

    I would say no. As for why, my answer can be justified by the following two questions.

    2) What is the definition of atheism?

    Oxford Dictionary defines atheism as the following (I agree with this definition):
    "atheism
    [ ˈāTHēˌizəm ] 
    NOUN
    disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.
    synonyms: nonbelief · disbelief ·"

    3) What is the definition of religion?

    The same dictionary defines religion as such (I, too, agree with this definition):
    "religion
    [ riˈlijən ] 
    NOUN
    the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods:
    "ideas about the relationship between science and religion"
    synonyms: faith · belief ·"

    4) How did you reach your conclusions?

    So I reach my conclusion that atheism is not a religion because nothing in atheism commands that an atheist believe in or worship "a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods" (the latter part is particularly antithetical to atheism as the two are in blatant contradiction). Furthermore, atheism is the single position on a single subject, meaning atheism, by definition, cannot lead one to any religious belief of any kind. Atheists may be religious in some way, but nothing about atheism necessitates that these two be tied together. To clarify, to say that atheism causes atheists to be religious, a cause must, by definition, be necessary and sufficient. Atheism is compatible with certain religious philosophies (some forms of Buddhism for example), but nothing, as said, necessitates an atheist to be religious.

    Thanks :) 

  12. Hi Miss Daisy,

    As stated repeatedly, I'm not trying to disprove anyone's gods. It can't be done as I've also said repeatedly and which you quoted me on. However, as for my lack of focus on other gods, this can be obviously explained by being on a website dedicated to the Christian god. Therefore this would likely be an inappropriate venue for discussion of, say, Quetzalcoatl, Zeus, Ra, or Buddha.

    To answer your question, I have inquired to God to reveal Himself to me repeatedly in church and in the privacy of my own home. Unfortunately I was not granted an answer as far as I can tell.

    I can only guess at what the term "True Christians" means, but I can say I attend a Baptist church and my family is Southern Baptist. Some of my friends are Christian as well, although their denominations have more variance to them.

  13. Hi LindaR!

    While I'm certainly willing to accept that you believe God describes atheists as fools and that this may even be their defining characteristic, surely you agree that this is not the definition of atheism.

    To illustrate, not all fools are atheists (although you would argue that all atheists are fools). Because of these discrepancies in description, logic necessitates that there be some other defining characteristics for what we call atheists and atheism. Unless, of course, you do believe all fools are atheists.

    Thanks   

  14. Hi Miss Daisy!

    I love your enthusiasm, but you have to understand the issue isn't nearly as simple as that for me as a skeptic. I can't disprove any gods, so should I accept them all as well? Perhaps you'd argue yes, but many of these gods are contradictory of each other which would throw me in a logical mess.

    To better explain my position, I can't prove that the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist. Does this then mean I should be advocating for the Tooth Fairy's existence and defending her against dissenters? Of course not! I don't accept that the Tooth Fairy exists due to a lack of evidence, but I also don't advocate that she doesn't exist in light of the same lack of evidence because I understand that the general rule of thumb "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" holds up (there are cases that can be made for discrepancies, but that's off topic). This is directly analogous to my non belief in the Christian god.

    But thanks for the comment :) 

  15. Hi all :) 

    I would like to know your opinions on atheism being defined as a religion. Some questions to discuss:

    1) Is atheism a religion?

    2) What is the definition of atheism?

    3) What is the definition of religion?

    4) How did you reach your conclusions?

    Thanks :) 

  16. Hi Saintnow,

    Thank you for accepting my offering concerning moving our past discussion to a more appropriate venue.

    Please take the time to answer some of the questions I've laid out in the original post. Your efforts will be appreciated. 

    Thanks 

  17. John81,

    Again, you mischaracterize my position. There are fundamental differences in the statements "I believe there is no God" and "I don't believe there is a God". This difference can be more clearly seen in my position: I lack belief in a god or gods.

    Lack of belief is not the same as actively believing in the converse position, this is Logic 101. In particular, as mentioned, it shifts the burden of proof towards the one making the positive claim, in this case being you. If my position was as you stated, I would have to actively disprove God which I can't do.

    Thanks for listening 

  18. Hi John81,

    I take issue with the characterization of my position as declaring there is no God. Rather, I simply lack a belief in said god and all others for that matter. This may appear to be arguing semantics, but it does make a difference in terms of where the burden of proof lies etc etc

    I'm willing to consider the validity of the Gospel. However, this requires me to have evidence that what they say is true, how it's determined to be true, are the claims falsifiable, is there a God, and so on and so forth. Perhaps I'm being unnecessarily complicated, but I do believe I am exercising due skepticism in my investigations into Christianity and other religions.

    Thanks for the comment 

  19. Hi Saintnow,

    You do certainly seem to be spending a lot of time discussing atheism for someone not interested in atheism, but that's just my opinion ;) 

    Perhaps we can take this conversation to the previously mentioned dedicated topic so you can explain to me how atheism qualifies as a religion, as I believe we may have overstayed our welcome in this particular thread.

    Your choice of course, thanks :) 

  20. Hi John81,

    Sure, I'm willing to consider that the Gospel holds some weight. In fact, for those who have countered my syllogism with excerpts from the Bible, I argue that this merely shows logical inconsistencies in the book.

    What I've gathered, essentially, is that yes, my syllogism is valid, but God also makes it clear that we have free will, so God defies logic. Is this a fair summarization?

    Thanks 

     

  21. Hi Rosie!

    "doesn't an atheist have to believe in God not to believe in Him"

    Of course I would have to say no, but Saintnow seems to have a different opinion as do some others on this site. If you wish to have more questions answered about opinions on atheists, I have started a dedicated thread in The Lounge called "Opinions On Atheists?" if you'd like to check it out.

    Thanks :) 

     

  22. Hi LindaR!

    The Online Etymology Dictionary describes the etymological history of the word universe as:

    "universe (n.) 
    1580s, "the whole world, cosmos, the totality of existing things," from Old French univers (12c.), from Latin universum "all things, everybody, all people, the whole world," noun use of neuter of adjective universus "all together, all in one, whole, entire, relating to all," literally "turned into one," from unus "one" (see one) + versus, past participle of vertere "to turn" (see versus)."

    But regardless of the etymology of the word "universe", this seems to be little more than an unsubstantiated semantic trick. Obviously the term "universe" no longer refers to this "spoken verse" premise and refers to the totality of space, time, matter, energy, etc. However, if me stating I believe in the universe is still an issue, I will amend my earlier statement and say I believe in the cosmos (just a synonym of universe without the apparent baggage).

    Thanks :)

     

  • Member Statistics

    6,088
    Total Members
    2,124
    Most Online
    shlomo
    Newest Member
    shlomo
    Joined
×
×
  • Create New...