God Help Me.

[Tamas]

Slarg said "evil" is just a name for things we dont understand.

No. God(s) is the name for things we dont understand.

As science moved onward, it always reduced the reign of religion. Thunders, earthquakes, shape of the world, Earth's position in it, evolution, etc.

So, "God" "Gods" "magic" was always the stuff we couldn't figure out.

I have zero reason to believe that we have reached the peak, ie. we know everything there is to know about the world and any other gray area is God. That is the exact same position as people had when they thought a lightning storm was domestic violence up on Mount Olympos.

So since you've ruled out the use of Snow and Sleet as different descriptors for "frozen H20" I guess we need to come up with an entirely new way to describe the weather, huh? 

"snow" is a definitive state of frozen water. "God" is the definitive state of "stuff I dont know shit about".

And science is just one aspect of it.

The other main aspect is the comfortable illusion of having control.

Most people are mightly afraid of the fact that most of their lives is well outside of their control.
You can see this in the myriad of superstitions, like knocking on wood. It feels like you actually did something.
And of course in religions. "Make trades with God and hope he wont screw me over - I did all I could do" admittedly sounds better than "trying to live happily in a world which is wildly out of any organized control"


BTW, I do more or less believe in scientific determinism, ie. that pure randomness doesn't exist, merely the lack of capabilities to calculate.
I know quantum physics doesn't really approve that nowadays, but the "I doubt we know everything there is to know" applies here as well. Just because they can't see "down" enough, doesn't/shouldn't mean that there is pure randomness "below" the levels which they can work with.

[Slargos]

Slarg said "evil" is just a name for things we dont understand.

No. God(s) is the name for things we dont understand.

As science moved onward, it always reduced the reign of religion. Thunders, earthquakes, shape of the world, Earth's position in it, evolution, etc.

So, "God" "Gods" "magic" was always the stuff we couldn't figure out.

I have zero reason to believe that we have reached the peak, ie. we know everything there is to know about the world and any other gray area is God. That is the exact same position as people had when they thought a lightning storm was domestic violence up on Mount Olympos.

So since you've ruled out the use of Snow and Sleet as different descriptors for "frozen H20" I guess we need to come up with an entirely new way to describe the weather, huh? 

"snow" is a definitive state of frozen water. "God" is the definitive state of "stuff I dont know shit about".

And science is just one aspect of it.

The other main aspect is the comfortable illusion of having control.

Most people are mightly afraid of the fact that most of their lives is well outside of their control.
You can see this in the myriad of superstitions, like knocking on wood. It feels like you actually did something.
And of course in religions. "Make trades with God and hope he wont screw me over - I did all I could do" admittedly sounds better than "trying to live happily in a world which is wildly out of any organized control"


BTW, I do more or less believe in scientific determinism, ie. that pure randomness doesn't exist, merely the lack of capabilities to calculate.
I know quantum physics doesn't really approve that nowadays, but the "I doubt we know everything there is to know" applies here as well. Just because they can't see "down" enough, doesn't/shouldn't mean that there is pure randomness "below" the levels which they can work with.

You don't understand. Don't take it so hard, your genetic heritage works against you, and it's not your fault per se. 

[Barrister]

Most people are mightly afraid of the fact that most of their lives is well outside of their control.
You can see this in the myriad of superstitions, like knocking on wood. It feels like you actually did something.
And of course in religions. "Make trades with God and hope he wont screw me over - I did all I could do" admittedly sounds better than "trying to live happily in a world which is wildly out of any organized control"

When areligious people try to describe how religious people think it doesn't sound like any religious person I know...

[Tamas]

You don't understand. Don't take it so hard, your genetic heritage works against you, and it's not your fault per se. 

It's ok, I know that on the far-right political spectrum, it is mandatory to showcase some level of religiousness.

[MadImmortalMan]

When areligious people try to describe how religious people think it doesn't sound like any religious person I know...

The Taliban.

[Slargos]

You don't understand. Don't take it so hard, your genetic heritage works against you, and it's not your fault per se. 

It's ok, I know that on the far-right political spectrum, it is mandatory to showcase some level of religiousness.

I'm talking about your argument itself, not your ideology or lack thereof. 

[Neil]

As a physicist and engineer my impression is that the only realistic way to design something like the human body is by evolution. You can't realistically write down the specs for humans and design a version 1.0 machine that meets them.

Well, you are Swedish.  I can certainly understand your natural skepticism about the viability of 1.0 versions.

Well done.  You've been doing well lately on matters that don't pertain to US politics.

[Ideologue]

re Euros: Plenty of atheist Euros here, but that's a Euro trait.  Like left-leaning governments, environmental awareness, or anti-semitism.

re Americans: most of the atheist posters here also identify themselves as "libertarians", yet display the same overeducated pretentiousness about atheism they despise in ivory tower liberal intellectuals, which is sorta funny.   Kind of like people who claim to be bisexual, but for some reason only suck cock.

Self-identify as libertarians?  I sort of recall in the old days I used to throw "libertarian" around as an insult, because it is, but maybe I'm misremembering.

Are we counting Canadians as Americans or as Europeans?

Anyway, I was effectively raised agnostically and have virtually always been an atheist (and for the benefit of the new dude, I've always been an American and evolutionary socialist).

[Ideologue]

Seems to me that it we would have to pretty lucky for our bodies to have just evolved by themselves.

Oh, yeah, there's nothing conceivably better than a piece of shit that doesn't repair telomeres, cannot regenerate limbs or organ systems, fails to take advantage of the full spectrum of the sun's light for vision, has an airway that crosses its foodway, is poorly adapted to the environment it has created for itself, and has a limbic system that handicaps its users as often as it helps them.

The human being is so slapdash--despite its advantages versus any other life form on the planet--that it seems incredible that anyone might have ever claimed it was made in God's image, or even as a work of a reasonably intelligent engineer.  If there could be a class action, God would be best advised to settle.

It's telling, if unavoidable, that the only people claiming that have a bit of a biased opinion on the matter.

[Neil]

(and for the benefit of the new dude, I've always been an American and evolutionary socialist).

And a carrier-lover.

[Ideologue]

Time marches on, my friend.

[merithyn]

Could you choose to believe in Santa Clause? if you really, really, REALLY wanted to?

I believe in Santa Clause.

[Norgy]

It's written in small letters.

[KRonn]

Could you choose to believe in Santa Clause? if you really, really, REALLY wanted to?

I believe in Santa Clause.

What do you mean by that?!? Are you insinuating that he doesn't exist?!   

[Berkut]

Could you choose to believe in Santa Clause? if you really, really, REALLY wanted to?

I believe in Santa Clause.

Yeah, but you believe that he springs into being because you imagine him or some other such fruitcake BS like that. Doesn't really count.