National Day(s)of Reason in Canada

[darkbeaver]

And if you have no certainty what do you judge by?

there are four elements: earth, air, fire, and water,

earth and water are typed female. air and fire are typed male, male=spirit female=matter

I generally prefer physical masturbation to mental masturbation. It's equally productive and way more fun!

The impermanence of matter will change your preferences

 

[Zipperfish]

I generally prefer physical masturbation to mental masturbation. It's equally productive and way more fun!

I prefer the latter. One of the reasons I relate so closely to Sheldon on Big Bang Theory, I suppose.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

It is if a claim is such that there should be readily detectable evidence for it and there isn't any.

 

[darkbeaver]

Clouds fall up and down all the time.

 

[Twila]

I invoke Stokes Law.

Clouds don't "fall".

 

[lone wolf]

What is fog but a well-hung cloud?

 

[Zipperfish]

Miles Mathis, whoever he is, offers a pretty vapid argument and makes many false claims on the way to wherever he thinks he's going with that, starting with his assumption that atheism is a belief. It's not, it's a lack of belief in a specific claim on the grounds that the evidence offered in support of it is insufficient to justify accepting it, and the rest of his argument just falls apart after that. The atheist position doesn't require any proof at all, it's the default position on a claim that is not adequately supported by evidence.

I think you are articulating the agnostic position ("I don't know") which clearly requires no proof. The atheist argument is more assertive "There is no god."

 

[eh1eh]

Fairy tales make for some good reading.

Hail Sagan.

 

[Sal]

I don't give a cr*p what people believe but I do watch closely for how they treat me and others and then listen carefully for what they profess to believe...

in the end it's not what we profess to believe it's how we behave...and that's the bottom line for me and IF there is a god I'm relatively CERTAIN that's all he will care about too

 

[Dexter Sinister]

I think you are articulating the agnostic position ("I don't know") which clearly requires no proof. The atheist argument is more assertive "There is no god."

That's the so-called "strong atheist" position, which I think is logically indefensible, the truth of that claim cannot be known. The most we can say with assurance is "There probably is no god." A better position is that the claim "there is a god" lacks the evidence and arguments necessary to justify accepting it as true, so the claim should be rejected. Some version of that is what most atheists will tell you is their position. There's a subtle but crucial philosophical difference between believing something is not and not believing something is.

 

[darkbeaver]

Only for those who believe.

For an atheist, this statement means nothing. He is non existant. Things that don't exist have no power.

The sun exists though. All religion began with love and worship of the sun. In every cell of our bodies that god sustains us. Us is not the meat but the mind. We are the dead. We are the souls cast down into the hell of trials in mater. This is to temper us for our next assignment. Before the sun an atheist is nothing but raw untempered mind, soft in its pride. If we won't bend we will be broken and we will be born again and again into the hell of material struggle. It's not that bad. It just gets boring after a few thousand times and we eventually comply with the dictates and gain release from the valley of the shadow of death. A very very long time ago that was understood by the few. A few good and a few bad, the good are gone the bad remain forever building material temples. The purpose of this place is to remember home, the cradle. Here is the manger where the food of the gods is placed before us. More or less like that, I've left out a few bits, and there's some foggy stuff near the end.

 

[Machjo]

Happy 25th, everyone... Oh sorry... Happy 29th!

 

[darkbeaver]

Happy 29th to you Machjo. And many happy returns.

 

[Machjo]

It'll be the 30th here in a few hours. I will be sleeping by then, but I can't wait to wish you a happy 30th when it comes.

 

[taxslave]

God is a nondenominational force.

Then why do so many religions claim to have the direct line and/or the one true god?
That is why I make the offer to all believers to bring their god around for a cup of tea and I will believe them. So far there are no extra cups in the sink.

 

[darkbeaver]

Then why do so many religions claim to have the direct line and/or the one true god?
That is why I make the offer to all believers to bring their god around for a cup of tea and I will believe them. So far there are no extra cups in the sink.

You remember the plate they pass arround don;t you? The sun is the only god you should pay any attention to. The rest are rank loathsome pretenders.

 

[taxslave]

I think you are articulating the agnostic position ("I don't know") which clearly requires no proof. The atheist argument is more assertive "There is no god."

How about "I don't care"

 

[darkbeaver]

It'll be the 30th here in a few hours. I will be sleeping by then, but I can't wait to wish you a happy 30th when it comes.

I hope to here from you then. Have a blissful sleep, complete with flights and fancy. On the morrow then?

 

[Zipperfish]

That's the so-called "strong atheist" position, which I think is logically indefensible, the truth of that claim cannot be known. The most we can say with assurance is "There probably is no god." A better position is that the claim "there is a god" lacks the evidence and arguments necessary to justify accepting it as true, so the claim should be rejected. Some version of that is what most atheists will tell you is their position. There's a subtle but crucial philosophical difference between believing something is not and not believing something is.

Ah, thanks for the diferentiation there. I agree the strong atheist position is on shaky ground, and I agree that the "weak atheist" position is justifiable. I guess agnosticism becomes even weaker than weak atheism. Agnosticism is where I remain however. "There are more things in Heaven and Erath than are dreamt of in your philosophy…"

Happy New Year

 

[darkbeaver]

That's the so-called "strong atheist" position, which I think is logically indefensible, the truth of that claim cannot be known. The most we can say with assurance is "There probably is no god." A better position is that the claim "there is a god" lacks the evidence and arguments necessary to justify accepting it as true, so the claim should be rejected. Some version of that is what most atheists will tell you is their position. There's a subtle but crucial philosophical difference between believing something is not and not believing something is.

What is the definition of God?