0%

——–

I do not “believe” there is no God, I’m convinced that no God or gods exist. I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one.

One might ask, “Isn’t belief that there is not a god just as irrational, arrogant, etc. as belief that there IS a god?” No, for several reasons. First of all, I do not “believe” that there is not a God. Belief has nothing to do with it. I believe or don’t believe my 4 year old daughter when she tells me she didn’t make that mess on the floor. I believe in justice and fair play (though I don’t know exactly how we achieve them). I don’t accept the currently fashionable assertion that any view is automatically as worthy of respect as any equal and opposite view. My view is that the moon is made of rock. If someone says to me, “Well, you haven’t BEEN there, have you? You haven’t seen it for yourself so MY view that it is made of Wisconsin pepperjack cheese is equally valid,” then I can’t even be bothered to argue. The burden of proof in the case of God, as in the case of the composition of the moon, has shifted radically. God used to be the best explanation we had. But we’ve now got vastly better ones. God is no longer an explanation of anything but has instead become something that would itself need an insurmountable amount of explaining. So I don’t think that being convinced that there is no God is as irrational or arrogant a point of view as belief that there is. The matter does not call for evenhandedness at all.

0%

…Which is probably why every post about religion around here is 30+ comments.

Where does it say that god “needs” us? If god exists ( personally i think he or it does) and created us how could one logically argue that an all powerful superior intelligence would need an underling to reassure his existence or to give glory,? In Judaism/Christianity man was not created to worship god otherwise he would not have been imbued with freewill and on top of that the sole purpose of the Angels is to worship and serve god.

And then lose the plot.

Then start personal insults, profanity, and multiple repeat posting.

I agree that morality doesn’t require God but please don’t say ‘utilitarianism’. I hate that almost as much as Alec’s inability to read an entire document before making a dumbass post.

Nice try, but you’re comparing measurements of two separate things. The video only stated that x number of Europeans don’t believe in a personal god. Your stat just shows x number of people that attend services. Correlation does no mean causation. I grew up going to church, and I can honestly say, I think at least Half of the congregation weren’t “believers”, they’re there because of who they married (or who they want to marry), other such reasons.

I’m not say either stat us right or wrong, I’m just pointing out they don’t measure the same thing, therefore, they are not comparable.

Sorry, but NEED is not a part of Atheism.

Personally, I think that we do need a God. One who is consistent, reliable, and powerful enough to wright the wrongs of humanity.

However, need does not create God.

And I am not willing to settle for fictitious bullshit in place of such a being.

That is what makes me an Atheist. I simply do not have faith in God or my fellow man. For me “faith” = “gullibility”, and I want no part of that.

> Disbelief in divine cosmic order does not make you anymore intelligent. In fact it’s amazing how much energy is expended trying to rationalize away the incredible synchronous coincidence that displays itself at every turn for those who care to look. Atheists love to claim control over their existence and deny the very concept of predestination, how feeble minded or willfully ignorant do you have to be to not realize that the miraculous paradox of reality is that both freewill and destiny exist simultaneously depending on your level of perception, which is a function of how much information your awareness can process, concerning the dynamics of the fundamental elements comprising the reality you are perceiving.
I experience this material universe through my physical senses, which themselves are complex electro-chemical interactions afforded a brief existence by the virtue of their shape interaction with the machinery of my brain. The brain that is merely a physical manifestation of the cosmic possibility of me. An astounding series of random events had to take place before I could type out this Rant of Wisdom, yet here it is.
Prove to me beyond all doubt that this experience, this dream of existence that we all are sharing, is not also happening to a Cosmic Awareness, that is for the moment beyond our ability perceive. I can’t prove the existence of The God, but I can’t disprove it either. All I know is what I am personally living through, and I feel the presence of something more. Even if it’s only chemistry it still serves the purpose of experiencing this grand creation.
If you give me pills that silence the voice of the universe, show me the folly of religion and convince me that this is all one big nothing.

How will that make me a healthier, happier, more intelligent human being?

You strike me as a deist…well, that is the first step towards atheism…I wish you well.