Interesting. I usually go the other way and say before they can convince me their brand of religion is correct, or that I should believe as they do, they first have to convince me any kind of a god exists. Only afterwards can they convince me their way of worshiping that god, or their version of belief is correct.
Here is the correct link.
I’m thinking that the validity for any evidence for existence depends heavily on the qualities you claim for your god.
But hey, either approach is likely to work just fine.
You wear a cap in the house? I mean, I’m an atheist, but I’m not an animal in the fucking jungle. You’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
This is Georgia, son. I wear a ball cap in the shower.
Yep, that’s the one.
OK, so, being atheist and all that, you don’t use the G-word to refer to anything you regard as real.
I want to ask some questions about things and whether you regard them as real, but I don’t want it to come across like I’m trying to do a “gotcha” on you, you know, like “Aha well if you believe in that you really believe in God even if you don’t use the word”. On the other hand, minus the entrapment attitude, I suppose I’m curious whether we see the world in a very similar way or not despite the fact that I do use that word to refer to something I regard as real. Here goes…
• There’s a way of looking at the world where you see everything that happens as the predictable outcome of how things were just before that —cause and effect, objects and forces — and therefore a way of describing everything as if there is no intentionality, no consciousness making choices being necessary to describe why things happen as they do, just passively responsive reactions taking place in a massively huge chain of events. Question: does intentionality exist? Does anyone (or anything) anywhere, ever, “do something on purpose”? (Feel free to rephrase the question itself if you simply don’t think in the terms in which it is phrased)
• We humans seem disposed towards harboring attitudes about how things ideally ought to be, whether we are idealistically optimistic and think things could actually be that way or instead are cynical and inclined to say we have a “wicked nature” (or that the laws of nature don’t reward behaviors of that idealistic variety, if you prefer). The particular idealistic attitudes I’m talking about are things like being nice to each other, sharing stuff, being at peace with one another instead of trying to win and succeed at other people’s expense, trying not to do harm to one another and actively trying to do good, to render kindnesses to each other, that kind of thing. Question: do we harbor these attitudes for any useful reason? Is there anything to be gained by taking such attitudes seriously? If so, what “useful reasons” might they be, if you don’t mind elaborating?
• The world is often more complicated than it appears at first glance. What looks like a flat earth turns out to be round, and “down” is relative. What appears to be a solid object is mostly empty space occupied by very tiny particles in interaction. Well, when it comes to questions like human behavior, including our evaluation of the behavior of others but also our own behavior and what we come to believe about how we wish to behave… Question: How do you explore such questions? And a follow-up question, does part of how you explore such questions involve a sort of directionless searching rather than pursuing it as a research question? Does it involve strongly emotional processes for you?
Oh, and thank you for doing this thread.
Do you believe one can be an atheist and still practice a theistic religion? So as not to make it a trick question, I’m atheist and a practicing catholic.
What parts do you practice?
Sure. My mom is an atheist, and celebrates many of the Jewish holidays. She was president of her temple many years ago, despite being an “out” atheist. She was also active in several Jewish charities, serving on the board or in other working groups.
I’m not a philosopher, but it sounds to me like you are asking if I am a “Determinist”. As I understand Determinism, I don’t subscribe to the idea that my actions and thoughts were causally determined by preceding events or natural laws. I think that choices and thought are not predetermined by anything. That being said, I don’t know near enough about the subject. Its much too complicated for me, plus it doesn’t really affect my life. I would still live my life the best that I can, whether or not I thought it was predestined to happen or not.
[QUOTE=AHunter3]
• We humans seem disposed towards harboring attitudes about how things ideally ought to be, whether we are idealistically optimistic and think things could actually be that way or instead are cynical and inclined to say we have a “wicked nature” (or that the laws of nature don’t reward behaviors of that idealistic variety, if you prefer). The particular idealistic attitudes I’m talking about are things like being nice to each other, sharing stuff, being at peace with one another instead of trying to win and succeed at other people’s expense, trying not to do harm to one another and actively trying to do good, to render kindnesses to each other, that kind of thing. Question: do we harbor these attitudes for any useful reason? Is there anything to be gained by taking such attitudes seriously? If so, what “useful reasons” might they be, if you don’t mind elaborating?
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Do we harbor these attitudes for any useful reason? I would answer a resounding yes. Evolution has programmed us homo-sapiens to be social animals. The reason for this is because it is to our advantage as a species to have empathy for others (Be nice, help each other out, etc) but at the same time, it is also evolution that programmed us for survival in a dangerous world. We fear change because, evolutionarily speaking, it is the unknown could, “hunt us down and eat us”. So those two opposite “attitudes” as you call them are part of what make us human and drive us to act as humans.
[QUOTE=AHunter3]
• The world is often more complicated than it appears at first glance. What looks like a flat earth turns out to be round, and “down” is relative. What appears to be a solid object is mostly empty space occupied by very tiny particles in interaction. Well, when it comes to questions like human behavior, including our evaluation of the behavior of others but also our own behavior and what we come to believe about how we wish to behave… Question: How do you explore such questions? And a follow-up question, does part of how you explore such questions involve a sort of directionless searching rather than pursuing it as a research question? Does it involve strongly emotional processes for you?
[/quote]
Wow! What a good question. I think that the scientific method is the best way to determine what reality is. How is that done in the question of human behavior? Through the scientific study of Psychology, Psychiatry, Anthropology, Philosophy and History. Also the study of Biology as well. I am not a Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Anthropologist, Philosopher Historian nor a Biologist, so I explore those questions through my own research. I try to find good, reliable sources to go to so I can find reliable and sound answers. I don’t look at it as a sort of directionless quest. I know that people have studied all of these subjects and published a wealth of material on them, so I look to them to answer any questions I have.
[QUOTE=AHunter3]
Oh, and thank you for doing this thread.
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My pleasure.
I came to atheism through reason and rational thought. After I realized my disbelief, I decided it would be best to continue going to church and but after a year of going through the motions, I just could not see any reason to continue the charade. I thought it was patently silly to go up and receive communion (and disrespectful as well to take it when I didn’t even believe what they told me it was) so I stopped doing that. Shortly after that I stopped going to church altogether. I had to be intellectually honest with myself and just stop all of the practices of Catholicism. If I didn’t believe in a god, why would I through all those silly rituals? I think that any atheist that came to their disbelief as I did, through reason and rationality, would have to do the same thing.
Occasionally, I will go to church with the rest of my family, but only when it is a family thing, (wedding, funeral, etc.) but even then, I don’t kneel, take communion, sing, or recite any of the prayers during the service, and if the priest says something I think is absolutely stupid, homophobic, or racist, I will get up and walk out.
Are there really no atheists in foxholes?
Even way back in Usenet days I used to ask people using the creation argument to link that god with their god. Clearly whoever wrote the Bible got creation dead wrong. Never got a decent answer.
I figure if any god did create the universe, he created it for some other race on some other planet. Why wait all those billions of years to create us after the universe? Those people have gone to heaven or whatever, and we’re here by accident. We can only hope God doesn’t decide to tidy up.
The usual creation argument is quite pre-Copernican, assuming that we are special.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that.
I give you this organization.
Seriously, that is a great site. 
I thought it would have been as well. I’m a bit disappointed. I’ve always enjoyed the “Ask the…” topics here but this one is almost all snark.
(edit to mention I’d just seen the first page, not sure how it ends yet.
Well…atheists are not exactly underrepresented around here. An “Ask the evangelical…” thread might garner more questions. And possibly even more snark.
You’ve never heard of “cultural Christian” or whatever?
Warning: canned reply. No, and God has never appeared on a battlefield either.
Not this atheist. I’ll leave foxholes for foxes, as evolution meant it to be.