IS THERE A GOD?

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DougK62

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2001
8,035
6
81
Originally posted by: Netopia
Originally posted by: DougK62
Being agnostic, I think all three of those choices suck horribly.

I was under the impression that the third choice WAS an agnostic stance.

Please tell me what you believe so that I can better understand.

Joe

Well the last choice isn't 'horrible', but it's not the best. Most agnostics I know don't believe OR disbelieve in a god. They just sit on the fence - comfortable with the idea that they don't know and can't know either way.

 

Netopia

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,793
4
81
Originally posted by: DougK62
Originally posted by: Netopia
Originally posted by: DougK62
Being agnostic, I think all three of those choices suck horribly.

I was under the impression that the third choice WAS an agnostic stance.

Please tell me what you believe so that I can better understand.

Joe

Well the last choice isn't 'horrible', but it's not the best. Most agnostics I know don't believe OR disbelieve in a god. They just sit on the fence - comfortable with the idea that they don't know and can't know either way.

I'll change #3 to include "don't know"

Joe
 

Netopia

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,793
4
81
3 is honest. rest is arrogant delusion.
Carried to the logical extreme, NOTHING but one's own thoughts are provable... so why do you believe that what you think is reality even exists? You cannot even prove it or give example of it to yourself, yet you believe it to be true. Why?

Joe
 

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
12,963
1
0
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
3 is honest. rest is arrogant delusion.

Actually, I'd consider belief to be arrogant; it takes balls to go against the fact that despite ten millenia with millions and later billions of people on the lookout, the theory of the existence of a deity or deities hasn't one shred of evidence to back it up. Agnostics are the worst of the bunch though, most are simply fashion conscious, young and scared, choosing whatever will lose them the least favor among their peers... Come to think of it, that's a pretty good description of how many choose their digital audio player :laugh:
 

His Lord Uberdude

Senior member
Nov 15, 2004
532
0
0
Originally posted by: Netopia
3 is honest. rest is arrogant delusion.
Carried to the logical extreme, NOTHING but one's own thoughts are provable... so why do you believe that what you think is reality even exists? You cannot even prove it or give example of it to yourself, yet you believe it to be true. Why?

Joe

Because it's more believable than believing that there isn't a god. Think about the simplest cell. There's a nucleus that's capable of duplicating a comlete set of DNA in twenty minutes. Think about all the organlelles that control digestion, locomotion, reproduction and others. How can you believe that all this was engineered by sheer chance? Without anybody thinking about all the things that need to be covered? How?
 

Fausto

Elite Member
Nov 29, 2000
26,521
2
0
Originally posted by: His Lord Uberdude
Originally posted by: Netopia
3 is honest. rest is arrogant delusion.
Carried to the logical extreme, NOTHING but one's own thoughts are provable... so why do you believe that what you think is reality even exists? You cannot even prove it or give example of it to yourself, yet you believe it to be true. Why?

Joe

Because it's more believable than believing that there isn't a god. Think about the simplest cell. There's a nucleus that's capable of duplicating a comlete set of DNA in twenty minutes. Think about all the organlelles that control digestion, locomotion, reproduction and others. How can you believe that all this was engineered by sheer chance? Without anybody thinking about all the things that need to be covered? How?
And? I can sequence DNA from any available organic schmutz in a few hours here at work? I can also do neat things like clone genes and alter proteins produced by a given bacterial strain? Godlike? Hardly, but I'll bet it would have seemed godlike 100 years ago.

 

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
12,963
1
0
Originally posted by: His Lord Uberdude
Originally posted by: Netopia
3 is honest. rest is arrogant delusion.
Carried to the logical extreme, NOTHING but one's own thoughts are provable... so why do you believe that what you think is reality even exists? You cannot even prove it or give example of it to yourself, yet you believe it to be true. Why?

Joe

Because it's more believable than believing that there isn't a god. Think about the simplest cell. There's a nucleus that's capable of duplicating a comlete set of DNA in twenty minutes. Think about all the organlelles that control digestion, locomotion, reproduction and others. How can you believe that all this was engineered by sheer chance? Without anybody thinking about all the things that need to be covered? How?

It's not due to sheer chance, it's due to evolution. You basically stated a variation of the watchmaker argument, and the difference of course is that watches don't reproduce themselves trillions of times over billions of years, adapting and becoming more complex as time passes. You're using religion to explain what (to you, not modern science though :p) is the unexplainable, something it's been used for for many millenia.
 

His Lord Uberdude

Senior member
Nov 15, 2004
532
0
0
Originally posted by: Fausto
Originally posted by: His Lord Uberdude
Originally posted by: Netopia
3 is honest. rest is arrogant delusion.
Carried to the logical extreme, NOTHING but one's own thoughts are provable... so why do you believe that what you think is reality even exists? You cannot even prove it or give example of it to yourself, yet you believe it to be true. Why?

Joe

Because it's more believable than believing that there isn't a god. Think about the simplest cell. There's a nucleus that's capable of duplicating a comlete set of DNA in twenty minutes. Think about all the organlelles that control digestion, locomotion, reproduction and others. How can you believe that all this was engineered by sheer chance? Without anybody thinking about all the things that need to be covered? How?
And? I can sequence DNA from any available organic schmutz in a few hours here at work? I can also do neat things like clone genes and alter proteins produced by a given bacterial strain? Godlike? Hardly, but I'll bet it would have seemed godlike 100 years ago.


Well sure, you can manipulate it, but does anyone has the genious to invent DNA? Think about how complex it is. We can make jets, lasers, even manipulate DNA, but we would have never been able to create it from scratch.
 

Fausto

Elite Member
Nov 29, 2000
26,521
2
0
Originally posted by: His Lord Uberdude
Originally posted by: Fausto
Originally posted by: His Lord Uberdude
Originally posted by: Netopia
3 is honest. rest is arrogant delusion.
Carried to the logical extreme, NOTHING but one's own thoughts are provable... so why do you believe that what you think is reality even exists? You cannot even prove it or give example of it to yourself, yet you believe it to be true. Why?

Joe

Because it's more believable than believing that there isn't a god. Think about the simplest cell. There's a nucleus that's capable of duplicating a comlete set of DNA in twenty minutes. Think about all the organlelles that control digestion, locomotion, reproduction and others. How can you believe that all this was engineered by sheer chance? Without anybody thinking about all the things that need to be covered? How?
And? I can sequence DNA from any available organic schmutz in a few hours here at work? I can also do neat things like clone genes and alter proteins produced by a given bacterial strain? Godlike? Hardly, but I'll bet it would have seemed godlike 100 years ago.


Well sure, you can manipulate it, but does anyone has the genious to invent DNA? Think about how complex it is. We can make jets, lasers, even manipulate DNA, but we would have never been able to create it from scratch.
You need to read Gurck's post above. ;)

 

His Lord Uberdude

Senior member
Nov 15, 2004
532
0
0
Originally posted by: Gurck
Originally posted by: His Lord Uberdude
Originally posted by: Netopia
3 is honest. rest is arrogant delusion.
Carried to the logical extreme, NOTHING but one's own thoughts are provable... so why do you believe that what you think is reality even exists? You cannot even prove it or give example of it to yourself, yet you believe it to be true. Why?

Joe

Because it's more believable than believing that there isn't a god. Think about the simplest cell. There's a nucleus that's capable of duplicating a comlete set of DNA in twenty minutes. Think about all the organlelles that control digestion, locomotion, reproduction and others. How can you believe that all this was engineered by sheer chance? Without anybody thinking about all the things that need to be covered? How?

It's not due to sheer chance, it's due to evolution. You basically stated a variation of the watchmaker argument, and the difference of course is that watches don't reproduce themselves trillions of times over billions of years, adapting and becoming more complex as time passes. You're using religion to explain what (to you, not modern science though :p) is the unexplainable, something it's been used for for many millenia.


Peolpe have been right for many millenia, too.

By the way, if evolution isn't chance, what is? What are the odds that something as complex as I just mentioned was randomly formed together in a pool of toxic chemicals, whilst ultraviolet rays jolted it to life? A great deal more than if a god created it.
 

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
12,963
1
0
Originally posted by: His Lord Uberdude
Peolpe have been right for many millenia, too.

By the way, if evolution isn't chance, what is? What are the odds that something as complex as I just mentioned was randomly formed together in a pool of toxic chemicals, whilst ultraviolet rays jolted it to life? A great deal more than if a god created it.

Doesn't matter what the chances are, as if we hadn't been lucky (how lucky is up for debate and will be until we learn more about our galaxy and others), we wouldn't be around to know about it. At any rate, it's not ultraviolet rays, it's electricity :) Lab experiments have shown that conditions as they were on earth ~4 billions years ago, namely a hot, humid atmosphere high in C02, lightning, and various other components, can lead to spontaneous formation of simple proteins and small srings of DNA.
 
Jan 31, 2002
40,819
2
0
Originally posted by: Netopia
Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Can we get Politics and News renamed to Politics, News and Religion?

Without getting lengthy about it, THIS forum, the OT forum was created BECAUSE of a religious thread (Anand's direct involvement to have it created) AS A PLACE for religioius and other Off Topic things to be discussed! Don't bite the hand that fed you the forum!

Joe

Off Topic has evolved into a totally different community from which it was originally created. P&N helped designate a large chunk of the flamebait trolls into extinction - this is merely the next logical step. ;)

- M4H
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
81
Originally posted by: FoBoT
religion isn't about facts, its about faith

Actually, no...

Faith is faith, and it exists entirely independent of religion.

Religion, on the other hand, is all about codifying beliefs and imposing social order. Religion uses and often corrupts faith for its own ends.
 

Avalon

Diamond Member
Jul 16, 2001
7,571
178
106
I voted option #2 because I figured it could use a little help in the polls.