Cool Blogs

[Thorolf]

Please post cool blog links here.

I’m not much of a blog reader, but I keep coming back to this blog for fresh content.

P. Z. Myers is an associate professor of biology at University of Minnesota, Morris, and here is a taste from his blog Pharyngula:

Magic Word





Regards

[MaestroX]

I take it you are a firm atheist?

This video might interest you:

YouTube - Atheist

[Thorolf]

^ Nice list

Originally Posted by MaestroX

I take it you are a firm atheist?

I prefer the term bright.

Regards

[MaestroX]

ahh I see, very interesting. I dislike the term atheist as its treated as religion. Maybe I'll look into "bright".

[sawscape]

Atheism is a religion. Even the brightest being in this universe cannot prove that there is no God. It is the Faith of atheism that there is no God.

[Thorolf]

Originally Posted by sawscape

Atheism is a religion. Even the brightest being in this universe cannot prove that there is no God. It is the Faith of atheism that there is no God.

This is the only logical conclusion, if belief is the default. No serious atheist alleges to prove the non-existence of any god, tho, be it the christian god, the flying spahgetti monster, buddah or the celestial teapot.

A nice little quote about the Invisible Pink Unicorn (another religion):

Originally Posted by Steve Eley

Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of great spiritual power. We know this because they are capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.

Another point, is that belief-wize, religions are generally mutually exclusive. A christian doesn't believe in any of the thousands of gods that humanity has dreamed up throughout human history — except for one. This makes the christian in agreement with any atheist in more than 99 % of actual instances of god belief. (The atheist believes in just one god less than the christian…)

For those of us who doesn’t have faith as a default, it is clear that if atheism is a religion, then not playing chess must be a hobby.



Regards

[sawscape]

The lack of a belief in God is not the default position. Only someone raised by wolves could possibly have that position (but who knows, maybe wolves know about God, too). God is in the public discourse. The topic cannot be passively ignored (like not playing chess). The belief in God or no God is a decision based on the logic, experience, personality, and/or extreme brightness of the individual.
No one knows for sure whether or not there is a God, or what God (if there is a God) looks like. We pitiful humans do not have enough information or brain power to really know.
So, it comes down to belief (faith). It is what you believe in--even if that belief is rather wacky or in the negative.

[Thorolf]

Originally Posted by sawscape

The lack of a belief in God is not the default position. Only someone raised by wolves could possibly have that position (but who knows, maybe wolves know about God, too). God is in the public discourse. The topic cannot be passively ignored (like not playing chess).

This may be in some fundamentalist countries, like the USA and Iran, but it is not so in many countries in Europe, and Russia, especially. But the whole thing is beside the point anyway, I bet you and I doesn’t need much consideration, just scoffing off Allah, The Invisible Pink Unicorn, Krishna, The Celestial Teapot, etc., and that you, in these respects are just as much as an “atheist” as I am. It’s just that I believe in one less God, and in Norway, that is pretty much the default position in the big cities. What needs deep consideration is to be religious, not the other way around. This may be difficult to envisage for a US citizen, but it’s true.



Regards

[sawscape]

Is Europe being lead by wolves now? ;-) Maybe some other animal? I could name a few. Just kidding.

I guess I am using the term religion in its most general sense--that it is a belief system. As you said, "It’s just that I believe in one less God, ..." It is the aspect of belief or faith, in the face of not being able to know, that I was focusing on.

The way one then chooses to practice their belief system is an entirely different matter. A God-based belief is often accompanied by deep consideration, that is true (but not always--I've spent many a year wandering away from or ignoring my beliefs). A Pastor might spend every day actively participating in his beliefs. Or an athiest might just wander through life without giving his beliefs much thought (other than the occasional forum post). Both are extremes within the spectrum of human spiritual behavior.

As to what is happening in Europe now (spiritually), this is a very interesting topic that could be discussed in another thread. It is somewhat ironic that Europe's past Christianity, often mis-used, is what protected it from the onslaught of another religion, Islam. I wonder what will protect Europe now?

[Thorolf]

To heed the definitions: All religions are belief systems, but all belief systems are not necessarily religions.

Belief is a difficult word, as it covers two very different concepts: When I believe the sun will rise the next morning, I conclude using statistics and experience, as well as common sense.

If I were to believe in some god, I would use none of the above, but put it forward as a premise.

Therefore, calling the conclusion that the sun will rise, and the premise that there is a god by the same term, “belief”, easily muddles the water…

To avoid the notion that atheism is “just another religion”, the brights avoid using the term “atheism”, as the word itself suggests that there is a concept, “god” (theos) that has to be actively denied. And end up in endless discussion on the very gods that one is indifferent to in the outset.

The Brights, on the other hand, defines their stance in a positive way:

Originally Posted by The Brights

What is a bright?

• A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview
• A bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements
• The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview

This shifts the ground on what to discuss: If you happen to fall inside this definition, you’re in, and if you have some entity you choose to call god in addition, that’s your business.

For a person (me) that is brought up with science, scepticism and reasoning, all my beliefs are conclusions, and need not invoke some supernatural god. All my ethics, as well as my trancedental experiences, are just that, and no “proof” of either Allah or The Flying Spaghetti Monster, or any other god.



Regards