• MilitantVegan@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    One popular answer is that sometimes people just experience things that they find scientific answers to not be able to answer adequately. We as a species are still far from knowing everything.

  • katy ✨@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    3 months ago

    you can be spiritual and religious without believing in structured religion like the church.

    i’m wiccan and spiritual and it means a great deal to me.

    • InternetUser2012@midwest.social
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      3 months ago

      I had a friend whose dad was a pastor at a decently sized church. I never believed in religion and he was cool because he would actually listen to what I said rather than plugging his ears and yelling. (you know what I mean). I went to his church one Sunday to humor him and it was Ok. His dad was relating current events to the bible and it wasn’t total horseshit… UNTIL, they passed the plate thing around for donations. “Give your money to GOD” is what was said. I asked my friend what the hell does god need my money for? He made the earth in seven days, he can make his own damn money. My friend said the money goes to the church to put on events for the children and feeding the needy and honestly, good things. I said ok, then tell me to donate my money to the church to support this instead of god.

      Many years later he has his own church and when they pass the plate around, he says donate to the church and explains where the money goes. I call it a little victory. Religion is still a load of crap though.

      • flerp@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        Dante’s Inferno went into detail that was not biblical, but there’s enough in the bible that writing it off completely is cherry picking.

        “They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

        "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

        "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

        “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

  • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    Our tendency to perceive agency in ambiguous situations sheds light on the origins of cognitive biases like religion. Our minds, shaped by eons of natural selection, are finely tuned to err on the side of caution. Think of a group of ancient hunters traversing the savanna. A rustle in the tall grass could be merely the wind, or it could be a lurking predator. Those who instinctively assume the worst and flee are more likely to survive than those who dismiss the sound and remain vulnerable.

    Over time, this survival advantage has led to the evolution of cognitive models that favor the perception of agency, even when there is none. We are prone to seeing patterns, faces, and intentions in random events because the cost of mistakenly attributing agency is far less than the cost of failing to detect a real threat. This explains why we might see a face in the clouds or feel a presence in a dark room. Religion is a direct byproduct of this phenomenon.

    Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that every contemporary belief system stems from an uninterrupted chain of development, tracing back to the earliest human societies. This implies that every ideology has enjoyed a measure of success, having endured the test of time. This makes it difficult to definitively assert that one set of beliefs is fundamentally “more correct” than another, as truth is often subjective and dependent on context. After all, the effectiveness of a belief system in enabling a culture to thrive and grow is perhaps the most relevant measure of its “truthfulness.”

    If somebody grows up in a religious environment, then religion becomes central to their world model. It’s not an isolated concept, it’s an integral part of the tapestry of their mind. Our brains, like all physical systems, operate within the constraints of energy efficiency. Assimilating a new idea requires mental effort, as it necessitates restructuring our existing cognitive framework to accommodate the newcomer. This, in turn, translates to expending energy to rebalance the connections within the neural networks of our brain. If a novel concept clashes significantly with our established beliefs, the energetic cost of integration can be substantial. Radical ideas that demand a significant restructuring of our mental models, such as challenging deeply held religious beliefs or political ideologies, may be discarded, deemed “too expensive” from an energetic standpoint.

    This principle helps explain why it’s often so difficult to change the views of others, regardless of the soundness of your argument. The strength of the argument alone may not be enough to overcome the inherent inertia of our entrenched belief systems.

    • stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub
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      3 months ago

      How do you know that the real creator(s) are documented?

      You’ve been threatened and Stockholm’d through fear, likely as a child or when vulnerable into seeing 1 alternative, when the alternatives are infinite

      • concrete_baby@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        I think you missed the point here. To the believer, evidence is not the main concern. Many Christians talk about their connection and relationship with god, which is subjective. To them, god exists because they have faith, not evidence, that it exists. Where’s that faith coming from? As many others explained in this thread, it’s about finding the sense of community and comfort in knowing that somebody higher us knows best in the world of uncertainty.

  • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
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    3 months ago

    Like it or not, people who went to prayer house or religious gatherings socialise more than people who stay indoor and only interact with limited amount of people. Assuming there’s no fishy business going on with that particular chapter, they tend to be happier considering the fact human are social animal and the feeling of loneliness due to lack of human to human interaction is the build-in alarm system to warn us against solitude. It’s this reason religion is so success because it’s enforce togetherness and make you feels like you’re part of something.

    If we’re going into a utopian world where human doesn’t need to work anymore and social security is guaranteed, religious will be something even bigger than today.

    • ᗪᗩᗰᑎ@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      Like it or not, people who went to prayer house or religious gatherings socialise more than people who stay indoor and only interact with limited amount of people.

      While this statement is true, its also true even if you’re not religious. I was not raised religious at all but always got together with family/cousins/friends nearly every weekend.

      … they tend to be happier considering the fact human are social animal and the feeling of loneliness due to lack of human to human interaction is the build-in alarm system to warn us against solitude. It’s this reason religion is so success because it’s enforce togetherness and make you feels like you’re part of something.

      Kinda. This study [0] of 3,942 19-year-old in Sweden put it best:

      … religion and religiousness per se have little impact on happiness. In particular, we find that social networks tend to be positively associated with happiness, and that this effect is driven by co-organizational membership among friends.

      So while religious upbringing can force people to socialize, that doesn’t mean the lack of religiosity will have a negative impact as the lack of religion does not dictate that you will not congregate/gather with peers/friends/family and feel the same level of “belonging” to a group - even if its not a well defined group.

      If we’re going into a utopian world where human doesn’t need to work anymore and social security is guaranteed, religious will be something even bigger than today.

      I’d say this claim is unfounded. Why must we turn to religion? There are clubs, groups, meetups, friends, events and niches of never ending categories that easily fulfill the need of “belonging” to a group - it’s actually one thing humans are really good at - forming “in” and “out” groups.

      Source: [0] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275143707_Faith_or_Social_Foci_Happiness_Religion_and_Social_Networks_in_Sweden

      • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
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        3 months ago

        Yes, i do agree on all the thing you said, what i’m saying is it’s not mutually exclusive. Religious people can and will go to religious meetup and all the other non-religious gathering too. I know that because i have some friend that do both. It’s not the case of black and white, this or that, do and don’t.

        The issue i have with OP’s question and a lot of atheist is they tend to put religious people as a one dimension entity and think highly of themselves because they “aren’t like that”, that irrationality is what they accuse religious people have. It’s that sort of tribalism that cause a lot of conflict, and i fear tribalism more than i fear religion.

    • cm0002@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      We don’t need religion, we did at one time. When we didn’t know why or how people got sick, why sometimes crops would be plentiful and other times famine or why the ground shook sometimes or even just figuring out morals

      But we know those things now and when we encounter something we don’t we have the knowledge and tools to figure out what’s up.

      We don’t need churches for a common social place, we have parks, libraries, community centers and community wide events to invest in. We can socialize and learn other cultures around the world in an instant. We don’t just have random villages and tiny cities any more, we have large and diverse cities so we everyone can have a little of everything they’re interested in.

      At this point, all religion does is serve as yet another thing to divide us.

    • andyburke@fedia.io
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      3 months ago

      Nah, I like my community without the side of eternal suffering that so many religions like to threaten you with for varioua reasons.

      I’d put my money on huge adoption of D&D in the utopian future before I put it on religion.

      • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
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        3 months ago

        I too don’t like my community centered around religion, but everywhere i look, religion tend to be the biggest community gathering around the world.

  • Alk@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    This is likely not the best place to get answers for this question.

  • datavoid@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    Because it can’t truly be proven that there either is or isn’t a god / gods.

    You can laugh at people for believing in a god, but at the same time I’m willing to bet you can’t prove that there there isn’t one.

    In my mind, atheism makes just as much sense as religion - they are both total assumptions based on incomplete data. Agnosticism is the only sensible way.

    • stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub
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      3 months ago

      Okay but here in the real world, those making the claim have the burden of proof.

      This is a classic, literally text book example of the logical fallacy of ignorance.

      Invisible unicorns exist, and because you can’t disprove it, we should build unicorn fences.

      The logic doesn’t follow.

      • datavoid@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        I don’t disagree that religious people need to prove their beliefs. They are the ones making up insane stories that all contradict one another, and it is absolutely up to them to prove that there is a god, or miracles, or whatever.

        Atheists on the other hand can say “look, there is no god… See?” That doesn’t make them correct. More correct, maybe, as they aren’t the ones making up the stories in the first place, but I’m fairly sure history and science have proven time and time again that humans know less than we think.

        • A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Atheists on the other hand can say “look, there is no god… See?”

          Very few atheists say this. The vast majority of us say we don’t know one way or the other.

            • A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              Agnostic atheists and gnostic atheists are both atheists. Assuming all atheists are gnostic atheists is like assuming all Christians are Catholics.

              Gnostic atheists are rare, and if you want evidence look at this thread.

              • datavoid@lemmy.ml
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                3 months ago

                This has become a misunderstanding of language and wording.

                When I agnostic, that includes “agnostic atheists”. Does that clear things up?

                I swear some people (i.e. self proclaimed “atheists”) get offended at the thought that they might be associated with anyone religious by accepting the fact that their beliefs are, by definition, agnostic.

                I’m tapping out of this thread, didn’t come here to argue about English. Also, please don’t take my last paragraph as an attack - it’s a general observation.

                • A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  No, this was your misunderstanding:

                  Atheists on the other hand can say “look, there is no god… See?”

                  The language is irrelevant, you’re claiming something that’s just untrue for 99% of atheists. You going on to distinguish “agnostics” from “atheists” isn’t the real issue.

    • wpuckering@lm.williampuckering.com
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      3 months ago

      Atheist here. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Atheism is merely about trusting what’s been proven, or has some evidence backing the claim that can be verified without doubt. Being agnostic is being indecisive about everything, even things that are completely made up.

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        One can argue that agnosticism is more scientific in that what cannot be verified, however improbable, remains possible.

        What set the large masses in motion to collide in the Big Bang? What created that matter to begin with? There’s still room for the possibility of interference-based creation without contradicting modern science.

        • aleph@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          I agree with your second paragraph but take issue with your first.

          Atheism is not the belief that God categorically does not exist; it’s the position that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that God exists, and that therefore there is no reason to believe in him/her/it. It’s a subtle but important distinction because the first is not logically consistent whereas the latter is.

          Agnosticism, on the other hand, tends to either be the view that the likelihood of God existing is more or less equal to that of God not existing, or the view that we will probably never know so we cannot come down on one side or the other.

          • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Technically speaking, there are gnostic atheists and agnostic atheists. Someone who calls themself agnostic believes in the possibility of a god. Self-identified atheists are typically gnostic atheists who believe with certainty that there is no god. A-theist means they denounce the existence of theism, or god. They could also just be agnostic, and unaware of the difference in terminology.

            There are many gnostic atheists commenting on this post with the “burden of proof” argument, and likening god to an invisible unicorn. They are quite confident in non-existence.

            https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism/

            • aleph@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              Gnostic atheists are only a thing on paper; I’ve never met or heard of another atheist who ascribes to this view. As the link you provided states, this academic definition of atheism is not one ascribed to by the vast majority of self-described atheists.

              Or, to quote the American Atheists organization:

              Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system. To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods. Source

              On this basis, any invisible unicorn/intergalactic teapot/flying spaghetti monster argument that invokes “burden of proof” is not an gnostic atheist position. The argument is based on the idea that until evidence for an invisible unicorn exists, there is no reason for it to have any bearing on our behavior.

              This is different from saying that because no evidence of an invisible unicorn exists, that we must conclude that it categorically does not exist. You cannot logically prove the non-existence of a non-existent entity.

              • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                Then why use the argument against another person’s beliefs if not to discredit them and convince them their beliefs are impossible? No one here is trying to convince others that “their god” is correct, so it’s clearly not in defense.

                That’s the behavior of someone who is trying to convince another of non-existence, therefore, it is safe to consider them gnostic atheists.

                • aleph@lemm.ee
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                  3 months ago

                  It’s not so much saying that someone’s religious beliefs are logically impossible, more highly unlikely. When I typically see this rhetoric, it’s generally along the lines of “how on Earth did you weigh up all the evidence (or lack thereof) and come to the conclusion that God exists”, or more impolite words to that effect.

                  I personally don’t browbeat the religious, so I’m not condoning it, but that’s why this line of argument generally isn’t gnostic atheism.

                  If, on the other hand, someone is actually saying that the existence of God is impossible, a priori, then they just haven’t thought things through.

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        You don’t need proof where science doesn’t have it either. The beginning of creation remains a mystery. There is currently no explanation for the motion of the masses that collided, or the source of the matter. If scientists can hypothesize the events leading to the Big Bang, so can religions.

        • ᗪᗩᗰᑎ@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          Science testes hypothesizes and never claims they’re true until there’s mountains of evidence to indicate so.

          Religion on the other hand takes a book written by bronze age goat herders and claims it to be true, damn the evidence stacked against it and contradictions within.

          • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            You’re making large assumptions. There are more religions than you know. The way one practices also may not be familiar to you. You’re demonstrating intolerance through ignorance. Maybe you should be asking questions in this post about religion, or abstain if you’re not interested in understanding it.

            Are you familiar with Baruch Spinoza? His take is fascinating. His higher power did not concern itself with the fates of mankind, but is responsible for the intangible connection of everything in existence.

            https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/37996/spinozas-god-einstein-believed-in-it-but-what-was-it

            • ᗪᗩᗰᑎ@lemmy.ml
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              3 months ago

              Are you familiar with Baruch Spinoza? His take is fascinating. His higher power did not concern itself with the fates of mankind, but is responsible for the lawful harmony of existence. It also does not discount or displace science in any way.

              That’s basic deism but I would disagree and say it does conflict with science. Science is evidence-based, if you claim something exists you must present evidence to support it. I can’t just claim there’s a 5-ton diamond in my backyard and say “trust me bro”. Nobody would believe me, so why should anyone believe in any god without evidence?

              • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                A hypothesis requires no evidence. It’s then tested through repeatable controlled experiments. The events leading to the Big Bang have no evidence. If science can hypothesize, why can’t religion?

                Have you read string theory? It’s no different than Spinoza’s god.

            • Communist@lemmy.ml
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              3 months ago

              All religion is untested made up nonsense, no exceptions.

              If you make it up without evidence, it can be thrown out without evidence. Athiests make no claims, there’s nothing to throw out.

              The real answer to these questions is “we have no idea”, everything else falls under russel’s teapot.

              • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                Are you this arrogant in condemning everything you don’t understand?

                Atheists claim there is no god. That claim may be wrong. It’s agnostics who make no claims.

                • Communist@lemmy.ml
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                  3 months ago

                  I do understand that it is something people made up without any evidence.

                  I am this arrogant about anything without evidence, if you present evidence, then I have a reason to believe.

        • Communist@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          That just leaves you with the conclusion that “there is no current explanation” not that you can make whatever you want up.

          • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Making up whatever you want is exactly how science works. It’s called a hypothesis. In science, that hypothesis is tested repeatedly. This is why science is best suited for repeatable phenomena.

            In this case, neither science nor religion can test said hypothesis. Why is science correct but religion is not in this situation?

                • Communist@lemmy.ml
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                  3 months ago

                  be·lief

                  noun

                  an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.

                  “his belief in the value of hard work”

                  trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.

                  “I’ve still got belief in myself”

                  Which is completely different from a hypothesis, which is that something might be true and we should test it

    • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The overwhelming majority of atheists are agnostic. Actually I cannot say I have ever once heard of a gnostic atheist, i.e. someone who would want to “prove no gods exist”. You (and afaict, all atheists) agree that that would be absurd, because for all we know some god is hiding under a rock somewhere. We can’t claim certainty until we’ve checked under every rock.

      Agnostic atheism is where people generally land when they realize that none of the theists have found anything, either. Why believe in something prior to the point of there being any valid reason for the belief?

      To further illustrate, do you believe in unicorns? No, right? Does that mean you say you can prove there aren’t any? Also no, right? Same situation with agnostic atheists.

      Sorry if I’m over-explaining, it’s a commonly misunderstood topic

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Really? They’re all over this thread citing the “burden of proof” argument and likening god to a unicorn.

        • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Yes, really! I endorse Azimir’s explanation fully.

          To potentially address some confusion:

          If you said there are no gods, that would be a claim that requires proof. You would then have the burden of proving that there are no gods. Exceptionally difficult, as one could be hiding anywhere.

          If you claim there is at least one god, then you have the burden of proving that.

          Where would you land if you believed neither claim could be proven? Well, it turns out, you could actually be either an atheist or a theist! All we have learned so far is that you are agnostic.

          This is where the story ends for the agnostic atheist. They have no reason to believe either claim, and therefore they do not believe there is at least one god, and therefore they are an atheist.

          The agnostic theist however has additional work they must perform in order to become a theist from this position. They must believe in at least one god to be a theist, but they have no evidence that would compel such a belief. So they must take it on faith.

          This leads to additional questions such as: is faith a good reason to believe in things? Can’t you use faith to believe in literally anything, thereby making it useless?

          This is generally why the atheist is involuntarily forced to withhold belief. I phrase it that way because often people forget how beliefs work, they are compulsions. They can’t choose to look past these thoughts and believe in a god any more than you could choose to set aside your better judgement and believe, and I mean really believe, in unicorns.

          I understand if you also can’t choose not to be offended by the unicorn comparison, btw. I didn’t like hearing it the first time when I was young and involved with the church. It made me think “surely that’s a step too far, and these two concepts are incomparable. Billions of people worship, they can’t all be that wrong”. It inspired me to go look and see what all of my fellow religious people had to offer in that regard. And to be honest, I still love hearing from them, but the truth is so far nobody has any evidence whatsoever. Most religious people themselves will even admit that. So it really does just come down to faith in the end.

          • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            By definition, science has proven nothing. There are only supported and unsupported theories. Yet you believe in science, but expect religion to have proof.

              • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                That is not my claim. I’m stating that the scientific method is not a proof. There are only supported and unsupported theories. Science is best suited for testing a hypothesis of repeatable phenomena. An untested theory is no different than religion.

                https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/200811/common-misconceptions-about-science-i-scientific-proof

                Interference-based creation can be considered a hypothesis. It is a theory that a supreme being or entity created and set the masses in motion that caused the Big Bang. Science also has unsupported theories about creation prior to the Big Bang.

                My point is that a truly scientific person would accept all possible theories, no matter how improbable, until data is provided to believe otherwise.

                • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  Sure, and so as an atheist and an otherwise “scientific person”, I do accept that god is a valid hypothesis. And I will remain an atheist until any evidence pops up to support that hypothesis.

                  At some point I think you may have gotten confused by terminology. It is indeed similar to various other scientific ideas, which are believed only after being tested. You do not accept every hypothesis as being the truth until proven otherwise. That is the essential difference between conducting science and exercising one’s imagination.

        • azimir@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          Requiring someone to provide evidence to back up a claim is not the same as taking a position that the claim isn’t true. This is the root component of the burden of proof and the stance many people have towards a god claim: they aren’t convinced the god exists due to a lack of evidence provided by the person claiming the god does exist. Until there’s actual evidence it’s rational and reasonable to withhold judgement.

          The unicorn (or other mythological beings) are used as a similar case to illustrate to a theist that they have the same kind of attitude towards the idea of a unicorn existing as an atheist does to any gods. They’re both neat concepts, but without evidence showing they actually exist, they’re nothing more than an idea for stories and art.

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            3 months ago

            I’d respect that opinion if this were a post about debating the existence of god. This is a post asking religious people why they are religious. Atheists were not under attack, nor were any religious people asserting that others should believe their faith. Actively attempting to discredit the beliefs of another is just as self-righteous as attempting to convert without request.

            This is the fundamental problem that Einstein had with the arrogance of atheists. As a self-identified agnostic, this is why he was offended when he was referred to as an atheist.

            “fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics”.

            https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2010/07/26/128769603/the-hidden-dimensions-of-science-vs-religion

  • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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    3 months ago

    Dear (my) god, you folks are irrational. If someone acts a certain way, judge them for it! But judging anyone with faith just because you don’t believe in that!? I can’t prove God exists any more than you can prove they don’t. If a religious person acts kind, fair, and rational, you shouldn’t have anything against them, should you? But this post isn’t about American right-wingers, or extremist Islamic Muslims, is it? It’s about anyone who has any faith at all, just because you don’t believe the same thing. Caring Christians literally building homes for people internationally, Sikhs feeding anyone, no matter their beliefs…

    I know I’m going to get downvoted for this, but that’s literally small-minded.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      It’s a post asking why people believe in religion. People who don’t believe in religion or spirituality really have no reason to comment other than to condemn. The arrogance of atheists on Lemmy is very disappointing.

    • stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub
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      3 months ago

      Victimized ✅

      Logical fallacy of ignorance ✅

      Ignores the atrocities and genocide committed in the name of “religion” ✅

      You are quite literally the pot calling the kettle black with your “small minded” comment. Nobody here was persecuting religion, but specific implementations that have committed mass murder, or engage in obnoxious displays (screaming at people at events (some events designed to support groups of people), going door to door, shaming vulnerable people trying to get medical procedures, etc etc)

      The day you widen your view to see others perspectives and history of abuse is the day you’ll actually be on the right “religious” track. Humanity is the religion.

      • Mr Fish@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        nobody here is persecuting religion

        proceeds to generalize all religious people as the worst of religion

        Most religious people do acknowledge all the stuff you’re talking about, and agree with you on how terrible they are. Most of the time when you meet a religious person, you won’t think there’s anything different until you ask them.

    • andyburke@fedia.io
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      3 months ago

      What would you think of someone who goes door to door trying to convince you a blubbery clown rules the universe from planet zebulon?

      Is that a normal person just doing normal person things?

      For the non-religious, there is no difference between the person above and a relgious believer.

      I think it’s reasonable to ask why people still hold unfounded beliefs with the greater interconnectedness of the world making it pretty plain that not all these religions can be divinely inspired truth, so many of them are necessarily imaginary.