View Single Post
  (#4 (permalink)) Old
Gavroche Offline
Member
Welcome me, I'm new!
*
 
Gavroche's Avatar
 
Gender: Male
Location: NY

Posts: 26
Points: 8,369, Level: 13
Points: 8,369, Level: 13 Points: 8,369, Level: 13 Points: 8,369, Level: 13
Join Date: March 15th 2011

Re: Curious what people of (any) religion have to say about this..? - February 28th 2012, 05:28 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by LostAngels View Post
Hello everyone.

I am personally an atheist, for many justifiable reasons.*
Although I've become much less ignorant and pretentious (for lack of a better term) in regards to my views on the concept of religion, I am getting awfully tired of seeing people of religion ask atheists "how they get by without god."*

I feel that we 'get by' just as they do, for they disbelieve in all other gods but their own.*
Well I would certainly never say this to you lol. I'm sure you live a very happy life, and truth be told, as one who believes in God, although aspects of my belief relieve many burdens on me, it also does weigh on me, because belief in God demands a certain responsibility that you would otherwise not have. I believe I am accountable to something higher than myself and I need to keep that in my mind when I live my life. But I can tell you this much, if I did not believe in God, my entire world view would change, a worldview I now consider abhorrent, but such terms would be arbitrary if I had no standard by which to measure them, a standard I find in my belief in God. *2 cents*

Quote:
Originally Posted by LostAngels View Post
As Stephen Roberts once said,*
"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."*
I think this is a clichéd generalization. There is a substantial difference between discounting belief in a sun god, or tree god, a moon god, and discounting a belief in a prime mover God/Creator God. The former are merely aitiological beliefs attempting to explain the power and appearance of natural phenomena, phenomena that could otherwise be explained in much simpler and reasoned terms. And I do not believe the criticisms levied against belief in these sorts of gods, apply to the common belief in God as the all knowing, all powerful, all present God who created the natural world. Belief in this God is one that finds it's invitation in reason and illuminated by faith, and what I mean by this is that people, such as myself find no other recourse than to accept the existence of this being who is the uncaused caused to a finite and natural world.

If we go back to the beginning of the universe, prior to the big bang we still do not know what caused the universe to spring into being, and it is my belief that there must be a cause for the creation of this universe that exists outside of the universe itself, or outside of nature.. supernatural if you will. I see this as an entirely reasonable proposition to believe. It is not a God of the gaps cop out, it is a fundamental question of logic applied to what it is we know about the universe, and what we know is that the universe is finite in age; it had a beginning, the very cause of its inception remains a mystery, a mystery I believe is explained by a cause outside of nature that creature nature, who we call God. And from this basic belief, which I believe one can arise at through reason, it is through faith where people will attribute other things to this God depending upon their religious tradition.