Religion

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,658 posts)

14. I'm not sure how pointing to the use of the word "believe" advances any religious argument.

Thu Jun 14, 2018, 12:15 PM

Jun 2018

Religious people believe in a god or gods. You don't. The "religious" point that you object to seems to be that believing and not believing are somehow equal in the sense that the belief that there is no god is still just a belief, and therefore no more valid than the belief that there is one. To me that is arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, even if you don't believe in angels. Your non-belief is the equivalent of the averment that there are no gods in your universe, but I'm not sure there's any point in arguing with people who don't accept the underlying premise.

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Some atheists say that they believe there are no gods or deities. [View all] MineralMan Jun 2018 OP

I don't know exboyfil Jun 2018 #1

I've always thought that it was none of my business what others MineralMan Jun 2018 #2

I believe there are no gods. You don't believe any exist. Croney Jun 2018 #3

There is a semantic difference, which some religionists try to exploit. MineralMan Jun 2018 #7

Oh. I get it. So I don't believe anything either. Croney Jun 2018 #12

I'm not an atheist. I'm an unaffiliated apatheist Major Nikon Jun 2018 #32

A fair and thoughtful description, I think. MineralMan Jun 2018 #34

"Soft" Atheism is the null hypothesis of the God question. Act_of_Reparation Jun 2018 #4

Exactly. Religionist's arguments in that regard are simply specious. MineralMan Jun 2018 #8

Just show me some gods. Voltaire2 Jun 2018 #15

Exactly. Act_of_Reparation Jun 2018 #16

Repeated theme in Science Fiction is thbobby Jun 2018 #5

Cargo Cult thinking, eh? MineralMan Jun 2018 #13

Dogs think, "My human feeds me and cares for me. He must be a god." The Velveteen Ocelot Jun 2018 #19

Oh, yes. Cats know the truth. MineralMan Jun 2018 #21

So then may we say you believe in Cat? The Velveteen Ocelot Jun 2018 #23

When you live with a cat, there's no choice. MineralMan Jun 2018 #26

Feynman's "cargo-cult thinking" is a bit different. Igel Jun 2018 #30

Cats tolerate humans and more or less control their attacks. MineralMan Jun 2018 #35

How many nonexistent angels are dancing on the head of that pin? The Velveteen Ocelot Jun 2018 #6

It is all part of a purely semantic argument made by MineralMan Jun 2018 #9

I'm not sure how pointing to the use of the word "believe" advances any religious argument. The Velveteen Ocelot Jun 2018 #14

Outside of the negative, "believe" is not my favorite word here either, FWIW Pope George Ringo II Jun 2018 #20

The "no gods" idea really depends on the impossibility of proving a negative Pope George Ringo II Jun 2018 #10

It's really just a technical difference. MineralMan Jun 2018 #11

Be careful what you say about Cthulhu. The Velveteen Ocelot Jun 2018 #17

Easy for you to say... MineralMan Jun 2018 #18

I've always been more of a Hastur fan, myself Pope George Ringo II Jun 2018 #22

I've always thought he(?) was sleeping! nt aka-chmeee Jun 2018 #24

Now, yes. But not forever... The Velveteen Ocelot Jun 2018 #25

I don't like the word "believe" marylandblue Jun 2018 #27

Logicians know about such words. Bretton Garcia Jun 2018 #28

Yes. It's like many other words in that way. MineralMan Jun 2018 #29

There so such thing as divinity... LakeArenal Jun 2018 #31

... Major Nikon Jun 2018 #33

I'd go a step further and say that all evidence has been disproven Lordquinton Jun 2018 #36

So when you make your own statements, guillaumeb Jun 2018 #37