Why do you hate America?



Rational individuals who hold religious beliefs are few and far between.

You could just as well say "rational individuals who hold concrete beliefs are few and far between". too many people are simply too unyielding in their beliefs in general, religion included. To hold a belief as unshakable is irrational at its core. I'm not a liar, so i have no problem openly admitting i constantly question my belief in god.

I forget the timeline of my prediction... I think I gave you a year.

Well ive held the same ideals more or less since about 16. Am turning 27 in a month. It seems your timeline is worth as much as a poopy flavored lollipop.

One can only hope. It's quite clear he's prepared to apply rational thinking and skepticism to his Christian beliefs and, when done honestly, they simply cannot survive it. It might take a while but I'm rooting for him.



I admit that everything I believe could be only in my own head. I can't solve hard solipsism - can you?

What I can do however is distinguish between what is most likely to be true and what is least likely to be true. You can do it too... and if you do you will note that God does not make an appearance in the former category.

This post was edited by Scaly on Aug 21 2015 12:23pm

Always wondered what the chances that their particular religion is the correct one.

Almost infinitely improbable based on numbers alone... every possible concept of God has most likely been thought of by somebody at some time... or will be eventually. So with all those concepts of different gods, and assuming there even is a god at all, the chances of it being your god - stupidly small.

All of that hinges on one point though, your idea of what god is and is not.

For all we know god exists and knowingly doesnt influence the world, created the laws of physics and natural selection, understanding it would take many billions of years for humans to even exist.

Whatever ideas we have about the likelihood of god existing depend on the predetermined characteristics of god that we apply to calculate his existence or lack-thereof. Im not aware of any way to decide what god is and is not like, i have my own ideas but i could be wrong about how he is or whether he exists at all.

Im sure your followup will be something like "if you cant predict the likelihood of your own beliefs why bother with them?" Well of course there is an aspect of a unconscious or even conscious pascals wager, also its simply not a high priority in my life. I hold loose religious beliefs and focus on other issues that i find more important in my life now. 10 years from now that could be different one way or the other.

This post was edited by thesnipa on Aug 21 2015 12:51pm

The fuck is the point in believing in an absent god? No evidence of his existence... no effect on the world... why even ask the question?

There could be a magical rainbow unicorn in another dimension for all we know... but believing it exists and basing life choices on what you think it might or might not prefer you do is absurd.

I dont believe in an entirely absent god, im simply stating that its possible for one to exist.

My religious beliefs are in line with my moral beliefs, so i dont base decisions only on religion, as i clearly stated above its a low but present priority in my life.

For the record i tend to believe in a god who has designed the universe as it is including the laws of physics. Without the laws of physics people like Jesus wouldnt be noteworthy.