Non-Christians, or Non-Abrahamic Religious Folks, in the WR?

[Denter]

But everything is a natural machine, the result of pure chance and environmental filtration.

Does courage exist?

 

[A_bomb47]

Raised as a Hindu. Never gave a fuck about it. My parents are religious but never forced it on me or my siblings. They are so well integrated into Dutch culture that we always had a Christmas tree.

Married a Catholic women. She doesn't give a fuck about religion either.

We're raising our children non religious.

 

[DiogenesOfSinope]

Raised as a Hindu. Never gave a fuck about it. My parents are religious but never forced it on me or my siblings. They are so well integrated into Dutch culture that we always had a Christmas tree.

Married a Catholic women. She doesn't give a fuck about religion either.

We're raising our children non religious.

I will present my daughter the major options philosophically, give her tools, encourage experimentation, and no matter what love her choices as a fullfillment of creation.

Fuck fuck herp a deep ain't I unique? Hajhahalolz.

 

[meauneau]

Does courage exist?

It's an illusion. Everything that exists is physical. If courage exista then it is physical. If it is not physical then it doesn't exist.

 

[Denter]

It's an illusion. Everything that exists is physical. If courage exista then it is physical. If it is not physical then it doesn't exist.

I see.

 

[meauneau]

I see.

It serves an evolutionary purpose. But the way we think of it, experience it, etc, is an illusion cooked up by introspection.

 

[Rusk]

It's an illusion. Everything that exists is physical. If courage exista then it is physical. If it is not physical then it doesn't exist.

its just your deterministic brain that makes you think this way

 

[kickboxjh]

I'm devout in my hatred for Islam.

 

[Thurisaz]

I'm firmly agnostic, leaning towards atheist. I absolutely believe in science and education.

You're not an atheist. Your god has a name and it is Science. You also attribute it miraculous powers that have nothing to do with what the meaning of the word entails.

All of it's wrong though and there's never been anything in our history that can be verified as supernatural.

You can only imagine my surprise at learning that when our capabilities to observe phenomena are limited to the natural, and even of that a small amount, that we're unable to verify what we can't observe or reliably even define.

I don't know what caused the energy that allowed the big bang.

A material impossibility really is a conundrum for a materialist.

I don't know what happens when entropy occurs and the heat death of the universe occurs. What I do know is that this story of a god who created everything instantly and sent his son down to do magic tricks and die after everything he created didn't happen exactly as he wanted even though he can supposedly do anything is a load of bullshit.

How exactly do you know this?

The future of our world is in science. Religion is in the past. Science is constantly evolving and getting more advanced. We know basically how the brain works and how we "think" and react to our environment.

No, we don't. We know what brain chemistry looks like. We don't know much else. Your wishful thinking is religious, not scientific, in nature.

We know basically how life evolved on this planet.

We basically know nothing of the sort:

1. Biologists predicted genome size would increase over time, and that was wrong.
2. Biologists then predicted that gene number would increase over time, and that was wrong.
3. Biologists predicted that complex body parts would develop after simpler body parts, and that was wrong.
4. Biologists have now found that the oldest living ancestor of animals, comb jellies, already had brain, nervous system, and muscles, and that sponges later lost those genes. Complexity was there at the start.
5. Biologists have also found, through experiment, that most mutations cause a loss of complexity.

How many times a theory must be falsified until you stop religiously adhering to it?

We know basically how the universe was created.

No, we don't.

There's a few unanswered questions that I would love science to solve, but that doesn't mean there has to be a god. I've yet to see anything that makes me think I should trust people who wrote the bible or any other religious document.

I've yet to see anything that makes me think I should trust you, seeing as you're absolutely wrong about most of the stuff you think you know.

People believe in religion because they are scared little children who can't take the idea that there's no larger reason for our existence.

You think your atheism has nothing to do with the pride you feel in not being "a scared little child"? If so, you're wrong.

They have to inject some purpose into our being here, otherwise their little pea-brains can't handle it.

Newsflash: you have to reject that our being here has a purpose, otherwise your little pea-brain couldn't handle it. I suggest you stop using projection as your primary weapon.

I don't have any respect for an adult who tells me that someone walked around 2017 years ago and did magic tricks for god (while being god) so he could die for "our" sins. If you believe any of that shit happened, you're a man-child and I just don't respect you as an adult. Grow the fuck up people. There isn't magic or demons or anything like that. We just have this boring little planet with these boring scientific explanations for what happened.

I doubt Christ walked 2017 years ago just yet, being a little baby back then. Your display of hubris and lack of understanding is very entertaining.

 

[panzer723]

Roman Catholic Christian here

 

[panzer723]

I believe both in God and Science.

 

[DoomPatrol]

You're not an atheist. Your god has a name and it is Science. You also attribute it miraculous powers that have nothing to do with what the meaning of the word entails.

That's absurd, and there's no proof that any such god exists.

You can only imagine my surprise at learning that when our capabilities to observe phenomena are limited to the natural, and even of that a small amount, that we're unable to verify what we can't observe or reliably even define.

It's funny how paranormal experiences stop under scientific controlled conditions. It's almost like a bunch of people are making them up or something.

A material impossibility really is a conundrum for a materialist.

A magic skydad really is a conundrum for a rational adult.

How exactly do you know this?

Because I have critical thinking skills and I'm not a gullible child. Why don't you believe in 99% of other religions?

No, we don't. We know what brain chemistry looks like. We don't know much else. Your wishful thinking is religious, not scientific, in nature.

You need to read some books on neuroscience then.

We basically know nothing of the sort:

1. Biologists predicted genome size would increase over time, and that was wrong.
2. Biologists then predicted that gene number would increase over time, and that was wrong.
3. Biologists predicted that complex body parts would develop after simpler body parts, and that was wrong.
4. Biologists have now found that the oldest living ancestor of animals, comb jellies, already had brain, nervous system, and muscles, and that sponges later lost those genes. Complexity was there at the start.
5. Biologists have also found, through experiment, that most mutations cause a loss of complexity.

You need to reread books on evolution and biology. You're just blatantly wrong.

How many times a theory must be falsified until you stop religiously adhering to it?

You just told me you don't understand what a scientific theory is.

No, we don't.


I've yet to see anything that makes me think I should trust you, seeing as you're absolutely wrong about most of the stuff you think you know.

Oh I'm wrong about your magical skydad? I'd love to see a single piece of evidence that supports his existence that wasn't artificially created by man.

You think your atheism has nothing to do with the pride you feel in not being "a scared little child"? If so, you're wrong.

I'm very proud of my critical thinking skills and ability to not be a gullible, easily manipulated idiot who believes in a magical being.

Newsflash: you have to reject that our being here has a purpose, otherwise your little pea-brain couldn't handle it. I suggest you stop using projection as your primary weapon.

I doubt Christ walked 2017 years ago just yet, being a little baby back then. Your display of hubris and lack of understanding is very entertaining.

We have no purpose, and you can't provide any proof that we have a purpose. You're relying on the written words of a bunch of men from 2000 years ago who stopped trying to learn about the world around them. I'll stick to science. If you want to call me an idiot that's fine, because I don't respect you at all. I don't care what comes out of your mouth. You believe in a bunch of ancient voodoo that's clearly bullshit. You can talk shit from the side and let us adults learn about the real world around us.

 

[Thurisaz]

That's absurd, and there's no proof that any such god exists.

Not all gods are anthropomorphic. All they need are worshipers, and you're a devout one.

It's funny how paranormal experiences stop under scientific controlled conditions. It's almost like a bunch of people are making them up or something.

I don't know much about paranormal except I hear they're rare and have an unknown cause. Were they reproducible and their causes understood, there would be little reason to call them paranormal, now would there?

A magic skydad really is a conundrum for a rational adult.

I'll take hard to understand over flat out impossible any day.

Because I have critical thinking skills and I'm not a gullible child.

Your personal disbelief or distaste isn't evidence of anything, much less proof, which is what your "knowledge" would require. Your behavior towards religions is blindly religious, requiring literally no evidence for your acceptance.

Why don't you believe in 99% of other religions?

Contradictory claims can't be simultaneously true.

You need to read some books on neuroscience then.

I've read some and am good buddies with a neuroscientist. He isn't making the magical claims you are. I assume it's because he knows what he is talking about, as do I.

You need to reread books on evolution and biology. You're just blatantly wrong.

Nope. You answered my question all right: your adherence to TENS is also entirely religious in nature and can't be falsified.

You just told me you don't understand what a scientific theory is.

I know for a fact the theory of evolution isn't one.

Oh I'm wrong about your magical skydad? I'd love to see a single piece of evidence that supports his existence that wasn't artificially created by man.

The universe has a beginning. It is evidence that supports any explanation of a cause not of this world.

I'm very proud of my critical thinking skills and ability to not be a gullible, easily manipulated idiot who believes in a magical being.

I know you're very proud. You have little reason to, but then again, pride has nothing to do with reason, as you amply demonstrate.

We have no purpose, and you can't provide any proof that we have a purpose.

When you make a claim you should back it up. That's the way it works.

You're relying on the written words of a bunch of men from 2000 years ago who stopped trying to learn about the world around them. I'll stick to science.

You're hilariously stupid to think that science is in any way, shape or form opposed to Christianity. It is quite the contrary: science could not have began, and indeed did not begin anywhere except in Christendom. There are good reasons for that. Your adherence to science is literally and blindly religious, as you care naught for reason, falsifications or evidence. And it pisses you off because it's true.

If you want to call me an idiot that's fine, because I don't respect you at all.

Thanks, idiot. It's funny that you think I'm seeking your approval.

I don't care what comes out of your mouth. You believe in a bunch of ancient voodoo that's clearly bullshit. You can talk shit from the side and let us adults learn about the real world around us.

You might want to start learning why science began in Christendom and not elsewhere, despite those other places having more advanced civilizations for a long time. I can answer that one, can you?

 

[meauneau]

Not all gods are anthropomorphic. All they need are worshipers, and you're a devout one.

Is your god anthropomorphic? You talk of gods as if they were persons, i.e., had minds, plans, intentions, purposes, etc., so is science a person, is science a proper name, where is science if it is a god with a mind?

The universe has a beginning. It is evidence that supports any explanation of a cause not of this world.

So now you accept this scientific theory because it supports, or think it supports, your belief in god, lol. Lets ignore the fact that the theory states that the universe has a beginning point when it begun to expand which isn't the absolute beginning of the singularity.

Now, since the universe begun to exist and everything that begins to exist has at least one cause (sometimes many causes) therefore the universe has exactly one cause? This is invalid. Maybe the universe has more than one efficient cause, like the house I live in which was caused by many persons. Or think about all the cases in nature where a bunch of things cause 1 thing without minds being involved. Maybe the universe is one such thing, the effect of many causes, multiverse or whatever.

You might want to start learning why science began in Christendom and not elsewhere, despite those other places having more advanced civilizations for a long time. I can answer that one, can you?

There is evidence of proto scientific thought before Christianity was invented by humans. The truth is Christianity slowed scientific progress down a lot.

 

[DoomPatrol]

Not all gods are anthropomorphic. All they need are worshipers, and you're a devout one.


I don't know much about paranormal except I hear they're rare and have an unknown cause. Were they reproducible and their causes understood, there would be little reason to call them paranormal, now would there?


I'll take hard to understand over flat out impossible any day.


Your personal disbelief or distaste isn't evidence of anything, much less proof, which is what your "knowledge" would require. Your behavior towards religions is blindly religious, requiring literally no evidence for your acceptance.


Contradictory claims can't be simultaneously true.


I've read some and am good buddies with a neuroscientist. He isn't making the magical claims you are. I assume it's because he knows what he is talking about, as do I.


Nope. You answered my question all right: your adherence to TENS is also entirely religious in nature and can't be falsified.


I know for a fact the theory of evolution isn't one.


The universe has a beginning. It is evidence that supports any explanation of a cause not of this world.


I know you're very proud. You have little reason to, but then again, pride has nothing to do with reason, as you amply demonstrate.


When you make a claim you should back it up. That's the way it works.


You're hilariously stupid to think that science is in any way, shape or form opposed to Christianity. It is quite the contrary: science could not have began, and indeed did not begin anywhere except in Christendom. There are good reasons for that. Your adherence to science is literally and blindly religious, as you care naught for reason, falsifications or evidence. And it pisses you off because it's true.


Thanks, idiot. It's funny that you think I'm seeking your approval.


You might want to start learning why science began in Christendom and not elsewhere, despite those other places having more advanced civilizations for a long time. I can answer that one, can you?

You're a clown. I'm not going to bother answering each individual crap point you've tried to make. You're basically just spouting word garbage that you think sounds good, but you have nothing factual to bring to this discussion. So if you want to be gullible, feel free to believe in whatever you want. Science deals in hard truths, not imaginary skydads who care whether or not we jerk it.

 

[DiogenesOfSinope]

Roman Catholic Christian here

It was a Roman Catholic priest (Jesuit of course) who origonally proposed the big bang theory, Georges Lamaitre. So how is it these WR athiests--none scientists-- think reason must exclude faith from the framework of reality when many great scientists left room for spirituality beside their material science?

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Agnostic. Regardless of whether there is a creator or not, I am convinced that at a fundamental level, everything in the universe is interconnected. The Higgs field must permeate all of spacetime, I think, so that might have something to do with it. I think if humanity doesn't get wiped out by an epochal disaster, we can eventually figure it out. The scientific method is based up the idea that at the deepest level, the universe makes sense, i.e. that what happens within it follows rules. Further with the right experiments and with logic we can figure out what those rules are. So far, it's been uncannily reliable. Some guy figured out the math we'd need to send a rocket to the moon 400 years ago*.

See The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences, for an interesting take on that. I don't think we're going to find any sort of ultimate solution anytime soon, mind you, but with computers and the ability to potentially retain accumulated knowledge forever, it seems inevitable if we survive long enough. So, I guess my religion is science. The difference, however, is that I'm prepared for my religion to make mistakes from time to time, but mistakes only improve understanding. Something that doesn't seem to occur to anti-science people is that most of the best science is when scientists deliberately go looking for mistakes in their theory in order to find inconsistencies. That's the experimental part. Things that don't fit the theory point to new science. Each time a new more consistent theory is established, we gain an even greater understanding of the Universe we inhabit. To me, that's pretty awesome. If there was a creator, it hit the switch and disappeared because it was made to evolve completely on its own, no divine intervention required. Note, I'm not a believer in the Singularity, necessarily. It seems far fetched.

*More or less.

Interesting take and after watching and listening to hours of Theist Apologist / Atheiest debates, this probably sums up my feelings towards creation perfectly. I mean really we're all agnostics in a way. Everyone's questioned wether or not their god is the right one, if god exists, life after death etc. At the end of the day, for people who can think logically, something tells us in the back of our mind that we just don't know.

I'm not a fan of any religion, regardless of the good it does. To think that humans cant perform acts of kindness without religion is dumb. Prager's attacks on atheistic morality are disingenuous and out right ludicrous. God is the only way for humans to define Good & Evil? What a cuck.

I've also never believed in the Supernatural. "We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for evidence". As Hitch (I think) said, extraordinary claims require extortaordinay evidence.

That being said, I can't stand William Lane Craig. I do admire his agnostic reasoning, but the fact he has had debates about Jesus rising from the dead and history can prove it is mind numbing.

+1 for Science

 

[xenomorph4prez]

 

[sleepwalk]

Although I remain a Catholic, I love reading about comparative religion and how they have influenced each other and what they have in common. I was an atheist for an afternoon and it didn't take but I developed a strong agnostic streak. I find agnostics the most interesting and productive conversation on metaphysics and religious thought as they have the least hangups.

im agnostic atm
was raised roman catholic went to kindergarten all the way through HS
after being both a fireman and a cop in nypd and after 9/11 and watching my father die of multiple cancers/liver disease/colitis crohns etc my faith is no longer there much at all

Sorry to hear of your troubles and losses, brother. I've always thought it was an interesting dichotomy for those of us who are LEOs. Like anyone in emergency and/or social services, you see some shit. I sometimes joke that "You'll see things that would make the Pope doubt God and meet people who would make Richard Dawkins doubt evolution." On top of that, we are brought to think of things in objective terms. And yet, many of us have a strong feeling of a higher... cause/purpose/truth/power/judge... something... that draws us to that job. In my department, I've met very religious people who have said that they "turn that shit off at the start of every shift" and atheists who carry a prayer card to St Michael in their vest. If we were normal, we wouldn't have applied for the job.

Raised as a Hindu.

Thanks for contributing. I've wondered for a while if we had anyone raised or practicing Hindu on board. Nearly a billion people but they don't get mentioned much. I know we have some Buddhists on here. Mostly good dudes.

 

[Thurisaz]

You're a clown. I'm not going to bother answering each individual crap point you've tried to make. You're basically just spouting word garbage that you think sounds good, but you have nothing factual to bring to this discussion.

That's as much an admission of me being right as your psyche can take at this moment. I'm glad you acknowledged you have no case.

Science deals in hard truths, not imaginary skydads who care whether or not we jerk it.

...and there we have the reason why you're such a devout follower of "science": you want to jack off without feeling guilty and need someone to get pissed off at because you still do. Puts the "hard truth" you mention in a different light, it does.