Atheism the Belief

[Phanerothyme]

Why is it that God can only talk to one guy and he usually got his message while sat alone in the mountains or some remote place.

 

Why can't God talk to everyone, send his message to everyone at the same time?

 

Maybe God does speak to everyone, all the time, we just tuned him out about 3000 years ago.

[unbeliever]

Maybe God does speak to everyone, all the time, we just tuned him out about 3000 years ago.

 

Because hearing from the most powerful thing imaginable telling us meaning of life stuff is the kind of message we could miss.

[Phanerothyme]

Because hearing from the most powerful thing imaginable telling us meaning of life stuff is the kind of message we could miss.

 

Well some people obviously manage it.

[BarryRiley]

Because hearing from the most powerful thing imaginable telling us meaning of life stuff is the kind of message we could miss.

 

You do realise you're attempting to argue with people who have completely suspended logic? I'd quit now and get back to whatever it is you usually do.

 

---------- Post added 30-09-2015 at 06:50 ----------

 

Well some people obviously manage it.

 

Case in point. We can't hear God therefore he must exist

[unbeliever]

 

Case in point. We can't hear God therefore he must exist

 

Reminds me of Douglas Adam's babel fish.

[leviathan13]

 

If not having a belief in something is the same as believing that something is not, answer me this... do you believe that my dog is sat next to me right now?

 

 

Whether your dog is sat next to you or not is irrelevant - the first question should be do I believe you have a dog in the first place?

 

The problem with this question is that we know dogs exist, so there is at least a 50/50 chance that you either have a dog or you don't. Now, I've never seen 'your' dog, so as a way for you to try and prove you have a dog you could write a description, paint me a picture or even take a photo and e-mail it to me... but none of that is actual proof as you could have made it up or nicked a photo from the internet. However, we know dogs exist, so my 'belief' system of your dog isn't based on whether it exists or not, just whether you have one or not.

 

This is different to atheism which is simply a lack of 'belief' in a deity/religion - the lack of belief that something which hasn't been proven does exist.

[Cyclone]

It's not a belief that it hasn't been proven though, it's a belief that deities don't exist.

[RootsBooster]

Whether your dog is sat next to you or not is irrelevant - the first question should be do I believe you have a dog in the first place?

 

The problem with this question is that we know dogs exist, so there is at least a 50/50 chance that you either have a dog or you don't. Now, I've never seen 'your' dog, so as a way for you to try and prove you have a dog you could write a description, paint me a picture or even take a photo and e-mail it to me... but none of that is actual proof as you could have made it up or nicked a photo from the internet. However, we know dogs exist, so my 'belief' system of your dog isn't based on whether it exists or not, just whether you have one or not.

 

This is different to atheism which is simply a lack of 'belief' in a deity/religion - the lack of belief that something which hasn't been proven does exist.

No, really... the question is "do you believe that my dog is sat next to me?"

 

It doesn't matter which belief the question is about, if the question starts with "do you believe..." then the answer will be yes or no.

This is because a belief is a conviction, something you've accepted to be true. If you haven't been convinced or accepted it, then you don't have that belief.

 

BUT... If the answer is no, all that means is that you haven't been convinced/accepted it. It doesn't mean that you have to believe the opposite (ie, that my dog is NOT sat next to me).

 

---------- Post added 30-09-2015 at 09:23 ----------

 

Different questions about the same thing-

 

-1. Do you believe that my dog is sat next to me?

The question is about a belief, this specific belief has a binary state. Either present or absent (the belief, not the dog).

 

-2. Do you believe that my dog is not sat next to me?

The question is about a belief, this specific belief has a binary state. Either present or absent. This belief happens to be an opposing belief to the last one.

 

-3. Do you believe that my dog is sat next to me or do you believe that it is not sat next to me? The question is about two opposing beliefs and presents two options (false dichotomy) but can be answered in several ways.

 

-4. Where do you believe my dog is? The question is not about any specific belief and can be answered in many ways.

 

 

No.1 is asking if a specific belief is present. If the answer is 'no' then question No.2 can be asked.

If question No.1 is answered 'no' it doesn't mean that the answer to question No.2 will automatically be 'yes'.

Edited September 30, 2015 by RootsBooster

[Cyclone]

If I don't believe your dog is sat next to you, then I AM stating that I believe the opposite, that I believe it is NOT sat next to you.

 

Unlike if I say I don't know.

[RootsBooster]

If I don't believe your dog is sat next to you, then I AM stating that I believe the opposite, that I believe it is NOT sat next to you.

 

Unlike if I say I don't know.

 

The question isn't about what you know, the question is asking if you have a specific belief, that my dog is sat next to me.

 

The simplest way I can put it is that NOT having belief 1 does not mean that you HAVE to have belief 2. The logic is laid out plainly in the blue questions above.

 

I'll have another go, because I'm sure you do understand how logic works...

 

A= Belief that dog is sat next to me

B= Belief that dog is not sat next to me

C= Neither belief (absence of either belief)

 

If A = false then either B = true or C= true

If A = true then B=false and C= false

 

What you're saying is;

If A = false then B = true

 

so where does that leave C?

Edited September 30, 2015 by RootsBooster