At BigThink: Atheism not as rational as you think?

_{Denyse O'Leary

May 1, 2022

Atheism, Intelligent Design}

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Something must be changing if points like this are being made at outfits like BigThink:

Most people who have ever lived believe in some sort of god; they are as certain of their gods as of their breath. But not a single organism outside our immediate evolutionary lineage has ever contemplated the existence of a god. Think about that for a moment: as far as we know, every single sentient being in the universe that has ever believed in a god is a member of our odd little species, and almost every member of our species has believed in a god. To scientists interested in evolution and human nature, religion is a puzzle that screams to be solved.
On closer inspection, religion is not an evolutionary puzzle so much as two evolutionary puzzles. First is the puzzle of faith: the puzzle of how Homo sapiens — and Homo sapiens alone — came to be a religious species. Second, there is the puzzle of atheism: how disbelief in gods can exist within an otherwise religious species. Will Gervais, “Atheism is not as rare or as rational as you think” at BigThink (April 15, 2022)

Hmmm. Can we start with: Is there any reason to believe that a cat, for example, can “believe in a god”? Creationism makes more sense all the time. If we are talking about human beings.

Comments

FH, on a fair body of evidence, so does the atheistical, or ideological view. KF PS, for example, I come from a generally PNP family but like my father I am strongly non partisan, and can sympathise with the designated whipping boy party's members, JLP. Though, I am prone to say pain-p and jail-p. (The bite in the joke comes from history.)kairosfocus_{May 2, 2022
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Neanderthals? Enigmatic remains found associated with burials suggest a reverence for their dead at least.Fred Hickson_{May 1, 2022
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There's certainly a huge variety of religions to choose from. Though "choose" is perhaps not quite word. Which faith someone adopts largely corresponds with the ethnicity, geography, culture that you are raised in.Fred Hickson_{May 1, 2022
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Sev : Atheism is the rational alternative position to the incoherent and unsubstantiated claims of religions So a deist is an atheist in your book?es58_{May 1, 2022
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Sev, atheism has always faced this challenge, since the days of Plato:
Ath[enian Stranger, in The Laws, Bk X 2,360 ya]. . . .[The avant garde philosophers and poets, c. 360 BC] say that fire and water, and earth and air [i.e the classical "material" elements of the cosmos -- the natural order], all exist by nature and chance, and none of them by art . . . [such that] all that is in the heaven, as well as animals and all plants, and all the seasons come from these elements, not by the action of mind, as they say, or of any God, or from art, but as I was saying, by nature and chance only [ --> that is, evolutionary materialism is ancient and would trace all things to blind chance and mechanical necessity; observe, too, the trichotomy: "nature" (here, mechanical, blind necessity), "chance" (similar to a tossed fair die), ART (the action of a mind, i.e. intelligently directed configuration)] . . . . [Thus, they hold] that the principles of justice have no existence at all in nature, but that mankind are always disputing about them and altering them; and that the alterations which are made by art and by law have no basis in nature, but are of authority for the moment and at the time at which they are made.-
[ --> Relativism, too, is not new; complete with its radical amorality rooted in a worldview that has no foundational IS that can ground OUGHT, leading to an effectively arbitrary foundation only for morality, ethics, so too justice, law and government: accident of personal preference, the ebbs and flows of power politics, accidents of history and and the shifting sands of manipulated community opinion driven by "winds and waves of doctrine and the cunning craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming . . . " cf a video on Plato's parable of the cave; from the perspective of pondering who set up the manipulative shadow-shows, why.]
These, my friends, are the sayings of wise men, poets and prose writers, which find a way into the minds of youth. They are told by them that the highest right is might,
[ --> Evolutionary materialism -- having no IS that can properly ground OUGHT -- leads to the promotion of amorality on which the only basis for "OUGHT" is seen to be might (and manipulation: might in "spin"), opening the door to cynicism, hyperskepticism and nihilism . . . ]
and in this way the young fall into impieties, under the idea that the Gods are not such as the law bids them imagine; and hence arise factions [ --> Evolutionary materialism-motivated amorality "naturally" leads to continual contentions and power struggles influenced by that amorality at the hands of ruthless power hungry nihilistic agendas], these philosophers inviting them to lead a true life according to nature, that is,to live in real dominion over others [ --> such amoral and/or nihilistic factions, if they gain power, "naturally" tend towards ruthless abuse and arbitrariness . . . they have not learned the habits nor accepted the principles of mutual respect, justice, fairness and keeping the civil peace of justice, so they will want to deceive, manipulate and crush -- as the consistent history of radical revolutions over the past 250 years so plainly shows again and again], and not in legal subjection to them [--> nihilistic will to power not the spirit of justice and lawfulness].
Just for starters. After that, address that God is a serious candidate necessary being, and that such are either impossible like a euclidean square circle or actual. Your good reason why God is impossible of being is ______? Or, for disregarding serious candidacy is ______? KFkairosfocus_{May 1, 2022
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Atheists don't have a scientific explanation for our existence. That is the opposite of rational.ET_{May 1, 2022
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Atheism is the rational alternative position to the incoherent and unsubstantiated claims of religions, which is why it will never supplant them while human beings are as they are.Seversky_{May 1, 2022
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Bill Mahr was taken aback that the Babylon Bee is a Christian site and a top parody site. He mentioned that Christianity itself was a parody. I thought that whatever Bill Mahr believes it is less coherent than Christianity. I’m sure he believes that he is well informed. But the irony is, he is extremely uninformed. Atheism is an incoherent belief system but one that believers think is the ultimate in rationality. I mentioned several months back that commenters from The NY Times were clueless on why they are atheist. Not a coherent reason in the bunch of them. Of course how could they be coherent when there isn’t any basis for atheism.jerry_{May 1, 2022
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Silver Asiatic/1
With the idea that faith evolved by mutations, then they should claim that a cat could eventually believe in a god. But Mr. Gervais, fortunately, seems to realize that is absurd.
Exactly. Cats don't believe in a god, they know that they are gods and require us to worship them.Seversky_{May 1, 2022
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Can we start with: Is there any reason to believe that a cat, for example, can “believe in a god”?
With the idea that faith evolved by mutations, then they should claim that a cat could eventually believe in a god. But Mr. Gervais, fortunately, seems to realize that is absurd.
Creationism makes more sense all the time. If we are talking about human beings.
Yes. Our nearest supposed ancestor has nothing like this, and as the article says - neither do any other biological entities except for humans.
and almost every member of our species has believed in a god.
It's good to see him admit that. It's a truth that his atheist buddies have tried to deny for a long time.
To scientists interested in evolution and human nature, religion is a puzzle that screams to be solved.
He should realize that he's screaming because the method they've used (Darwinism) to try to solve everything just does not work.Silver Asiatic_{May 1, 2022
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