I'm divorced...
its not always about proof..
Questions to theists or atheists
- Thread starter birch
- Start date
its not always about proof..
Actually, I hear what you're saying. Some people have found their personal proof. And I am genuinely interested in hearing what some of them have to say... Depending on how sane/rational the person seems otherwise.
However, "god" made me the way I am. She knows what it would take to convince me.
true
And even I don't know what it would take.
And even I don't know what it would take.
i am not who you think i am..i am not who I think i am..only god knows who i am..
Now can't that get a bit confusing, since no one knows who God is??
if God is who you think he is, then stands to reason that you are, who you think you are...:shrug:
now that is scary..
No doubt...lol..:fright:
Interesting. That response didn't address my post in the least.
it was not a question, i was asking for everyone to explain why they do or don't believe even allowing for one's personal opinions.
Then maybe my response was understood. There is no such thing as someone who does not believe. Everyone believes. All belief means is "accept as true". If you're targeting a specific type of belief or a specific belief then that should be specified; otherwise, the answer is everyone believes because it's how we're wired to process information.
this is silly. obviously that statement was in reference to the ten questions posed.
and no, of course i wouldn't pose question on the religion forum such as 'do aliens exist?' i'm not trying to figure out if they do but wanting to know "others" opinions or beliefs are and why.
to be honest, a moron could have figured out the difference and context. hmm, it does make ya wonder.
and no, of course i wouldn't pose question on the religion forum such as 'do aliens exist?' i'm not trying to figure out if they do but wanting to know "others" opinions or beliefs are and why.
to be honest, a moron could have figured out the difference and context. hmm, it does make ya wonder.
Given the size of the Universe, the number of stars, and that I think life is the product of physical and chemical processes, yes. But given the size of the Universe, and the limitations imposed upon us by physics and chemistry, I don't believe we're been visited by them.
Other Universes,.... well, I think there could be more to our Universe that we know, but if something exists and interacts with our Universe, it's part of our Universe. If there is a Universe whose dimensions do not overlap with ours, we can never know if it exists or not (unless we can perhaps infer it from some gap in symmetry, anti-matter perhaps, ... ) So I believe in the possibility of there being other Universes, but we can never know.
No. Why do we never see ghosts of flies, or Australopithecus if they they supposedly exist? Why is it black dogs and headless horsemen?
No. 'cos if these things happen, they can be explained by science, and aren't paranormal. I think largely the phenomenon people report are errors of perception, and no more.
No,... it begs too many questions, like, where do new souls for an ever increasing population come from, and why would some be recycled, while all of these spares waited around,... and if you create souls, why recycle old ones,...
No. I am equally sceptical about all Gods, from Apollo to Zeus, with all the others in between.
Theoretically it appears possible using wormholes, ... except in reality it would take more energy than there is in the Universe to pull it off apparently. So it seems nature has sewn up the loophole.
No. A piano doesn't have a soul when it's being played. Nor an engine when it's running. Why a body?
No. These beliefs may help some individuals feel better about life, so they may have some value, but I don't believe they are 'true'. Things do not have to be true to contain truth, like Buddhist koans.
I do not believe any religion to be correct, so I have no religion.
birch,
I believe what we call "aliens" exist.
yes.
I believe what we perceive as "ghosts" exist.
Whether or not they are "ghosts" is a different matter.
yes.
yes.
I believe there are innumerable gods.
Not at the moment.
yes.
no.
it deponds on the religion.
jan.
I believe what we call "aliens" exist.
yes.
I believe what we perceive as "ghosts" exist.
Whether or not they are "ghosts" is a different matter.
yes.
yes.
I believe there are innumerable gods.
Not at the moment.
yes.
no.
it deponds on the religion.
jan.
Yazata
Valued Senior Member
A 'belief' is a cognitive state, with a proposition (a statement that can be either T or F) as its content, that in turn drives behavior. It's basically the affirmation that the proposition is indeed T or F, accompanied by some propensity to act accordingly when appropriate.
In this instance, Birch asked some rather interesting questions that I enjoyed answering. Taken together, they help illustrate how different people conceive of the religion/science interface. So it's interesting to see what others people's responses are and learn a little about why they made them.
Human beings have all kinds of beliefs and they make all kinds of assertions. Those beliefs are rarely, if ever, 100% logically certain, such that there is zero probability of being mistaken. (I doubt that logical and mathematical proofs rise to that standard.)
But despite their not being absolutely certain, some beliefs are nevertheless thoroughly rational and are well-justified by reliable evidence. These can have a very high probability of being true.
Other beliefs may be poorly justified and basically represent shots in the dark. Their chances of being correct will probably be little different than chance. (That likelihood can approach zero, depending on the universe of discourse.)
So in my opinion, it doesn't matter in the least whether somebody asks 'Do you believe space aliens exist?' or 'Do space aliens exist'? Assuming that the question is being answered honestly, the inquirer is going to get a statement of the respondent's belief either way. There's nothing stronger that they can provide.
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It does 'round here.