How do you justify your beliefs?
Quote from: Assassin 11D7 on March 03, 2015, 09:55:12 PMHow do you justify your beliefs?What beliefs are you talking about?
Quote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 09:57:17 PMQuote from: Assassin 11D7 on March 03, 2015, 09:55:12 PMHow do you justify your beliefs?What beliefs are you talking about?Uhh your religious/non-religious beliefs. Duh.
Quote from: Assassin 11D7 on March 03, 2015, 09:59:05 PMQuote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 09:57:17 PMQuote from: Assassin 11D7 on March 03, 2015, 09:55:12 PMHow do you justify your beliefs?What beliefs are you talking about?Uhh your religious/non-religious beliefs. Duh.My beliefs are not relevant. I am asking you (who I assume to believe in some deity) to justify your beliefs. Or at least, explain them to me.It's not meant to be hostile, which I think you're taking it as. I want a rational discussion, here.
Simply, someone that is a strong theist either had events that strengthened their thought in the belief
or never had any major events that weakened their thought in the belief.
I have faith that there is more than this life. I believe 100% that a greater being put in motion everything that is around us.
Quote from: PSU on March 03, 2015, 10:09:10 PMI have faith that there is more than this life. I believe 100% that a greater being put in motion everything that is around us.Based on what?
Quote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 10:10:21 PMQuote from: PSU on March 03, 2015, 10:09:10 PMI have faith that there is more than this life. I believe 100% that a greater being put in motion everything that is around us.Based on what?Based on my beliefs. My gut feeling.
Quote from: Assassin 11D7 on March 03, 2015, 10:05:33 PMSimply, someone that is a strong theist either had events that strengthened their thought in the beliefLike what?Quoteor never had any major events that weakened their thought in the belief.This is what I'm trying to fix.
Quote from: PSU on March 03, 2015, 10:11:47 PMQuote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 10:10:21 PMQuote from: PSU on March 03, 2015, 10:09:10 PMI have faith that there is more than this life. I believe 100% that a greater being put in motion everything that is around us.Based on what?Based on my beliefs. My gut feeling.What gives you that "gut feeling"? You must have some sort of evidence that supports that to allow it to govern your life (assuming you're that kind of theist).
Like moments where they saw what they interpreted as an act of God
or someone showing God's love and compassion to others
Think about some racists, those people didn't just magically start thinking Whites are the only people that are good on Earth, either dogma or events where they saw a certain group of people acting bad caused them to feel that way.
If someone lived their whole life only encountering violent and harassing Muslims, then would they really feel that only some Muslims are bad?
So, there's something inherently wrong with religion or theological thinking to you?
But theres just something that makes me happy believing in God. I feel like I'm protected by a great God.
I'm much happier now than when I was an atheist and I feel my life has meaning.
What if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?
I don't have a religious belief thus I cannot justify it since I don't have it.
Quote from: Korra Valentine on March 03, 2015, 10:34:23 PMI don't have a religious belief thus I cannot justify it since I don't have it.You're a cool gal.
Like what? And you believe God can directly intervene with the earth?
This isn't relevant because non-religious people can show love and compassion to others. Being nice doesn't prove there's a god.
Those people are a product of indoctrination as children or a lack of intelligence.
No, but the chances that they've ONLY encountered negative Muslims are slim to none. IF someone, theoretically, had only encountered radical muslims, then they would be justified in their understanding that "all muslims are bad". But if they still held onto that belief once shown evidence that contradicts it, I would consider them irrational.
I didn't say that. I'm trying to fix people's lack of critical thinking.But believing something to be true without evidence is not "wrong", but rather stupid, in my opinion.
Quote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 10:40:34 PMQuote from: Korra Valentine on March 03, 2015, 10:34:23 PMI don't have a religious belief thus I cannot justify it since I don't have it.You're a cool gal.I'm agnostic tho, you can ask me why I'm that.
Quote from: Korra Valentine on March 03, 2015, 10:41:20 PMQuote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 10:40:34 PMQuote from: Korra Valentine on March 03, 2015, 10:34:23 PMI don't have a religious belief thus I cannot justify it since I don't have it.You're a cool gal.I'm agnostic tho, you can ask me why I'm that.Why are you agnostic? (You aren't, but I'll deal with ya.)
Something unexpected happening that helps out the individual perceiving it as an act of God.
Theology requires belief, faith if you will, definitive empirical proof doesn't match that.
Okay, then for a more believable to you example, the man also encountered some neutral Muslims but the effect they had is totally negligible because of that neutrality and the pre-concieved notion that Muslims are violent and harassing based on majority of previous experiences.
But you agreed, so you agree that people are shaped by their environments and situations and that can cause one to adopt beliefs you find radically different from your own?
Well, here's the problem. There is no definitive answer, and because of that people are going to go with whatever they feel the majority of what they've perceived in life aims them towards.
For some, that is the belief of a god, or gods.
I tend to see that there is a higher power, perhaps its some cosmic creator or the universe itself or something. I don't know. And that's the point, I don't know and I'm not sure.
(What do you mean I'm not? )
Quote from: Korra Valentine on March 03, 2015, 10:51:23 PMI tend to see that there is a higher power, perhaps its some cosmic creator or the universe itself or something. I don't know. And that's the point, I don't know and I'm not sure.That doesn't make you an agnostic.In Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion", he comes up with a 7-point system for determining your religious beliefs. 1 being, "yes, there is a god", and 7 being "I am absolutely sure there is no god".On that list, he scores himself a 6, because he cannot prove a negative, and cannot be sure that a god really doesn't exist. In this sense, he is too, an agnostic.Where do you fit on that scale?Quote(What do you mean I'm not? )Because you either believe there is a god or there isn't. There is no middleground.
Quote from: Maverick on March 03, 2015, 10:34:08 PMWhat if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?I would ask you why you were a theist.
Quote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 11:01:44 PMQuote from: Korra Valentine on March 03, 2015, 10:51:23 PMI tend to see that there is a higher power, perhaps its some cosmic creator or the universe itself or something. I don't know. And that's the point, I don't know and I'm not sure.That doesn't make you an agnostic.In Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion", he comes up with a 7-point system for determining your religious beliefs. 1 being, "yes, there is a god", and 7 being "I am absolutely sure there is no god".On that list, he scores himself a 6, because he cannot prove a negative, and cannot be sure that a god really doesn't exist. In this sense, he is too, an agnostic.Where do you fit on that scale?Quote(What do you mean I'm not? )Because you either believe there is a god or there isn't. There is no middleground.I guess I'm 4 or 5.So you're saying that I have to be part of an extreme?
Quote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 10:39:11 PMQuote from: Maverick on March 03, 2015, 10:34:08 PMWhat if I considered myself a theist but did not follow any religion?I would ask you why you were a theist.Probably mostly because I was raised to believe in a deity, so it was hard for me to abandon my beliefs. While over the years I've come to the conclusion that organized religion is ridiculous, I've never seen much compelling evidence against the possibility of a deity/deities existing. I suppose I would more accurately be described as an agnostic.In any case, hypothetically, I think that a deity would be very different than how most people see their God.Sorry, I thought I would have something more thought-provoking to say but I'm drawing blanks.
Quote from: Korra Valentine on March 03, 2015, 11:11:45 PMQuote from: [Raiden] Snake on March 03, 2015, 11:01:44 PMQuote from: Korra Valentine on March 03, 2015, 10:51:23 PMI tend to see that there is a higher power, perhaps its some cosmic creator or the universe itself or something. I don't know. And that's the point, I don't know and I'm not sure.That doesn't make you an agnostic.In Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion", he comes up with a 7-point system for determining your religious beliefs. 1 being, "yes, there is a god", and 7 being "I am absolutely sure there is no god".On that list, he scores himself a 6, because he cannot prove a negative, and cannot be sure that a god really doesn't exist. In this sense, he is too, an agnostic.Where do you fit on that scale?Quote(What do you mean I'm not? )Because you either believe there is a god or there isn't. There is no middleground.I guess I'm 4 or 5.So you're saying that I have to be part of an extreme?No, I'm saying that you either believe in a god or you don't. It's up to you, either way, I still like you as a person.You can say "I don't actively know there is a god, but I know there is no evidence for one so I will live my life accordingly", which is what I do. But you're still an atheist because you fall under the presumption that there isn't one.
Can you justify/explain/prove your religious beliefs?
