Posted on 10/28/2017 7:22:06 AM PDT by Raymond Pamintuan
In my previous article, I originally defined atheism as “the rejection of the possibility that ‘God’ exists” because that is how I’ve understood the word from the time I spent studying theodicy (God and the problem of evil). But many “atheist” commenters disagreed with this definition because their self-designation was based on belief statements that didn’t align with my knowledge statement.
This article explains the differences between the viewpoints and the logic behind them.
Atheism is commonly called the belief that there aren’t any gods or the lack of belief in gods. But in a more accurate, philosophical sense, it is the knowledge that gods do not exist. This is easily seen by how an atheist answers the question: “Is there a God?” Belief is irrelevant to the question; knowledge is what’s important—with the only possible responses to be “yes,” “no,” or “I don’t know.”
Calling oneself an “atheist” is chic in our society, and conveys an air of intellectual sophistication, but many “chic atheists” describe themselves incorrectly.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
We live in a world that has been created with finite detail, going to be hard pressed to make me believe it happens from one big bang. Then again when creating the heavens and the earth probably wasn’t very quiet. When your the Man, you do it in style and what man doesn’t like a nice big explosion?
Are they? My usual response is "Not as far as I can tell."
He also does not seem to understand that he has a “faith” in Reason and its ability to discern truth (of some kind.) He has not examined his own methods and assumptions, and that shows throughout the article.
Questions he needs to consider:
— Does it matter? How? What does “matter” mean?
— Is his inquiry useful? How?
— Are his methods reliable? How?
— What are the implications if his methods are reliable?
Then, is he placing trust in the reasoning process? Why? What are the implications of doing so? Specifically, does not every inquiry begin not only with (provisional) assent to propositions but a general trust that inquiry is worthwhile? What are the implications of that trust?
Is “truth” a meaningful word? Why? How? What are the implications if it is?
He tries to treat the philosophical question ALMOST like a math problem, but in important ways math is more a MODEL of philosophy than an instance.
Or, he could just read St. JP2’s Fides et Ratio and maybe Wallace Stevens’s Anecdote of the Jar. Both are available online.
A universe without a central determining course is indeterminate chaos.Knowledge is based on reality that is determinable. The (intellectual) act of belief is not possible in a random universe where nothing is knowable. Knowing is only possible where there is an ability to discern truth. Truth is only possible where there is an arbiter of what is real and what is not real. Without an objective standard nothing can be known. An atheist can not accept the truth of anything because he cannot accept a standard for reality. Atheism is not intellectually feasible because it is instantly self contradictory.
I read the entire article several times, and the author demonstrates there is a very real difference between knowledge and belief.
His figure one illustration is in a court setting. There is a difference when a witness says, “I KNOW the defendant was at the scene of the crime” from “I BELIEVE the defendant was at the scene of the crime.”
This is why knowledge ALWAYS outweighs belief. As he says, “The court does not care what you believe; its concern is on what you know.”
He also points out “knowledge” can either be independently verifiable or it cannot be - but just because it can’t doesn’t make the knowledge statement false.
The example he gave in Figure 1 is:
“if Mary testified that Mark told her he was the one who stole the money but he then refused to confess to investigators; that ‘non-replicability’ is inadequate to disprove Mary’s claim.”
As a Christian, I can honestly say I KNOW God exists. I don’t believe he exists - I know he exists. I have this certainty because I’ve felt the Holy Spirit within me - I’ve felt God’s very presence. I’ve never seen him and no saint or angel has ever appeared to me. I can never prove my witness to anyone else. But I KNOW he is real.
This is why I was so happy to see his Figure 3! He clearly differentiates the core perspectives of theism and atheism.
I suggest you take the time to read his article again because this is a fantastic tool for any Christian who wants logical support for their faith.
“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”There are only two choices: Heaven or hell.
And, because hell is the default choice, you must actually choose Heaven.
According to the JudeoChristian story, thanks to the first parents, we are born sinners into a sin-filled world.
Fortunately, we’ve been given “free will” and can choose our own way.
Because, otherwise, unless we each decide and choose Heaven, hell has already been decided and chosen for us simply by our our being born.
It’s like the Rush song Freewill says, “If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.”
Hell is the default choice whether you decide or not.
So, choose wisely and decide to ”choose wisely”.
Modern physics postulates 10 dimensions for strings to vibrate in. Lots of room for God to exist in without anybody ever seeing him. From the point of view of an extra dimension being nothing is hidden or can be hidden by a lower dimension entity.
Bookmark
You are right, but only to a certain extent. There is a difference between knowledge and belief, with knowledge as much more credible.
Which is a more credible statement in court: “I believe John was at the house” or “I know John was at the house”?
But, knowledge is not the same as “truth.” As Mr. Watson said, “Both a knowledge statement and a belief statement can be true or false. But if false, the former can be justified with credible evidence that just turned out to be erroneous or obsolete, while a belief can’t provide any credible justification.”
For example, I know the earth is a sphere, but I know someone who believes the earth is flat. My knowledge is based on credible evidence, including my own eyes when I looked out the window of a plane when I first left the Philippines, but his is based on YouTube videos.
Which is more credible?
Bears repeating.
And as we witness daily, godlessness leads to mass foolishness and human folly.
“God and Satan,” Aaron mused. “But where is the dichotomy? Are they not polar opposites?”
At this, the ghost broke out into a laugh, a merry, ringing laugh, so blithe and pretty as to counterfeit in sound the cheery aspect of her bright and lovely face. But Aaron, though he smiled in sympathy, appeared confused, and sought an explanation with his eyes.
“Dear Aaron!” she exclaimed. “That you should ask me such a thing! But certainly you understand! I’m not a theologian . . . I’m a ghost!”
An atheist, a vegan, and a crossfitter walk into a bar...
I only know because they told everybody within two minutes!
“What Am I: Atheist, Theist, or Something Else?”
I’m going with the idea that the author is “Something Else”, i.e., Hellbound. Hope he does enough studying to make the right decisions for his eternal future.
Did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac?
He'd lay all night wondering if there is a doG.
In fact, I'd suggest a hierarchy as follows.
know: hold something to be true based on experience or established facts
theorize: to hold something to be true based on principles
hypothesize: to hold something to be true based on limited evidence
believe: to hold something to be true independent of evidence
No, it is the BELIEF that gods do not exist. An atheist can no more KNOW gods DON'T exist than a Believer can KNOW they do.
In both cases, it comes down to faith. One has faith in his own infallibility; the other admits of being in awe at the splendor of Creation and chooses to believe that it has its roots in the Divine.
I profess that it is only through the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that there is Hope.
Faith: the belief in things unseen.
“I suggest you take the time to read his article again because this is a fantastic tool for any Christian who wants logical support for their faith.”
Have you considered circumstantial evidence? The ground is dry before you go to bed. When you wake up the ground is covered in snow. You didn’t see it snow, but it did.
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