Inner Conflict?
I read dozens of profiles every time I log on. It is nice to meet you all, but why do you answer: Do Not Believe in God 100% and How certain are you that no gods exist 95%. Why the 5% margin of error? Or measure of uncertainty?
Are you doubting your own conviction?
Please explain.
Because if the actual and factual evidence exists, I will review my beliefs.
Tricky space for many people because if you are really Agnostic and therefore open to any possibility then you have to accept the possibility of the existance of "God" - an intelligent being controlling the universe at his/her whim. For thinking people this possibility is absurd (i.e. Personally am 100% convinced no such being exists) but yet, as mere humans floundering in a sea of ignorance, can we really say categorically that God doesnt exist any more than we can say green, ammonia/hydrogen breathing alien humanoids of adavanced technology do not exist? Anything is possible and we therefore struggle with categoric yes/no answers to such questions.
Lol that is a good question maybe they believe in ?
I have been pondering the same.
1st thing, is what is the definition of a god?
If by God one means the set of physical laws that govern the universe, then clearly there is such a God. This God is emotionally unsatisfying... it does not make much sense to pray to the law of gravity. The idea that God is an oversized white male with a flowing beard who sits in the sky and tallies the fall of every sparrow is ludicrous.
2nd. Are we talking one or multiple gods? If there may be one, there may be more, so the argument in favour of "A" god loses more ground.
If we must leave room for the tiny chance that in an infinite universe there may be a god and because we can not prove there is not, then we have to say the same about tooth fairies.
I wonder about people who do not believe in this or that religion, this or that god, yet hold to the idea that it may still be possible. I wonder why some have to hang on to that, or are unable to say, No, there is no god. There is no tooth fairy etc.
I do not believe in any god yet mentioned, so believe less in unknown gods.
Are we just leaving some room in the argument so as not to totally alienate believers?
Love the Douglas Adams quote.Thanks, for posting that
It is really simple. The Matt Dillahunty model: No one can prove there is no god. If the Abrahamic is real, I wouldn't worship him anyway because he's a thug. Until there's a discovery that a god/gods exist, I see no reason to believe any of them exist. No one has given proof. Atheist: no god. And no other supernatural beings, I say.
I took this question to mean with the evidence you have right now. Are you 100% certain based on actual existing information, texts and teachings. What is known and able to be read and heard. Could there be some sort of god sure, new evidence could come to light, but there is no doubt in my conviction.
Gods are a human construct. Human imagination invented gods then used them as a method of control. Gods are as real as Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny and I don't believe in them. I 100% do not believe in gods created by human hands.
Since we do not know the origins of the universe I would hesitate to apply the word "god" to explain it's beginning. There is no evidence that an intelligence had a hand in the creation of our universe. Until we do there is no being, infinite or otherwise.
Point taken.
I forget how I answered, but I'm pretty sure I said 100% and probably 99% or something like that.
So I absolutely do not believe in any god. I have no reason to do so. If there was reasonable evidence that any of the thousands of gods exists, then I would not 100% not believe in a god.
But I can't be 100% certain there are no gods. What if there's a deist god who created everything but then leaves us alone? Such a god could exist even though there is no evidence to support its existence. There could be a god that's in hiding. It'd be like doing a psychological experiment on dogs. Maybe it's important for the dog to not be aware of the humans. Yet, the food bowl gets refilled and the poop disappears. From that dog's point of view, it may not believe there are humans, but it's not convinced.
I can reject all of the known gods, but I can't reject the unknown gods. There could even be a god that no one has even imagined.
I have not observed this...weirdness, for sure. On the other hand, it might be po edible to posit some kind of spiritual being who was actually god-like, unlike petulant unfair, nasty Yaweh.....?
Because it is a question they ask. Also I use to be a Christian and spent a lot of time trying to find proof of God. I am now an atheist and even if god was real I wouldn't want to follow or worship him. That is why I put 100%. I think it is silly to even ask that question in the first place on an atheist website.
I don't recall the percentage being asked of the belief, but I could be wrong... but they are two different questions. As stated earlier, it could be a non-personal creator... while the Abrahamic good, in my mind, is logically inconsistent and can be dismissed outright.
Having said that, claiming % for non-existence is a knowledge claim that then takes on it's own burden of proof. I think it's better to say you only have 99% at that point.
Interesting question. While I can't recall exactly what I might have said here, I'm personally on a continuum. Let's just say the universe is not yet completely understood. Have you seen the map of the universe on FB? [facebook.com]
Such a massive structure may never be understood. Perhaps there is a creator. I won't say no with 100% certainty. Perhaps the universe itself is its own 'god' - or creator. What I DO know with 100% certainty is the god of religions who is 'your own personal savior' is a crock. Out of that entire map, one tiny planet, and on that, one tiny area (the Middle East) is the source of and evidence of a creator and his son? Follow the logic. I might add that I live in the bible belt and am trying mightily to leave! I'm a pariah in my hometown.
Interesting question! I think everyone would have their differing reasons, so a post like this could gain some good insight in the aggregate.
My personal interpretation, when faced with these questions, was that they were overly simplified. Believing in God, capital G, as a question, seems pretty straight forward to me, particularly on this website. Believing no god(s) exist, little g, and possibly plural, is completely open to one's own interpretation given our culture. A quick interpretation is to think this is asking about polytheism, but there are other ways to slice it. I may be staunchly atheist, and completely believe in evolution, but that doesn't mean that I am % sure that the origins of what we would life on Earth are completely terrestrial. Could the earliest life on Earth have been seeded randomly be a comet? Is there any chance it was seeded by another intelligent life form? With the mental gymnastics humans love so much, some would naturally the other intelligent life our little-g god(s), and they might even it that just for short-hand's sake, not meaning that they were magic-doers...but to simply imply they were/are supreme to us.
I'm not saying these are my beliefs... but just as a for-instance for interpretation of brief answers to deep questions. Unless people ask questions like you have done, these deeper thoughts remain hidden. Well done!
One thing scientists do is create models of parts of the Universe, in other words they simulate parts of the Universe. As computers become more powerful, they are able to simulate more and more of the Universe. Astrophysicsists have modeled the Universe from creation to death by freezing. To extend conscious life as long as possible, intelligent beings may model themselves in computers and eliminate their bodies. A computer can run on very low amounts of power, and a black hole gives a little power for a very long time, longer than anything else. Thus, consciousness can survive the longest as a simulation. Perhaps we are already a simulation. There is no way to know, just as there is no way to know whether there is a god or not. I thought the % belief in god question was interesting because it tells how much people trust their own opinion. Otherwise, it is of little value afaik.
Here is the answer: Can one logically rule out 100% that the god of the bible, quran, and torah exists (i.e. is pure man made bunk) - yes, definitely (or at least 99.9993%). Clearly it's nonsense and full of thousands of contradictions. But can one rule out 100% that there is some sort of "god" or supernatural being? No, one simply cannot do that. Can one prove more likely than not that there exists no supernatural being? Yes. Can one prove it "beyond a reasonable doubt" that there is no god, such as in a criminal trial? It's close and arguable - probably yes, but maybe not. I would say there is a 90 to 95% chance that there are zero supernatural beings in the universe. Is that "beyond a reasonable doubt"? Depends on how one defines "reasonable".