I am newly returned to tWeb. This thread interests me, because it relates to my own beliefs. I cannot say I have read the entire thread, but the initial post pretty closely reflects my views. JUst as I do not think theism is a provable/unprovable position, I do not think atheism is a provable/unprovable position. At least not in the sense of an ironclad, logically unassailable proof. Both positions are, in essence, positions of faith based on the "best possible evidence." What led me to be atheist is the following:
1) Theism shows a trend to disunity. As time goes on, religious sects to end to fragment and splinter into sects. This seems to me to be evidence that the core beliefs are not founded in an objective reality. Science, on the other hand, trends to unity. As proposals are made, they go through a process of rejection and re-evaluation (especially if they fly in the face of the established "truth.") But as evidence mounts, the tendency is towards unity rather than disunity, because there is a mechanism for weeding out misconceptions.
2) The trend, over the course of history, is for religious explanations to be displaced by scientific ones, as we learn more and more about the universe and how it operates. This suggests to me that "god did it" is a substitute for "I don't know," until we actually DO know.
3) I simply have no basis for accepting that a god exists. Despite a religious upbringing, and even several years in the seminary, I see nothing around me that requires a god. I see a great deal in our history and prehistory that suggests that the concept of god was one that emerged as a way to explain the inexplicable. So it comes as no surprise that atheism is on the rise and religions are waning as we learn more and more about the universe around us.
Those are probably the big three reasons I find myself (to my own surprise) atheist.
1) Theism shows a trend to disunity. As time goes on, religious sects to end to fragment and splinter into sects. This seems to me to be evidence that the core beliefs are not founded in an objective reality. Science, on the other hand, trends to unity. As proposals are made, they go through a process of rejection and re-evaluation (especially if they fly in the face of the established "truth.") But as evidence mounts, the tendency is towards unity rather than disunity, because there is a mechanism for weeding out misconceptions.
2) The trend, over the course of history, is for religious explanations to be displaced by scientific ones, as we learn more and more about the universe and how it operates. This suggests to me that "god did it" is a substitute for "I don't know," until we actually DO know.
3) I simply have no basis for accepting that a god exists. Despite a religious upbringing, and even several years in the seminary, I see nothing around me that requires a god. I see a great deal in our history and prehistory that suggests that the concept of god was one that emerged as a way to explain the inexplicable. So it comes as no surprise that atheism is on the rise and religions are waning as we learn more and more about the universe around us.
Those are probably the big three reasons I find myself (to my own surprise) atheist.
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