Sypha Nadon on 23/3/2006 at 17:22
If Christians are so much happier then everyone else, then why on Earth do we sell so many Christian self-help/inspirational/empowerment books at the store I work at? Their lives must be lacking something if they continue feeling the need to re-enforce their faith to themselves...
Actually, I think the world would be a better place if there was more atheism. Their worldview is certainly saner, IMO. Still, I'm kinda hoping that one day the stars will be right and Great Cthulhu will rise from the ocean depths to reclaim the planet. You non-believers will be fucked then.;)
Rogue Keeper on 23/3/2006 at 17:22
Quote Posted by Rug Burn Junky
You didn' quite read that correctly did you?
I presume this is one of your favourite lines.
Ever heard of necessity of positive feedback to avoid communication noise and assure the other side you get it's point?
Rug Burn Junky on 23/3/2006 at 17:28
Quit being such a sensitive little flower.
You were bringing up red herrings and clearly going off on an irrelevant tangent. If you can't get things straight, I'm not going to coddle you.
Rogue Keeper on 23/3/2006 at 17:30
Please don't coddle anybody. :)
DarthMRN on 23/3/2006 at 19:51
If we move away from the agreed upon defitnition of atheist for a moment, join me in a small thought experimient:
How would the atheists, scientists and the vast masses who hold scientific research and contemporary logic above all else react if suddenly it was revealed that the most fundamental scientific facts were fundamentally wrong and every theory and fact based upon them (which is to say, just about all of them, right?) had entirely different reasons for behaving the way they do?
Likely, it would be total chaos. Everything would fall apart, and fear and insecurity would become world-wide epidemics. The faithful would be swept away with the rest, of course, but my guess is they would cope better than the irreligious.
Most of you would probably never dare think such a thought, maybe because you never have had a reason to. But does this not suggest that the atheists are just as dependent upon blind belief in the truths of science to provide them with security, as the religious people are of their religions? The only clear difference I see is that for the atheists there are no supernatural power to redirect responsibility to.
Stitch on 23/3/2006 at 19:57
Quote Posted by DarthMRN
The only clear difference
I see is that for the atheists there are no supernatural power to redirect responsibility to.
There's the weak link.
Science doesn't really work that way, dude.
Gestalt on 23/3/2006 at 20:31
If the way we currently understand the world turned out to be wrong, scientists would be the first to notice. Scientific theories are accepted on the the basis that they provide the most accurate explanation of observed phenomena. If something happened that cast doubt on our fundamental understanding of the universe, most self-respecting scientists would jump on the problem like a hungry dog that's found a delicious steak. Think of the prestige associated with fundamentally changing the way we view reality itself. The sort of intellectual revolution you're describing would spawn a renaissance, not a dark age.
DarthMRN on 23/3/2006 at 20:38
The stubborness of every scientist I have ever spoken to leads me to believe the opposite. There was even one who said, and I quote: "I wouldn't believe (the unscientific phenomenon we were discussing) even if I saw it with my own eyes".
Og course, this is just one dude I know, but this view of things I often find displayed by members of this forum, which are among the most knowledgable within my sphere of communication. I truly hope they do not, as you suggest, represent the majority within the scientific community.
Rug Burn Junky on 23/3/2006 at 20:44
Quote Posted by DarthMRN
There was even one who said, and I quote: "I wouldn't believe (the unscientific phenomenon we were discussing) even if I saw it with my own eyes".
Based on your general grasp on reality as previously displayed on these forums, that was probably because whatever phenomenon you were discussing was so ludicrous that it could only be explained by a David Copperfield illusion.
That's not stubbornness: that's proper skepticism and a recognition of your stupidity.
Stitch on 23/3/2006 at 20:44
Quote Posted by DarthMRN
The stubborness of every scientist I have ever spoken to leads me to believe the opposite. There was even one who said, and I quote: "I wouldn't believe (the unscientific phenomenon we were discussing) even if I saw it with my own eyes".
If said scientist even entertained your goofy question enough to answer with anything other than what Gestalt said, he or she is not, in fact, a scientist.
