Convict on 15/1/2007 at 11:58
Maybe I haven't concentrated hard enough in this thread but StD read the book which claims to disprove God's existence and tells us that the book exists and we should read it. However only 1? other person ITT has read the book so we can't really debate ITT much at all. Fett's posts have been interesting (bloodthirsty tribes killing heaps of their own and all! :ebil: ). It seems that StD started the thread saying God doesn't exist then the burden of proof for God's existence fell onto Christians instead of StD.
SD on 15/1/2007 at 16:26
That's actually a really neat summary of much of what's in the book.
Quote:
Not only do we need no God to explain the universe and life. God stands out in the universe as the most glaring of all superfluous sore thumbs. We cannot, of course, disprove God, just as we can't disprove Thor, fairies, leprechauns and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. But, like those other fantasies that we can't disprove, we can say that God is very very improbable.
I love this guy.
Vivian on 15/1/2007 at 16:37
Why? It's just hyperbole. Why bother talking about something you can't prove? Myself, I don't care whether or not god exists, as all my experience so far has shown me that even if it does, its irrelevant. Richard Dawkins just likes the sound of his own voice, if you ask me - why is this any more interesting than writing a book about why vampires don't exist?
Kaleid on 15/1/2007 at 16:47
I find the book difficult to summarize since it brings up so much (elequantly so) and Dawkins certainly seems to have his feet on the ground. It's not just about religion and its effects on this world.
Vivian on 15/1/2007 at 16:53
OK, I havent read it, I just find him irritating in general. But the title and what have been quoted so far seem to be designed mainly to provoke a response, you know? Directly comparing peoples religions (which they get a lot out of, as anyone who has ever talked to a genuinely religious person will know) to something frivilous like spaghetti monsters is just insulting, and dawkins knows that. Don't get me wrong, I see no need to invent a god to explain any of the things I study or have read or seen, but then again its not worth getting petulant about it.
SD on 15/1/2007 at 18:33
Presumably, Dawkins (like me) sees religion as one of the biggest threats to humanity we face today.
And if you want to talk about provocative language, then the phrase "The God Delusion" is nowhere near as inflammatory as certain passages in the Bible or the Qu'ran.
So far as comparing God to the Flying Spaghetti Monster - so what? There's exactly the same amount of proof for Yahweh's existence as the FSM's existence. That's the point.
You ask why not write a book about how vampires don't exist. The thing is that the creatures are generally accepted to not exist, and we don't have people killing each other in the thousands because they happen to worship a different bloodsucker.
fett on 15/1/2007 at 18:35
Quote Posted by Uncle Bacon
I don't care whether or not god exists, as all my experience so far has shown me that even if it does, its irrelevant.
Hah! Exactly what I've been trying to say for 8 pages I think. I wish I could be so concise. And the thing is - I've come to that conclusion not only by thinking and reading, but by experience on both sides of the fence. If God exists, it makes absolutely no difference - particularly in the lives of people who 'believe'.
Kaleid on 15/1/2007 at 20:06
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
And if you want to talk about provocative language, then the phrase "The God Delusion" is nowhere near as inflammatory as certain passages in the Bible or the Qu'ran.
Dawkins wrote a bit on why the word delusion was used, and if I remember correctly he wanted to use relusion instead... A friend send me this quote from the book
"The dictionary supplied with Microsoft Word defines a
delusion as 'a persistent false belief held in the face of strong
contradictory evidence, especially as a symptom of psychiatric dis-
order'. The first part captures religious faith perfectly. As to
whether it is a symptom of a psychiatric disorder, I am inclined to
follow Robert M. Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance, when he said, 'When one person suffers from a
delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from
a delusion it is called Religion.'" Gonna re-read the book by listening it through as an audiobook once time permits.
Convict on 15/1/2007 at 21:22
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
Presumably, Dawkins (like me) sees religion as one of the biggest threats to humanity we face today.
Ah yes, Dawkins thinks religion caused 9/11. Oh if only more people were as brilliantly intelligent as him. No wonder he is admired so.
I'm not an expert or anything but from a 5 second glance at wikipedia (which is surely enough) could you compare the existence of God to the existence of dark matter in that you can't prove their existence (can you disprove dark matter?)?
