I'm reading a book entitled "The Question of God", which details a hypothetical debate between Sigmund Freud and CS Lewis. It mentioned that both were devout atheists (Lewis converted to Christianity in his 30s), and also had problems with authority. It made sense that those who hated authority and often despised authority figures would also hate a theoretically 'ultimate authority', that being God. So I'm asking those of you that don't believe in a God: 1)Do you have problems in dealing with authority? and 2)Would you consider this a possible reason for your adamant disbelief in the existence of a god?

Discuss.

I have no problems with authority figures.

Authority figures exist.

There is no verifiable evidence that a god does.

So if something exists...you can't have a problem with it? http://www.totse.com/bbs/confused.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/confused.gif)

Denying a possibility due to lack of evidence doesn't invalidate the possibility, only decreases the probability of that possibility being a reality.

And there is most definitely evidence of God's existence. You are surrounded by it; you simply choose not to see it.

quote:Originally posted by Elephantitis Man:

So if something exists...you can't have a problem with it? http://www.totse.com/bbs/confused.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/confused.gif)

Merely because something exists does not prevent me having a problem with it. I simply have no problem with accepting that certain individuals hold authority. I fail to see the authority in an imaginary being.

quote:Denying a possibility due to lack of evidence doesn't invalidate the possibility, only decreases the probability of that possibility being a reality.



I do not deny the possibility of a god. I simply don't waste time believing in a being with no physical evidence showing it exists.

quote:And there is most definitely evidence of God's existence. You are surrounded by it; you simply choose not to see it.

And exactly what evidence might that be?



[This message has been edited by truckfixr (edited 10-07-2005).]

Certain people have problems with authority, but some don't. Although there may seem related, having problem with authority and atheism are mutually exclusive.

quote:Originally posted by Elephantitis Man:

I'm reading a book entitled "The Question of God", which details a hypothetical debate between Sigmund Freud and CS Lewis. It mentioned that both were devout atheists (Lewis converted to Christianity in his 30s), and also had problems with authority. It made sense that those who hated authority and often despised authority figures would also hate a theoretically 'ultimate authority', that being God. So I'm asking those of you that don't believe in a God: 1)Do you have problems in dealing with authority?

and 2)Would you consider this a possible reason for your adamant disbelief in the existence of a god? Discuss.



1)Not often do I have problems with authority unless the person WITH the authority is abusing his/her power.

2)no, I do not believe that this is a reason for my disbelief in god. However I myself am not an athiest but an agnostic; I dont know whether or not god is real, but I believe that there can be a higher power then humans. I am in religious limbo you could say. However, I see the officials in churches often rant and rave about how evil and wrong people are and how great god is and how he will send you to hell if you dont DO a certain thing. I disagree with them, as I think that they are only egging those who follow them (like the sheep in George Orwells Animal Farm) to think that those who follow another belief are wrong and will be sent to hell by a vengeful god.



[This message has been edited by Cerebreus (edited 10-08-2005).]

quote:Originally posted by Elephantitis Man:

1)Do you have problems in dealing with authority?

Nope. I greatly respect authority figures.

quote:Originally posted by Elephantitis Man:

2)Would you consider this a possible reason for your adamant disbelief in the existence of a god?

If you're looking for a universal reason why atheists do not believe in gods then look no further than Occam's razor.

I have a problem with authority I don't respect. Which includes God.

quote:Originally posted by Sarter:

If you're looking for a universal reason why atheists do not believe in gods then look no further than Occam's razor.

Is it really possible to say that chance is a simpler solution than intelligent design?

For instance, if a golfer gets a hole in one. Which is more probable: that the golfer swung at the ball wildy and it landed in the hole by pure chance; or that the golfer had some skill and was actually aiming at the hole?

Both are possible solutions. One relies on chance and the other, on purpose. In my above analogy, do not mistake the golfer for God (that obviously isn't the difference). The difference is purpose. In other words: a result due to meaningfulness is more likely than a result due to chance.

Apply Occam's razor to another situation, crop circles. There were two possibilities: they were either made by man or aliens. It was much more simple to say that man made them than aliens made them, and it ended up true when several 'crop circle' hoaxes were uncovered. However, in this situation, both solutions carried meaning. If the aliens were in fact creating the crop circles, the purpose would have been communtication (either with us or other aliens monitoring the planet). If men made them, the purpose would have been to attract attention and the joys of creating a successful hoax.

Both solutions had meaning though. In the question of God, only one solution has meaning, therefore the argument is not 'simplicity versus complexity', it is first 'chance versus purpose'.

quote:Originally posted by Elephantitis Man:

For instance, if a golfer gets a hole in one. Which is more probable: that the golfer swung at the ball wildy and it landed in the hole by pure chance; or that the golfer had some skill and was actually aiming at the hole?



I don't have problems with authority figures. I don't believe in any gods, not just the christian one. To me they're all myth, and I have no reason to believe in any of them. My belief shouldn't be necessary for saving me. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I have to believe something or I'm punished forever? Come on, step away from your ideas and just ponder that. It shouldn't be based on belief, because then we don't have all the facts, and if there is this all-powerful all-present god then there should be some sort of concrete proof.

That being said, your analogy is silly. Just because a golfer is skilled or purposeful doesn't guarantee a hole in one. If that were true, Tiger wouldn't be fucking it up like he has been, and hole-in-one's would be far more common. It's all just probability based on a large number of factors. Anyway your analogy doesn't relate to the larger picture. The universe only had to be created once. The probabilty of it happening didn't matter, because it did. So your analogy really doesn't encompass the larger reality. The universe is here. Doesn't mean there is purpose or design behind it. It could just be a cosmic hole-in-one after a long period of time. The point is we don't know, and your myths don't answer it either. Just live and be a good person, that's the whole point of religion anyway.