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Poll: What is your religion?

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Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#101

Post by [deleted] »

frederickcook wrote: post #92
prawn wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"So why not believe?" How is it that easy? We're not picking a team to support in the Finals series. The idea of believing in a "god" to me is as foreign as believing in a tooth fairy. When an employee of mine is openly religious, it is to me akin to him espousing a belief in something purely fantastical - tooth fairy, Santa Claus, etc. His choice and I don't deride it, but to me it is all entirely bizarre. When I lo…

Might not be the best idea to comment on your personal feelings regarding an employee's religious affiliation. It'd suck to have a HN post submitted as evidence in a discrimination lawsuit. Edit: Why the down-vote? The parent has his company and website in his info. No idea what it's like in AUS, but in the states, if someone was fired and there was any ambiguity regarding the reason, this comment could be be admissi…

[deleted]

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#102

Post by Rhapso »

marcamillion wrote: post #60
michael_nielsen wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe in God because I've never heard a good reason to believe in God. I find it odd that you presume a need for a good reason to not believe in something. If I did need such reasons, I'd need a good reason to not believe in invisible pink unicorns, teapots in orbit around Saturn, and many other things. (Apologies if I've misinterpreted you.)

Let's assume that neither of us know if God REALLY exists...don't you think it might be safer to hedge your bet and believe in a god - for the afterlife? What will it cost you to believe in God while you are alive? Nothing. What will it cost you if there really is a god and you chose not to believe? Could cost you eternity. So why not believe? The upside is (in the worst case) the same as not believing, but the downs…

Actually this is an age old logical fallacy called Pascal's Wager. Because it is just as likely for there to be a anti-Pascalian god as there is to be a pascal friendly god, then belief in god is a zero sum game from the point of view of all things being equal hypothetical logic.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#103

Post by Rhapso »

marcamillion wrote: post #60
michael_nielsen wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe in God because I've never heard a good reason to believe in God. I find it odd that you presume a need for a good reason to not believe in something. If I did need such reasons, I'd need a good reason to not believe in invisible pink unicorns, teapots in orbit around Saturn, and many other things. (Apologies if I've misinterpreted you.)

Let's assume that neither of us know if God REALLY exists...don't you think it might be safer to hedge your bet and believe in a god - for the afterlife? What will it cost you to believe in God while you are alive? Nothing. What will it cost you if there really is a god and you chose not to believe? Could cost you eternity. So why not believe? The upside is (in the worst case) the same as not believing, but the downs…

Actually this is an age old logical fallacy called Pascal's Wager. Because it is just as likely for there to be a anti-Pascalian god as there is to be a pascal friendly god, then belief in god is a zero sum game from the point of view of all things being equal hypothetical logic.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#105

Post by Gormo »

It's fairly common for people to respond to this sort of question by saying something along the lines of "I disapprove of organized religion, but have spiritual faith."

My own view is exactly the opposite. I see the value in the ritual, community, and psychological "anchor" that organized religion can provide. But spiritual faith seems absurd; why mix your emotional security and your sense of identity up with a bunch of conceptual abstractions, or delude yourself into thinking that the subjective and particular is really objective and universal?

I respect religion, per se, and hold no grudge against religions that use theology and mythology as part of their symbolic repertoire. So when I say "I do not believe in God", I'm not so much rejecting God as rejecting belief.

Whether or not God exists objectively isn't really something I think about or care about answering.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#106

Post by mgkimsal »

jswinghammer wrote: post #76
revolvingcur wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pascal's Wager is ridiculous. It is rooted in a false dichotomy and attempts to salve the conscience by the acceptance of a contradiction.

I'm not sure there is a false dichotomy present there. You're either going to burn in hell or you're not. The downside of trying something to get out of that sentence is small and upside is big. It's terrible theology but it's decent logic.

It's false in the sense that it only provides two options and seems to indicate those are the only two options. Believe in the Christian God or don't. It doesn't take in to account Jupiter or Zeus or any other potential deities in determining the 'logic' of choosing to believe or not.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#107

Post by Keyframe »

petervandijck wrote: post #52
thisduck wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much for the same reason that I don't believe Gollum (Lord of the Rings) or Harry Potter exist. For the same reason that I don't believe that there is a Giant Invisible Teapot in outer space (Russell's teapot). Just so you know, it wasn't always this way. I used to believe in Allah (as a Muslim).

Hang on, so The Teapot isn't real??

Calm down everybody! Teapot is real and it resides in Utah, not in space.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#110

Post by MikeCapone »

Gormo wrote: post #105

It's fairly common for people to respond to this sort of question by saying something along the lines of "I disapprove of organized religion, but have spiritual faith." My own view is exactly the opposite. I see the value in the ritual, community, and psychological "anchor" that organized religion can provide. But spiritual faith seems absurd; why mix your emotional security and your sense of identity up with a bunch…

> Whether or not God exists objectively isn't really something I think about or care about answering.

I think that you could fairly be described as an agnostic, then.

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