Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#51

Post by lhorie » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:31 PM UTC

I'm a panentheist. I'm not sure in which category that falls (deism sounds the closest).

As far a flaming goes, this subject is all about beliefs, as we don't truly know how the universe ticks. No point trying to "win".

re: comments about whether HN is mature to handle religion topics - I think curiosity and humility are key. I feel that the ability to throw away pre-defined beliefs is fundamental in order to learn about other perspectives and ultimately allow an intelligent discussion about religion to take place.

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#52

Post by geuis » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:36 PM UTC

Unless we're hacking gods, or the Large Hadron Collider poked one in the eye and there's a scientific study detailing the result, why in the hell is this even posted on HN. This place is turning into Digg before my eyes.

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#53

Post by TrevorJ » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:41 PM UTC

markup wrote: post #41

natch wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're probably an atheist without realizing it. I've met many agnostics who weren't aware that there are different types of atheists, including many who don't know one way or another but lean toward disbelief, which is very close to agnosticism. The typical misunderstanding of atheism from self-described agnostics is that atheists claim to be certain that there is no God. Some atheists do that, but that's not the on…

I am a strong agnostic... or strongly agnostic, I don't know what's the proper grammatical form. But I DO know strong agnosticism is what sums my own thoughts on god. :-) (I don't get why you've been downmodded to -1, I have just +1'd you)

I believe that God exists, I however also believe that his existence cannot be proven empirically, what category does that put me in?

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#54

Post by vidioradeo » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:42 PM UTC

Niether. I chose not to participate in any activities religion, therefore I am not an Atheist, Deist, or Theist. Religion is secondary to my being alive, and if I chose not to participate, I also shouldn't have to put up with people attempting to label me according to something that has nothing to do with reality at all.

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#55

Post by markup » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:45 PM UTC

TrevorJ wrote: post #53

markup wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a strong agnostic... or strongly agnostic, I don't know what's the proper grammatical form. But I DO know strong agnosticism is what sums my own thoughts on god. :-) (I don't get why you've been downmodded to -1, I have just +1'd you)

I believe that God exists, I however also believe that his existence cannot be proven empirically, what category does that put me in?

Agnostic theism

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#56

Post by gjm11 » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:47 PM UTC

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #34

gjm11 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You certainly can have evidence against something that doesn't exist. There is very strong evidence that there are no (ordinary) elephants in the room I'm in right now, for instance: elephants are large and easy to see, and the fact that I see none when I look around is evidence for their absence. Direct evidence that there are no invisible miniature elephantoids made from weakly-interacting Dark Matter in the room,…

There is very strong evidence that there are no (ordinary) elephants in the room That's assuming a closed system open to inspection. The universe is neither of those. I can say what is or isn't in the room because I have total control over and full freedom to inspect the room to the level of detail required to find elephants . Your example simply doesn't translate. You pivot then into the "far away God is the same as…

Your example simply doesn't translate: I wasn't saying "God is just like an elephant", I was saying "Your alleged point of logic, claiming that one cannot have evidence that something doesn't exist, is incorrect". The elephant is a counterexample to it.

For what it's worth, though, I think the argument does translate -- for some but not all notions of God. Specifically, as I said before, if you adopt a notion of God that involves not-impossibly-vague claims about how he interacts with the world we can observe, and if those claims are something other than "he basically doesn't", then it is possible for there to be evidence for or against the existence of such a God.

This is true even without "total control over and full freedom to inspect" the universe. (Just as the claim "Some star within 100 light years of us went supernova between 100 and 200 years ago" is one we can have evidence for or against even without total control of and full freedom to inspect everything within 100 light years of us.)

You pivot then ...: What I'm saying is not "far away God is the same as missing God" but "professedly inactive, or indiscernibly active, god is hard to distinguish from no god". It seems to me that there is a difference.

What I find humorous is ...: You're welcome to find humour wherever you please, but for what it's worth I don't think I'm way smarter than people in the generation before mine, and I don't think skeptics generally think they are. (I expect skeptics generally think they're smarter than average people in the previous generation, but no more than they think they're smarter than average people in the present generation. Whether they are is a separate debate.)

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#57

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:49 PM UTC

menloparkbum wrote: post #30

This is the stupidest thing you've ever posted and you should be ashamed of yourself. There are plenty of other sites where you can wallow in junior-high level discussion and polls about off topic subjects. These types of posts encourage stupid people to comment, contain no useful or interesting information, and bring out the worst in smart people. The religion and "meta" discussions of late have polluted the /newcom…

[deleted]

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#58

Post by lst » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:50 PM UTC

I have a (simple) question to all atheists:

If you didn't create yourself (and you didn't, otherwise you would know/remember/etc.), and (consequently) some other one did, how do you call it?

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#59

Post by lst » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 8:52 PM UTC

markup wrote: post #10

I am agnostic, so I can't vote, apparently.

Agnostics are shy atheists.

If the answer is either yes or no, and you say "maybe", you say "no", substantially.

Why? Because every "no" is simply a refuted "yes" (philosophically speaking).

Re: Poll: Atheist, Deist, Theist?

#60

Post by markup » Fri, Feb 06, 2009, 9:14 PM UTC

lst wrote: post #59

markup wrote: post #10

I am agnostic, so I can't vote, apparently.

Agnostics are shy atheists. If the answer is either yes or no, and you say "maybe", you say "no", substantially. Why? Because every "no" is simply a refuted "yes" (philosophically speaking).

How about no? I don't say "maybe", I say it is impossible to prove or disprove. Frankly reducing it to a "yes or no" question is really reductive, and pretty much a christian way to put things, if you will. Q: "Do you believe in god?" A: "I cannot know whether a god exists or not."