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Diploid said:
For exactly the same reason I'm skeptical of the existence of Telepathy, Telekinesis, the Tooth Fairy, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a Suicide Bomber's Allah, and Santa on a flying reindeer.

No evidence, only talk.

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robbyberto said:
Because the simplest answer is usually correct and answers provided by religions and their gods are complex. Also because I couldn't fathom an omnipotent being allowing people to use its teachings to wage war, commit murder, and generally devastate the human race throughout recorded history.

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KilroyMilosevik said:

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robbyberto said:
Because the simplest answer is usually correct and answers provided by religions and their gods are complex. Also because I couldn't fathom an omnipotent being allowing people to use its teachings to wage war, commit murder, and generally devastate the human race throughout recorded history.

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If there is a higher being; he/she is one sick motherfucker.

I don't believe because I haven't been provided with tangible evidence to convince me otherwise... until then, I'm going to slap hands with the chimps and believe that there was a colossal explosion that marked the beginning of our "time".

I believe the bible/kuran/etc. are story tales that were told to provide the public with common morals and decency... something to be used as an example, not to live by... I don't do either

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or its the biggest conspiracy in the world

and bottomline everyone, we are SO fucking outnumbered it is ridiculous

15% of the world is atheist, theres a lot of people that are fooled

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SpicyTunaRoll said:
complete mind control

i was raised catholic for 18 years, its very hard to accept the fact that it is literally complete bullshit

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KilroyMilosevik said:
If there is a higher being; he/she is one sick motherfucker.

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Diploid said:
I believe in some sort of omnipotent being

Do you have any reason to believe in an omnipotent being other than faith?

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Icelander said:
but i recognize that there is somthing here and i dont know what it is. even if this is all just a product of evolution, there is somthing about humanity it seems that has risen above nature and has created less dense / godly realms of existance that have become a real potential for transcendance.

This kind of baseless, subjective, speculation is what is really lazy. Re-read your post.

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Please demonstrate as to how precisely this speculation is "really lazy".

It seems to be a statement that, even as we do not know how this has came to be or the true nature of reality as it is occuring, there is this experience of being human, and it is the most mind-blowing thing of all time. The realization of our present experience and our consciousness and how profound and amazing it is, does not seem to be commonly accessible, so I fail to understand how this acknowledgement as he expressed is "really lazy".

The fact that we are presently experiencing reality... its indescribable. Here we are, alive. Wow.

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Diploid said:
there is somthing about humanity it seems that has risen above nature

Right. That must be why we still have to eat, like the rest of the animals, and shit, like the rest of the animals, and sweat, and fight, and cry, and suffer, and feel pain, and die, like the rest of the animals.

I keep saying this, but the the True Believers never see the parallel that they're doing the same thing the Catholics did when they insisted that the stars and the sun revolve around the Earth. They thought that the Earth was somehow special and placed at the center of God's universe.

When Galileo tried to show them the truth in his telescope, they imprisoned him for life and destroyed his telescope.

Now that we know the true nature of our planet's orbit, we invent a NEW silly idea. The Earth isn't special any more, BUT WAIT, we humans are special compared to the rest of the animals! Yeah, that's it!

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Icelander said:
Lack of evidence.

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Then their beliefs are unsubstantiated.

A belief that g*d exists is just as substantiated as the belief that g*d doesn't exist, as neither are evidenced.

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Right. That must be why we still have to eat, like the rest of the animals, and shit, like the rest of the animals, and sweat, and fight, and cry, and suffer, and feel pain, and die, like the rest of the animals.

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OrgoneConclusion said:


Pigs, dogs, dolphins and bacteria do not sweat.

*Bzzzzzzzt!* Try again.

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They must be god...

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Icelander said:

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Diploid said:
there is somthing about humanity it seems that has risen above nature

Right. That must be why we still have to eat, like the rest of the animals, and shit, like the rest of the animals, and sweat, and fight, and cry, and suffer, and feel pain, and die, like the rest of the animals.

I keep saying this, but the the True Believers never see the parallel that they're doing the same thing the Catholics did when they insisted that the stars and the sun revolve around the Earth. They thought that the Earth was somehow special and placed at the center of God's universe.

When Galileo tried to show them the truth in his telescope, they imprisoned him for life and destroyed his telescope.

Now that we know the true nature of our planet's orbit, we invent a NEW silly idea. The Earth isn't special any more, BUT WAIT, we humans are special compared to the rest of the animals! Yeah, that's it!

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SpicyTunaRoll said:
why do YOU disbelieve in (or are skeptical of) the idea of god(s) and religion?

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Icelander said:
As far as my philosophy of life when I was agnostic it basically was try to get laid, get high, live a hedonistic existence, and survive.


I would like to suggest that it was the result of the above lifestyle that may have caused the switch to fundamentalist religion. Many folk living the above, often unhealthy and unhappy life look for a dramatic resolution to the dilemma. There is of course other solutions for this, but few know about them as they live in a dysfunctional culture that supports suffering.

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Icelander said:
This could be true in your case.

This is why I said this.^^^

I basically grew up in the fundamentalist baptist world. It wasn't hard to do some speculating when watching and living among them. I'm glad I did, or I wouldn't have questioned my beliefs at that time.

You speculate that by not believing what you do I am destined for hell. You have no demonstrable proof and yet you proclaim it true for me. What's up with that?

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Unbelief only evidences the fact that someone is ALREADY condemned. All are condemned from birth due to the first transgression which is imputed. So unbelief doesn't of itself condemn, although it is sin. Even a baby that dies unconverted goes to hell, not because of unbelief, but because of original imputation.

I believe the truth is the truth, it does not vary from one personal situation to another, it is not relativistic. So it indeed does apply to you and everyone else as well. As far as proving anything, it is God who demonstrates and proves it to those He intends to save.

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SpicyTunaRoll said:

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yup. religion is bullshit

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fireworks_god said:

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Icelander said:
Lack of evidence.

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Then their beliefs are unsubstantiated.

A belief that g*d exists is just as substantiated as the belief that g*d doesn't exist, as neither are evidenced.

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An agnostic neither believes nor disbelieves in a higher power, but rather states that there is no proof either way, and perhaps there never will be. This seems the most-logical, reasonable stance on the matter. 

I suppose if someone really needs the comfort of believing in God, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Allah, or whomever, then they will find religious faith very useful.  It all seems too much like a pyramid marketing scheme to me. 

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What percentage of the stuff on the Mysticism, Religion, & the Paranormal do you like/agree with?

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Diploid said:
The things that have the tiniest little bit of objectively observable evidence to support them, and that its proponents are willing to debate freely.

Anything less is bullshit in my eyes, especially when free debate is shunned. That's usually a big red flag. Truth can withstand all criticism, but made up shit immediately falls apart when picked at.

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SpicyTunaRoll said:
Fellow Atheists / Agnostics
why do YOU disbelieve in (or are skeptical of) the idea of god(s) and religion?

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mr_kite said:

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SpicyTunaRoll said:
Fellow Atheists / Agnostics
why do YOU disbelieve in (or are skeptical of) the idea of god(s) and religion?

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The fact that you lump atheists and agnostics in together demonstrates an astonishing misunderstanding of the nature of (dis)belief. The two could not be more different. One grouping represents well-balanced, thoughtful, well-reasoned and articulate people, the other delusional self-righteous crackpots who may as well beleive in Marvin the Magnificent All-Seeing Hermaphrodite for all the difference it would do to their closed-off non-minds. ANd you'll have to guess which is which cos Im not saying.

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Diploid said:
there is something about humanity it seems that has risen above nature

Right. That must be why we still have to eat, like the rest of the animals, and shit, like the rest of the animals, and sweat, and fight, and cry, and suffer, and feel pain, and die, like the rest of the animals.

I keep saying this, but the the True Believers never see the parallel that they're doing the same thing the Catholics did when they insisted that the stars and the sun revolve around the Earth. They thought that the Earth was somehow special and placed at the center of God's universe.

When Galileo tried to show them the truth in his telescope, they imprisoned him for life and destroyed his telescope.

Now that we know the true nature of our planet's orbit, we invent a NEW silly idea. The Earth isn't special any more, BUT WAIT, we humans are special compared to the rest of the animals! Yeah, that's it!

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and we humans debate and discuss ideas over cyberspace just like all the other animals, and we build great architectural masterpieces just like all the other animals, and we bury our dead just like all the other animals. right? no wait...
if your trying to convince me that humans are just like all the other animals I'm afraid i wont be able to understand your point of view. we've evolved into something different entirely. the fact that we recognize our inevitable death leads us to question many things and this questioning is what makes us uniquely human.

by the way I'm not a true believer in anything (though particularly in Christianity and atheism), i realize i don't know anything about these questions that have been haunting me since birth, and i doubt i ever will.

also your story about the true believers and Galileo goes both ways. the true believers as you call them were simply afraid of new information that would disrupt their belief systems. the same can be said about atheists for they to have their own belief system (belief that no god exists).

personally I'm not intimidated by new information because, as iv said i have no solid system of beliefs that would be endangered.