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Spectrum of theistic probability

Rational Agnostic

Well-Known Member
Thank you to the eagle-eyed @Windwalker alerting me to my faux pas.
Obviously, I made the incorrect choice and had intended to choose, 7. Strong atheist. "I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one."

Unless a "God" is defined to be something logically contradictory, like a married bachelor, your position of certainty about the non-existence of God is inherently irrational to hold.
 

YmirGF

Bodhisattva in Recovery
Unless a "God" is defined to be something logically contradictory, like a married bachelor, your position of certainty about the non-existence of God is inherently irrational to hold.
That you for that exceedingly insightful observation, Captain Obvious. :)
 

Rational Agnostic

Well-Known Member
That you for that exceedingly insightful observation, Captain Obvious. :)

Well, you said that you were certain God doesn't exist. Unless the definition of God is logically incoherent, we can't be certain God doesn't exist. Of course, we can be certain an omnipotent being doesn't exist (omnipotence paradox). But a sufficiently powerful being worthy of being called a "god" could exist without any logical paradoxes arising.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Unless a "God" is defined to be something logically contradictory, like a married bachelor, your position of certainty about the non-existence of God is inherently irrational to hold.
Irrational in the sense that there's always some uncertainty in induction, or uncertainty from something else?

I mean, is your objection akin to "you can't know that there isn't an underground gnome metropolis under your backyard, because you can't rule out that it's just a bit deeper than the pit you dug" or is it more that you think there's real merit to one or more god-claims that you think is being overlooked?
 

osgart

Nothing my eye, Something for sure
And what proof have you got for that insight? You are picking a definition of a god that enables you to reject them!

Are you suggesting that gods are not all powerful?

What kind of god is it that forces us to eat creatures to survive?

What is your definition of a god then?
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Thank you to the eagle-eyed @Windwalker alerting me to my faux pas.
Obviously, I made the incorrect choice and had intended to choose, 7. Strong atheist. "I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one."
I was going to say, perhaps you have taken my use of God too far and become a theist now. :)
 

Epic Beard Man

Bearded Philosopher
What theory? It's nothing more than a spectrum of beliefs about the existence of god. God isn't being measured at all, and one can do whatever they wish with it, although it's probably most often used to rank oneself. (As an agnostic I'm ranking myself a :) #6)

  1. Strong theist. 100% probability of God. In the words of C.G.Jung "I do not believe, I know."
  2. De facto theist. Very high probability but short of 100%. "I don't know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there."
  3. Leaning towards theism. Higher than 50% but not very high. "I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God."
  4. Completely impartial. Exactly 50%. "God's existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable."
  5. Leaning towards atheism. Lower than 50% but not very low. "I do not know whether God exists but I'm inclined to be skeptical."
  6. De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."
  7. Strong atheist. "I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one."


Are you under the impressions that although atheist s don't believe god exists, they would wait for this nonexistent being to sort something out?

C'mon E B M, your reading comprehension and reasoning here don't speak well at all for a self-proclaimed philosopher, bearded or not.

And your testy remark about atheists talking too much is also quite telling.

.

.

Well my comment regarding the "shutting up" aspect is more of being irritable. I hold the same contempt with theist who are incessantly trying to prove they're right. Furthermore, my position comes from the fact that belief in God whether one can find tangible evidence (or not) is an individual experience that one makes in their life that they believe is distinct from delusion. To the non-believer it is delusion, to the believer it isn't. In addition, what I'm saying ultimately is that any probably of an intelligent incorporeal entity's existence that has not been proven scientifically (of course outside present doctrinal revelation) cannot accurately discussed as whether probable or improbable. I mean, is it probable that there are aliens with the heads of roosters and the body of a lion elsewhere in the universe? Probable, but these things I rather leave alone and just live life.

That is what I'm saying. If in fact an after life exist and if in fact doctrinal revelation is true, we'll get our answer if not and the atheist is right, we'll still get our answer. These things I try to not think about.
 
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