Member introductions.

Joined yesterday. I'm an agnostic that goes to a Christian school in Australia. No, Australian Christian schools aren't a fundamentalist as those in American, although there's a lot of Jesus. I'm not the only non-theist at the school, and I know a few teachers who are non-Christians (both privately, of course.)linkthewindow

Hey Everyone, my name is Summit and i live in Deeeeeetroit, Michigan in the good old USA. 

my parents being from india raised me somewhat hindu, but about 12-13 years old i started to see the inner fallacy with not just that religion but every religion, but i was still pretty weak minded about it until the last year of high school when i realy started to speak out about it. it gave me confidence that surprisingly many people shared my views. 

i believe it is impossible to prove that god does or does not exist, but knowing this FACT, we can either assume:

1. "he" does exist until it is proven that he doesn't.

2. "he" doesn't exist until it is proven that he does.

now as you all know it is IMPOSSIBLE to prove that something doesn't exist, so I go with the second option.

Welcome to the board chopperdave, I've seen you posting around TC, and you seem like a cool poster.

NB: Your sig and avy is awesome. :wink:

Hi Summit - My name is Mike and I live in Eeengerlaaand, the rest of the world.

You seem to have a robust enough argument right there for your thinking. Well put!

[QUOTE="chopperdave447"]

now as you all know it is IMPOSSIBLE to prove that something doesn't exist, so I go with the second option.

Genetic_Code

Now, that's not at all true. If, for example, a God was defined as a being that wouldn't permit evil, and there is evil in the world, then God doesn't exist. 

I thought negative proof was a logical fallacy.  

God could still exist, since the definition could be wrong, or evil is not understood.

I thought negative proof was a logical fallacy.  

God could still exist, since the definition could be wrong, or evil is not understood.

RationalAtheist

I've seen that mentioned before, but I disagree with it. You can say that the definition of God or evil could be misunderstood, but then that would apply to normal proof as well, which would mean that any sort of proof is a logical fallacy.

I've seen that mentioned before, but I disagree with it. You can say that the definition of God or evil could be misunderstood, but then that would apply to normal proof as well, which would mean that any sort of proof is a logical fallacy.

Genetic_Code

In reality, I think you're quite right - the quantum and nature of proof does change with knowledge. But in the abstract sense, I think rationality is bounded by "a priori" and "a posteriori" knowledge. I think disproof runs into the fallacious argument by "affirming the consequent", although there is philosophical wriggle room.

More practically, scientific progress has been made using positive proof only. The list of things that could or couldn't be disproved is endless (extending past Russell's teapot), so disproofs seem meaningless in this context.

Hi, I just stumbled upon this Union the other day and I thought it might be worth a look. I suppose you could call me an atheist for lack of a better word, but I don't much care for labels. I was raised in an atheist household and I've never felt any inclination towards spirituality - I don't know what lies beyond my limited understanding of the world, and frankly I don't really have any interest in figuring it out either, at least not at the moment.

I don't believe in much of anything, be it religious or ideological, and lately I've been doubting my understanding of almost everything. Seeing that mathematics can rationally explain things which are farther and farther removed from reality, I've grown doubtful of even rational deduction as a means of understanding. I've lost interest in philosophy and most of academia, and I'm very lazy when it comes to research, but if on occasion I have an insight or two, I might stop by here and share. Anyhoo, see you around.

Hi, I just stumbled upon this Union the other day and I thought it might be worth a look. I suppose you could call me an atheist for lack of a better word, but I don't much care for labels. I was raised in an atheist household and I've never felt any inclination towards spirituality - I don't know what lies beyond my limited understanding of the world, and frankly I don't really have any interest in figuring it out either, at least not at the moment.

I don't believe in much of anything, be it religious or ideological, and lately I've been doubting my understanding of almost everything. Seeing that mathematics can rationally explain things which are farther and farther removed from reality, I've grown doubtful of even rational deduction as a means of understanding. I've lost interest in philosophy and most of academia, and I'm very lazy when it comes to research, but if on occasion I have an insight or two, I might stop by here and share. Anyhoo, see you around.

D_Battery

As for your scepticism, can't you find some ultimate comfort in mathematics; isn't that a source of absolute knowledge that cannot be doubted?

Welcome to the union. I've seen you posting around OT, and I'm glad you've decided to post.:D

As for your scepticism, can't you find some ultimate comfort in mathematics; isn't that a source of absolute knowledge that cannot be doubted?

MetalGear_Ninty

I really don't know. It seems to make sense in my mind (with what limited knowledge of it I possess) but I'm not sure if that's really the best yardstick for measuring a things certainty. I'm a bit apprehensive of anything "absolute".

[QUOTE="chopperdave447"]

now as you all know it is IMPOSSIBLE to prove that something doesn't exist, so I go with the second option.

Genetic_Code

Now, that's not at all true. If, for example, a God was defined as a being that wouldn't permit evil, and there is evil in the world, then God doesn't exist. 

Welcome to the board chopperdave, I've seen you posting around TC, and you seem like a cool poster.

NB: Your sig and avy is awesome. :wink:

MetalGear_Ninty

I second this wise man's comment, particularly the second line.

1. thx

2. all you have done is proven that a god who does not permit evil does not exist in a world with evil in it.

i would like conclusive proof that there is evil in the world along with a complete and unchallenged definition of evil.

(just a hint here there is no such thing as evil. morals are relative.)

the name is Jim and hello to those of you who already know me and good to meet the rest of you.  waves.

I am one of the GS father figures.

I am not an athiest by any means but I do have an open mind.

In my younger days I spent some time in a Franciscan retreat - I was  considering the priesthood..

fortunately for the church I did not choose that line of work.

while with the Air Force I met a girl in Korea and became Buddhist for a time.

neither decision worked in the long run but I do not regret either one.

I firmly believe that all religions have part of the truth and no religion has all of the truth.

[QUOTE="Genetic_Code"][QUOTE="chopperdave447"]

now as you all know it is IMPOSSIBLE to prove that something doesn't exist, so I go with the second option.

chopperdave447

Now, that's not at all true. If, for example, a God was defined as a being that wouldn't permit evil, and there is evil in the world, then God doesn't exist. 

Welcome to the board chopperdave, I've seen you posting around TC, and you seem like a cool poster.

NB: Your sig and avy is awesome. :wink:

MetalGear_Ninty

I second this wise man's comment, particularly the second line.

1. thx

2. all you have done is proven that a god who does not permit evil does not exist in a world with evil in it.

i would like conclusive proof that there is evil in the world along with a complete and unchallenged definition of evil.

(just a hint here there is no such thing as evil. morals are relative.)

Ok lets say a god who is "fair" cannot exist in a world where there is plenty of inequality. mmkay?

Welcome Jim. What happened to that Buddhist girl? Did you ever get married to the girl or anything? Sorry for the questions. You seem to have an interesting background.Genetic_Code

thank you, Jim.  There were moments.   And while things didn't work out quite the way I expected I am satisfied.

yes we did marry.

I had been interested in the girl and Buddhism for a time so I embraced both of them:P       This also involved South Korean politics - her daddy was a military adjutant to one of the Generals involved in the assassination of President Park.   

iowastate...? Another BCS hater? :D Welcome to the union, always good to see a new member! :)ChiliDragon

[QUOTE="ChiliDragon"]iowastate...? Another BCS hater? :D Welcome to the union, always good to see a new member! :)MetalGear_Ninty

iowastate...? Another BCS hater? :D Welcome to the union, always good to see a new member! :)ChiliDragon

good to see you, Chili - have noticed you on the forums.

I posted about BCS in a sports forum awhile back.

It is an imperfect system but probably will be what we are stuck with because a playoff would interfere wiith school and midterms even more than the football season already does.

it is  hard to believe but the administrators are starting to consider the education of the athletes to be more important than the football season :o

 I have been here a long time and I do remember your profile name from OT I believe, could be sports though.

I am in System Wars also.

Been spending time on all the boards from time to time over the years.   they are always around and I have started a few unions and been in quite a few that were fun for  awhile but they after a year or two the best of them always seem to go MIA and die off.

 right now I  also enjoy  the Fallout3 and Oblivion Union

Hi all AU members. :) I've been skirting the unions on GS for a while and thought I'd finally join the AU and find out what happens here.

Since getting trolled pretty hard by one OTer (his usernname begins with some letters and ends with a bunch of numbers ;)) I try to keep my private life to myself around these parts. Still, maybe a bit about my background's important to where I'm coming from:

There's no one clear thread in my family history; geographically and culturally, we're really from all over the place. I was brought up with one fairly traditional Catholic parent and one Dutch protestant parent and maybe that's why I ended up defaulting to atheism.

I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore atheist (I'm not going to go around attacking random posters for their beliefs or anything), I've just never seen any need for a God to make sense of things, and I think people are perfectly capable of being moral without religion or the feeling that they're putting off living until the afterlife.

Hi all AU members. :) I've been skirting the unions on GS for a while and thought I'd finally join the AU and find out what happens here. jimmyjammer69

My name is Chandu, and I live in the US.

I've been semi religious for most part of my teens, and then I started questioning things, and now I don't believe in religion at all, and as for the existence of god, I don't know. 

I totally believe that religion in spite of all the good that it has done, is bad for humanity, simply because it promotes superstition and hate among people. 

I completely oppose any religion that says "Convert or you are going to hell." 

My name is Chandu, and I live in the US.chandu83

Hey, I'm blazingsaddle95. I'm new to Atheism and just decided that I am one the other day, but I'm a strong believer in it. I'm a big fan of First Person Shooters, The Simpsons, Classic and Modern Rock Music, Batman, and I'm really looking forward to Red Dead Redemptionblazingsaddle95

I listen to a lot of metal music. Favorite movie is Fight Club but I mostly like horror movies. I watch the History Channel alot too.

I have a question that I have to ask but will after I get to know this union a little.:D

If I could find out where/who should I start with about looking into Atheism it would be appreciated?Swamphell

We either do not believe that God exists or believe that God does not exist. It's not too complicated really.

Really though if you want a quick start check out the atheist videos thread we have stickied up on the board. There are a whole lot of excellent videos in there along with a list of the best atheist channels on youtube.

If you're looking for a read then I'm sure you have plenty of options. I personally haven't read many atheistic books, in fact the only one that I can think of is Dawkin's God Delusion. It's an interesting read and very accessible to a "beginner" atheist or theist. The best reading can be done right here in this union though. You can go over some of our past topics or start one of your own to get some opinions about any issue.

Hi. I like not believing in god.Rikusaki

Hey rikusaki, good to see you here.

Really though if you want a quick start check out the atheist videos thread we have stickied up on the board. There are a whole lot of excellent videos in there along with a list of the best atheist channels on youtube.

domatron23

There is alot of videos there:D, you might not hear from me in the coming days. I will read over some pass discussions after I watch some videos.

[QUOTE="domatron23"]

Really though if you want a quick start check out the atheist videos thread we have stickied up on the board. There are a whole lot of excellent videos in there along with a list of the best atheist channels on youtube.

Swamphell

There is alot of videos there:D, you might not hear from me in the coming days. I will read over some pass discussions after I watch some videos.

Please keep an eye on the threads in this board and don't forget that your contributions there are welcomed too.

Hi. I like not believing in god.Rikusaki

What on earth happened to your avatar!?!? :shock:ChiliDragon

[QUOTE="ChiliDragon"]What on earth happened to your avatar!?!? :shock:Teenaged