[Per wiki] Positive atheism is a term used to describe the form of atheism that asserts that no deities exist. Negative atheism refers to any other type of atheism, wherein a person does not believe in the existence of any deities, but without asserting there to be none. Of the atheists I know, most are negative/agnostic though a few are positive. The latter never fail to tell me that my belief in a deity is irrational and purely on blind faith. I think they have it wrong. I have been reading philosophy of mathematics lately along with the works of Steven Weinberg and Ed Witten, and I've come to realize that many leading physicists today have a Kantian world view. I don't think science can prove or disprove definitely what I'm seeking since we are prisoners of our own biology's limits on perception. Thanks to quantum mechanics, thinking in terms of cause and effect is a problem of human perspective. But before the Big Bang, before Planck time, and cosmological inflation, there is a possibility that something created the quantum flux, energy vacuum, or nothingness that existed prior to the BB.
Except time did not exist before the big bang....so there was no motion. There was no space. There were no laws of physics. No laws of quantum mechanics. So the idea of creating isn't even valid because that implies time and space. All time & space are is a measure of change. Creating is by definition an act of change, therefore it is confined by time and space. can you imagine what non-existence is?
Is it narrow minded to say there's no deity? Yes. You can't say with 100% that there is no deity. Of course most people in the D&D are atheist so you will probably get Biased answers.
Good question. I do believe it is narrow-minded to have the arrogant view that one's own belief are to be put above any other beliefs. So I think that a fundamentalist Christian who believes everyone not Christian will go to hell, a Muslim who thinks all infidels will go to hell are idiots as well as an Atheist who is on a mission to force it down people's throats that God does not exist. The truth is that we don't really know very much. While some elements of most organized religions sound ridiculous, that still doesn't mean that God doesn't exist. Positive atheists can be almost as annoying as people who want to shove their religious beliefs down everyone's throats - it's actually the other side of the coin. Both think they "know better than everyone else" and try to prove it. It's equally arrogant and stupid by both. It just seems that members of organized religions (especially one religion) take their zeal further, often motivated by a misguided belief that there will be a reward in afterlife for doing what they think supports their cause, even if it's murders and violence. At least atheists cannot really be motivated by a belief that 72 virgins will wait for them as a reward in heaven after they massacre a bunch of people and blow themselves up.
It's quite different from the popular Judeo-Chrisitian god who is anthropomorphic, very personal, and fatherly. I believe it is an entity whose form cannot be seen or imagined by any creature: a single, absolute truth independent and outside of the universe in which we live (meaning space-time and perhaps this dimension). I believe it kick started existence. Now whether that is our universe, the universe before it, or multiple universes at the same time, I don't know. But I believe that it's been always been there and is eternal. According to the Quran, 6:103 "Vision cannot grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. God is above all comprehension, yet He is omniscient."
Lol you sound so certain and absolute about pre-BB and science beyond the Standard Model. I can somewhat imagine non-existence. I'm aware of the common mistake about talking about a 'before' when there possibly was no space-time. However, that is based on the Standard Model, and that's why you believe my question is asking it the wrong way. But, that's not what major (also theoretical) physicists today believe though popsci definitions since the 70s of the Big Bang are how you've defined it. You literally need to think outside the 'box', and it could be right/wrong. In other words, no one can say with certainty today what it was like before the Big Bang. It's the process after that singularity which most agrees on. However, there is a world of ideas about what was there "before" the BB/mainstream Standard Model like the Brane model, superstring theory, or M-theory. There is no connection between GR and QM because the math breaks down at the singularity T=0 moment, but hopefully quantum gravity will be the missing answer. Not one of my positive-atheist acquaintances understands this (or the theoretical math involved, but that also goes for me) yet that maybe a consequence of them not working in the science field since they're mostly writers and general office workers. I understand if you think the question of pre-BB is irrelevant and a waste of breath, but it's not irrational for a person to believe an entity was there whereas it is arrogant and narrow-minded to say for certain there was no entity.
I highly disagree. According to my first post, there are about 2 kinds of atheists. The 2nd type, those who say don't believe but can't say for certain that there is no god are probably the most open minded of all people. The poll refers to the 1st type. If the most brilliant physicists can't say for sure what is beyond the Standard Model, how can an accountant at Deloitte tell me to my face there is absolutely no possibility of a deity (real life example). Not only did her level of mathematics stop at college Calculus, her inability to be open to the possibility is narrow-minded to me.
In matters of faith, there is no merit in hiding behind intelligence. (typically true of the religious, but there you go). I don't preclude the possibility of there being a deity of some kind, though I kinda get annoyed when that thought suddenly lets me be tangentially associated with people who believe there is some bigass white, Zeus-looking version of themselves playing with us like in Simcity.
I have questions for atheists: What is consciousness? Why is there reasoning? What is unselfishness? Is there a human spirit or soul? Why do humans forgive? Why is there a human conscience? Does beauty exist and if so why? Are human thoughts matter/energy or soul/spirit? What is justice? What governs human choices?
The answer to all this probably does not involve Zeus in his many iterations. (God of War, Greek mythology, and Christian-inspired versions included.)
I'm a Christian, and I've never been taught that God is anthropomorphic. Quite the opposite, actually.
By definition, reducing possibilities without clear evidence is being narrow-minded. Saying there definitely is no deity and searching for all the answers on your own is less narrow-minded than "God done it," though. But that's not the question, is it?
I hate esoteric questions like that as rationale for a deity. Most of these can be summed up into 1 question: "how does the brain work?" We know certain sections of the brain govern choices, emotions, anger, etc. We don't know exactly how chemically (seems to usually involve hormones), but there's a lot we humans don't know. We'll find out eventually, though. That's the humanist in me speaking. But, again, the topic isn't "does a deity exist" but "is positive atheism narrow-minded."
Is there zero possibility that God exists? No. Is there zero possibility that Bush somehow managed to blow up the WTC? No. Is there zero possibility that a floating teapot orbits Mars, or that unicorns exist? No. So while God may actually exist, that question is about as relevant as floating teapots or invisible pink unicorns. And rhester, I don't feel like going over all of your questions, but my basic answers to pretty much all of the questions would be "it's the most efficient way of dealing with things" and "it's a social construct." I mean, in a sense, I do believe. It's just that there's no practical difference between believing in the old gods and not believing in God, especially since I live in the United States and can hardly set up a shrine in my apartment. So for all purposes and intents, I'm an atheist.
Spinozan more like it. Positive atheism is simply a person who sees no need to justify the plausibility of an undefined deity after finding all the "defined" ones illogical. Think Russell's teapot.
