Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

levite · 03-15-2008, 10:21 AM

Can I risk scorn and offense by putting in two cents, even though I'm a definite theist?

I don't mean what I say to be offensive so I apologize in advance if any resident atheists do take my remarks out of turn.

It seems to me that atheism is a spectrum of beliefs. That spectrum ranges from those who have adopted the scientific paradigm to the spiritual paradigm, and will not accept the notion of a God that is not measurable by manmade instruments, or deducible in laboratory experiments that follow the accepted academic models (although they admit that if the Heavens opened in front of them and a great, well-modulated deep voice was heard amidst a column of dazzling light, they might well change their minds); all the way to a kind of fundamentalist atheism that not merely refuses to believe in God, but refuses the notion that anything could ever change that (like, if the Heavens opened tomorrow and flights of angels sang choruses, these folks would attribute it to mass hallucination or alien spacecraft or too much fluoride in the water-- anything except a supernatural experience).

But in any case, atheism is a belief choice. Atheists have chosen to believe that nothing in human experience ought not to be subject to scientific reasoning. That there is nothing beyond what is perceptible to the five physical senses, or to the best mechanical and electronic equipment that can be manufactured on this planet. That the validity of a feeling or perception is entirely dependent upon it being quantifiable mathematically and repeatable as desired. That is a perfectly valid spiritual belief, but it is just that. And as such, I try not to get into "why don't you believe what I believe" arguments with atheists (or anyone else), because I try stay clear of criticizing other people's religious beliefs.

03-15-2008, 10:21 AM	#24 (permalink)
levite Minion of Joss Location: The Windy City	Can I risk scorn and offense by putting in two cents, even though I'm a definite theist? I don't mean what I say to be offensive so I apologize in advance if any resident atheists do take my remarks out of turn. It seems to me that atheism is a spectrum of beliefs. That spectrum ranges from those who have adopted the scientific paradigm to the spiritual paradigm, and will not accept the notion of a God that is not measurable by manmade instruments, or deducible in laboratory experiments that follow the accepted academic models (although they admit that if the Heavens opened in front of them and a great, well-modulated deep voice was heard amidst a column of dazzling light, they might well change their minds); all the way to a kind of fundamentalist atheism that not merely refuses to believe in God, but refuses the notion that anything could ever change that (like, if the Heavens opened tomorrow and flights of angels sang choruses, these folks would attribute it to mass hallucination or alien spacecraft or too much fluoride in the water-- anything except a supernatural experience). But in any case, atheism is a belief choice. Atheists have chosen to believe that nothing in human experience ought not to be subject to scientific reasoning. That there is nothing beyond what is perceptible to the five physical senses, or to the best mechanical and electronic equipment that can be manufactured on this planet. That the validity of a feeling or perception is entirely dependent upon it being quantifiable mathematically and repeatable as desired. That is a perfectly valid spiritual belief, but it is just that. And as such, I try not to get into "why don't you believe what I believe" arguments with atheists (or anyone else), because I try stay clear of criticizing other people's religious beliefs. __________________ Dull sublunary lovers love, Whose soul is sense, cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove That thing which elemented it. (From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)