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Originally Posted by jonathan lall
You trivialize atheism greatly with your questions. Atheism is simply the lack of a theistic belief, a belief in the existence of god(s). ...
I personally am surprised there aren’t more atheists here; after all, most scientists are atheists, and ChiefDelphi is a breeding ground for young scientists.
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lots of good points in your post. I guess one would have to define what God is in order to state their opinion on whether that being exists or not.
I dont agree with your take on eastern religions - they do have a belief in god, but the difference is that we can attain that status ourselves - we can tap into cosmic conscousness, and achieve an equal participation, like buddah did.
If you toss creation into the mix then it opens up problems. Eastern religions teach the universe has always existed, so there was no creation, therefore no creator - Science has shown the universe is expanding from a single point, at an accelerating rate, so it will never collapse back on itself - therefore the big bang was the creation of the universe. At first there was nothing, then it exploded
what exploded? nothing did!
dont think about that too long or blood will gush out of your nose :^)
What am I getting at? I guess creation must be at the core of God with a capitol G, right? in that sense an alien with abilities and power that we would perceive as supernatural would seem god-like to us - and if one came here he could easily claim to be god, and many would follow him. But unless he could create matter and energy and life, and time itself, out of nothing, he could not have created the universe. so he would fail the 'god test' on that point.
I dont know that I agree that we are able to understand everything about the universe. Its very likely there are aspects to the universe that we have neither the senses or the intellectual capacity to understand, or even to observe. Try to explain color to a blind person. They can learn the words, but they cant experience it or understand it, not really. And you certainly cant paint a landscape if you cant see the sky or the paint.
Your assertion that most scientists are atheists, I think that most young scientist might be atheists (college students) - but the more you study physics, esp astro and quantum physics, there are things there, if you really grasp it, that lead us to believe the universe cant be real.
How was it put? its as if the universe is only a simulation in the mind of God. One famous scientist (I forget his name at the moment) was so disturbed by the paradoxes in quantum physics that it literally blew his mind, and tragically he ended his life. He could not accept the idea that the universe might not be 'real' at all.
Personally I try to keep an open mind.