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This can easily be turned around: many atheists cannot mentally accept a universe with moral accountability to a creator whose notions of morality don't mesh with their own. People are religious and irreligious for myriad reasons, but I have seen virtually no evidence of the need you hypothesize. Other psychological needs, yes.
The uncreated creator or uncaused cause is a deep philosophical concept and the foundation of one of the so-called proofs of the existence of god. The question isn't whether one is fine with it but whether it makes the most sense philosophically and scientifically and has the greatest explanatory power.
There are plenty of believers that won't mesh with a god who has subpar morality. It's not just atheists who call out what is done in God's name.
This can easily be turned around: many atheists cannot mentally accept a universe with moral accountability to a creator whose notions of morality don't mesh with their own.
Not at all.
Many atheists are simply not ready to commit to deeply flawed question begging just presented by you here.
Before you offer us to mentally accept some kind of moral accountability and point out that our notions of morality don't mesh with those of some kind of "creator", would be nice if you would accept responsibility of demonstrating that such an ontological entity actually exists and not just figment of your imagination.
Quote:
The uncreated creator or uncaused cause is a deep philosophical concept and the foundation of one of the so-called proofs of the existence of god.
The question isn't whether one is fine with it but whether it makes the most sense philosophically and scientifically and has the greatest explanatory power.
And the answer is:
It does not make sense philosophically.
It makes even less or, rather, no sense scientifically.
It has no explanatory power at all.
I don't believe that makes any sense. Emotions such as anger, fear, love, hate and happiness typically have an ontologically real source or object. We don't just go around being angry and hateful in a vacuum.
Your statement that there is no evidence is simply false. Many people have religious experiences that are highly evidential to them.
My hypothesis is that “god” is an emotion. An emotion is an experience. Emotions are real.
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Originally Posted by O'Darby
Many people believe in a god as the best explanation for very large bodies of evidence, scientific and otherwise.
True, but irrelevant. If god were a real person living in the sky, NASA would have found him by now.
One thing's for sure and certain and that is I don't invest much of my time in things I don't think can possibly exist. As was pointed out above, our days are numbered.
Last edited by JustASimpleGuy; 05-31-2023 at 10:10 PM..
This can easily be turned around: many atheists cannot mentally accept a universe with moral accountability to a creator whose notions of morality don't mesh with their own.
The fact that morality evolves is evidence it is a human construct. Also, read the OT. The god described in the OT is an immoral monster.
Quote:
Originally Posted by O'Darby
The uncreated creator or uncaused cause is a deep philosophical concept and the foundation of one of the so-called proofs of the existence of god.
I have yet to see the credible argument from this uncaused cause to it being a god.
Quote:
Originally Posted by O'Darby
The question isn't whether one is fine with it but whether it makes the most sense philosophically and scientifically and has the greatest explanatory power.
And that is YOUR problem, as the assertion that the first cause is a complex being raises more questions than it answers.
Here’s a hypothesis: “god” is actually an emotion, not a person who lives in the sky somewhere.
It would explain why so many people believe in “god” even though there is no evidence for an actual person known as “god.”
So there is anger, fear, love, hate, happiness, and god.
How’s that for a working hypothesis?
I do not think it is that simple. I think there are different causes, such as teleological cognitive bias and the projection of our personalities on to this idea.
Personally I think it's more of a 'need' people have because they simply can't mentally accept the idea of a universe without it having been created by something. But then for some reason they are fine with the idea that nobody created the creator.
I think it can be more than that, based on my own experience, which I alluded to in the "Do you wish there was a god?" thread in A&A. I wanted there to be a someone or something that one could call on for assistance for when one is faced with overwhelming situations beyond one's ability to manage alone. Hell, I STILL want that, lol, even though I know better.
It is difficult for a person raised in a religion to believe there is a God to call upon to come to the place of accepting that no one is listening, no one is coming to the rescue. It takes time, and losing that hope and belief is a form of grief in and of itself.
My hypothesis is that “god” is an emotion. An emotion is an experience. Emotions are real.
True, but irrelevant. If god were a real person living in the sky, NASA would have found him by now.
But c'mon, nobody actually thinks God "lives in the sky". Well, maybe that one poster we had years ago who said God lived inside the sun, but for most, heaven being upward is a metaphor for a realm humans can't see.
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