Meta-study shows religious people are less intelligent

[NotAllThere]

I’d say that on a scale of 1 for an absolute believer and 100 for an absolute atheist, I’m about 99.9.

I don’t believe, and you’ll have one hell of a job persuading me, but I’d be a fool if I thought that I could ever be 100% certain about the nature of the universe.

Heard of Pascal's wager?

[sasguru]

Religious people (who've thought through their faith) would say they have plenty of evidence.

If they thought through their evidence, rather than their faith, they would see they had none.
Although it's possible that God only shows "itself" to people who believe in the first place.

Anyone got any evidence for a supernatural being that hasn't been generated in their head?

[Mich the Tester]

Heard of Pascal's wager?

Yes, and I disagree with it.

[sasguru]

Heard of Pascal's wager?

Yes. God, if he existed, would not take seriously anyone who "believed" because of "Pascal's wager" logic - basically hedging your bets.

[Mich the Tester]

Yes. God, if he existed, would not take seriously anyone who "believed" because of "Pascal's wager" logic - basically hedging your bets.

If a god exists, he would quite possibly reward atheists. By questioning his existence and researching on the assumption that he doesn’t exist, they inevitably come closer to proving that he does exist, thereby rendering him (or her) a great service.

[deano]

It’s even possible that I’m god and I just don’t know it yet.

I don't know a tester who doesn't believe he's God!

Seriously though, you've stated that the odds are stacked against there being a God, and that is why you choose an atheistic line. Fine. No problem. Except that your calculation of the odds can only be based on things you see within the known, scientifically explained universe. You have no tools to measure beyond that. Therefore you only know the odds based on one point of view.

As a comparison it is like a stable lad looking at the one-and-only horse in his stables, and giving odds on it winning the Grand National, when he cannot and does not know of the existence of any other stables.

(And the race won't be run until he dies!)

[Ruprect]

Heard of Pascal's wager?

Is a big cop out

[Moscow Mule]

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-thinkingchristians.htm

No surprise there then.

WTF were you looking for to find that?

And as to the question, well you couldn't call me religious, but I think that god may or may not exist.

Your thinking is flawed on the atheist thing - you don't KNOW, nobody does, so to proclaim yourself a pure atheist is an act of faith.

[gingerjedi]

What caused god? What was there before?

I didn't mention god, now what was before the big bang? Where did all the mater come from? Was it really squeezed into infinitesimal point? The laws of physics break down when applied here.

Common sense tells us that things don’t just appear from nowhere.

[Ruprect]

WTF were you looking for to find that?

And as to the question, well you couldn't call me religious, but I think that god may or may not exist.

Your thinking is flawed on the atheist thing - you don't KNOW, nobody does, so to proclaim yourself a pure atheist is an act of faith.

See previous answer to this