I am an atheist.

[NotAllThere]

I though infidels came from Bob Dylan. Nice guitar work from Knopfler.

[NotAllThere]

But the burden of proof is on the claiment...

In your paradigm - not in mine. Claim what you like. I might choose to believe it on rational grounds, or irrational grounds. Most people make their choices and then cast around for arguments that support it.

btw - I don't think anyone here using IMHO is being honest. IMO is sufficient

[MyUserName]

In your paradigm - not in mine. Or put it another way - go ahead and prove that the burden of proof is on the claimant.

So in your paradigm something is true unless it is disproved?
Hmmm .... the world will end unless you send me all you money!!!

[Platypus]

btw - I don't think anyone here using IMHO is being honest. IMO is sufficient

IIRC it means In My Humble Opinion

[MyUserName]

IIRC it means In My Humble Opinion

Well it does IMHO

[NotAllThere]

So in your paradigm something is true unless it is disproved?
Hmmm .... the world will end unless you send me all you money!!!

Silly!

I believe arithmetic is consistent. There is plenty of evidence for this, but it is provably not provable. Perhaps the existence of God is also something that is not provable. Provability has no bearing whatsoever on the truth of a proposition.

Believing something without proof is not irrational. Believing something without evidence is irrational. You seem to be confusing proof with evidence. Believers who have come to faith, rather than being born to it culturally, have usually done so after being convinced by some kind of evidence.

I see no evidence whatsoever that your contention that world will end if I don't send you all my money is true. So I do not believe it.

I flatly refuse to believe that any opinion proferred on this board is "humble".

(btw, I'm currently studying the philosophy of religion, so I'm ready for a fight )

[MyUserName]

Silly!

Sorry, I tried to resist!!

I believe arithmetic is consistent. There is plenty of evidence for this, but it is provably not provable. Perhaps the existence of God is also something that is not provable. Provability has no bearing whatsoever on the truth of a proposition.

But arithmetic can be physically demonstrated, the existance of God can not be. Well it could be, very easily if it were true but it has not been.

Believing something without proof is not irrational. Believing something without evidence is irrational. You seem to be confusing proof with evidence.

Yeah, I did conflate the terms back there, well spotted.

Believers who have come to faith, rather than being born to it culturally, have usually done so after being convinced by some kind of evidence.

I have had this evidence rammed down my thoat more times that I care to mention. It is usually a mix of pseudoscience, peer pressure, comfirmation bias and flawed logic. I have examined this evidence many times as well as the evidence presented on an Alpha course and debates with my wife's siblings. I have never found any of it convincing.

I see no evidence whatsoever that your contention that world will end if I don't send you all my money is true. So I do not believe it.

Fair enough, believing things without evidence is irrational. I cannot argue with that.

I flatly refuse to believe that any opinion proferred on this board is "humble".

Look, I am by far the most humble person you would ever be lucky enough to meet!

(btw, I'm currently studying the philosophy of religion, so I'm ready for a fight )

I am not and never have so you will probably run rings around me but I am happy to have a go, I am always open to learning knew things!

[oscarose]

Even buddhists can't live in harmony...

Dalai Lama Controversy | Just another WordPress.com weblog

[Project Monkey]

I am an atheist.
I believe that many heads of religion are also atheist and they use their position for their own ends however, they are not as scary as those religious leads who actually believe in God.

I thought atheists didn't have beliefs. How can you consider anything to be true if you don't have absolute proof?

[MyUserName]

I thought atheists didn't have beliefs. How can you consider anything to be true if you don't have absolute proof?

Please ref:

The only common thing that atheists believe is that religion has not satisfied it's burden of proof