atheism is a matter of faith, not science: the debate continues
Following the letters page in last Wednesday's Metro and the follow-up comment on this post I’m pleased to see that the beginnings of a debate are brewing, and I intend to use this post to pick up the baton again. Unsurprisingly, I’m going to start by responding to the aforementioned comment. I apologise if my tone was deemed to be a bit sharp, but I have no hesitation in defending the point I was trying to make. According to dictionary.com , faith can be defined as “belief that is not based on proof.” As there is no proof that God does not exist, belief that God does not exist (i.e. atheism) must be faith. Now, I take your point that “as human beings we are always revising and fine tuning what we hold to be true based on the evidence to hand, what we discover and our ability to determine what is probable or improbable.” To digress slightly, that is why switching on the Large Hadron Collider is going to be something of a milestone, as it could eit...
Comments
I'm glad that you are so sure of yourself, the reason for your existence and your destiny that you are able to look down on the rest of us. What's your secret?
"What could be more arrogant than claiming to know the answers without any proof?"
Are you referring to me, or to yourself? ;)
What is 'striking' about your last comment is your wink that no doubt acknowledges my point whilst trying to deflect the question away because deep down inside yourself, right right down, really really deep, you agree with me.
At the end of the day neither of us have any concrete proof - by definition faith relies on some lack thereof, and if you had concrete proof of your viewpoint then the majority of the world's population really would be misguided. So if you see it as arrogant to stand by one's viewpoint on that basis then arguably we are both as guilty as one another.
Furthermore, to say that you have no need of God is arrogant.
Right on partner. If you're not having a crisis of faith then it will not harm you to read one of the many entertaining and thought provoking books out there that prove there is no god. After all, reading the bible doesn't make you a Christian does it?
However, if you would care to recommend such a book I will endeavour to procure it and look forward to an interesting read.
In the meantime there are also books out there which investigate the basis for the Christian faith. 'The Case for Christ' by Lee Strobel is said to be good, though I am ashamed to admit that I have not read it myself. See what you can get hold of.
You might also wish to start reading the Bible for yourself. Mark's Gospel is a good book to start with, and it won't take you long...