What if there is no God?

Scruffy wrote: So, in your mind, non-belief in something equates to a belief.

Indeed it does. Atheists believe that there is no God. It is not knowledge that there is no God, it is a belief that there is no God. Atheists are very properly within the set of those who believe something without having any way of proving whether or not what they believe is accurate. You can appreciate the logic in that, can't you Scruffy?

PrintSmith wrote:

Scruffy wrote: So, in your mind, non-belief in something equates to a belief.

Indeed it does. Atheists believe that there is no God. It is not knowledge that there is no God, it is a belief that there is no God. Atheists are very properly within the set of those who believe something without having any way of proving whether or not what they believe is accurate. You can appreciate the logic in that, can't you Scruffy?

If I do not believe in a deity, that does not make my non-belief a belief. If I do not believe in Santa Clause, then that is a religion as well? Of course, I will expect you to somehow twist this logic into a winning argument, so spin away.

If you don't believe in Santa Claus, there was a very poignant editorial in the Sun written (IIRC) in 1897 that you should revisit - Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.

If you do not believe in a deity, that means you believe there is not a deity. You cannot prove whether or not a deity exists anymore than I can. And so what you would then hold is the same as what I hold - a belief. Our beliefs may be different on this subject matter, but both are indeed beliefs.

PrintSmith wrote: If you don't believe in Santa Claus, there was a very poignant editorial in the Sun written (IIRC) in 1897 that you should revisit - Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.

If you do not believe in a deity, that means you believe there is not a deity. You cannot prove whether or not a deity exists anymore than I can. And so what you would then hold is the same as what I hold - a belief. Our beliefs may be different on this subject matter, but both are indeed beliefs.

You are obstinate that you must win this argument, but your logic is faulty. Atheism is a disbelief, not a belief. My disbelief in the Tooth Fairy is not a religion - is it for anyone else?

Once again, if I do not believe in something, that does not constitute a belief.

I am sorry dear Scruffy, but it is not my logic that is faulty here, it is yours.

Can an atheist prove that there is not a God? Of course they can't, anymore than I can prove that there is one.
Since I am unable to prove what I believe to be true, and the atheist cannot prove what they believe to be true, both their view of the Divine and mine are equally a belief with regards to the existence of a divine Creator.

A religion? There is room for argument here as a religion is more than the holding of a certain belief, but to so stubbornly cling to the notion that an atheist's views are anything less, or more, than a personal belief, as are mine by the way, with regards to the existence of a divine Creator is nothing short of foolish. They have no more, or less, evidence than I do regarding the existence of God. They have simply chosen to believe that God does not exist as opposed to choosing to believe that He does. Doesn't make them bad people. Doesn't mean that if they are wrong they are damned for all eternity. It simply means that they have chosen to believe that God doesn't exist. That's OK, really it is. If they are right, then they'll never know it. If they are wrong, I'm sure that their Creator has left them a path back to Him as surely as He has left one for me and that they will be as happy to find out they were wrong as I will be to find out I was right.

PrintSmith wrote: I am sorry dear Scruffy, but it is not my logic that is faulty here, it is yours.

Can an atheist prove that there is not a God? Of course they can't, anymore than I can prove that there is one.
Since I am unable to prove what I believe to be true, and the atheist cannot prove what they believe to be true, both their view of the Divine and mine are equally a belief with regards to the existence of a divine Creator.

A religion? There is room for argument here as a religion is more than the holding of a certain belief, but to so stubbornly cling to the notion that an atheist's views are anything less, or more, than a personal belief, as are mine by the way, with regards to the existence of a divine Creator is nothing short of foolish. They have no more, or less, evidence than I do regarding the existence of God. They have simply chosen to believe that God does not exist as opposed to choosing to believe that He does. Doesn't make them bad people. Doesn't mean that if they are wrong they are damned for all eternity. It simply means that they have chosen to believe that God doesn't exist. That's OK, really it is. If they are right, then they'll never know it. If they are wrong, I'm sure that their Creator has left them a path back to Him as surely as He has left one for me and that they will be as happy to find out they were wrong as I will be to find out I was right.

Amazing how you can twist an argument. I will never get tired of the entertainment you provide in your quest to win arguments at all costs.

So, you are a member of the non-tooth fairy religion. I never knew it. Since you cannot prove the tooth fairy exists, you must be believe that they do not exist. Proving a negative is not an argument and assigning a belief trait to someone who does not profess to believe in a deity is really quite condescending.

No matter how many times you repeat yourself, atheism is not a faith. It is the absence of faith in a deity. Absence.

If you are convinced by Printsmith that Atheism is a belief, you will have to give it up. Poor Scruffy!!! LOL

How does it feel to be on the opposite side of what you have been doing for months?????

The fault in your logic is that atheists don't go around trying to PROVE that there is no God. They keep waiting for those that believe there is one to PROVE IT. Waiting for proof of something is not a "belief"--it is a lack thereof. I don't give a flip about trying to prove there is one, and no other agnostics/atheists that I know of are trying to prove it either. If you have proof, show it. If not, ... ho-hum... I don't have to prove that there is a tooth-fairy or an Easter bunny either. If you think you can, have at it.

At the end of the day, I DON'T CARE... That is not a "belief." All I want is to be left alone from the imposition of the superstitions of others on me.

DaffyDick wrote: What if you found out that there was no God? What would you do, if you learned that everything you had been told about religion is a lie?

How would you feel if you learned that mankind is nothing more than a survival of the species, and that mankind is here by chance, and not by the grace of God?

I would still sit down and ask myself "Why am I conscious?".

Nmysys wrote: If you are convinced by Printsmith that Atheism is a belief, you will have to give it up. Poor Scruffy!!! LOL

How does it feel to be on the opposite side of what you have been doing for months?????

At least I am answering, Nmysys, rather than putting those with which I disagree on ignore.