Do Atheists and Agnostics ever post criticisms of our own thinking and beliefs?

Question

For example,

I've often asked Atheists who demand "proof" of God what happens when a human dies, and traditionally the Atheist says nothing, and I ask can you prove it?

I don't believe in God, I'm more of an Agnostic, because I like to have a world view of things that have been proven.

Just wondering since I see so many people who find errors in the Bible and the Quran, if they have found any errors in their own thinking.

Self examination is so much more fun that editorilizing the Illiad and the Odessy, wouldn't you agree?

Answer 1

I freely admit that I could be wrong. My view differs from that of an agnostic because I truly believe that there is no God, but I realize that no one knows. I just have to base my beliefs on tangible evidence. In addition, I see a lot of false "evidence" from the various religions. However, if something that made sense did come along, I would gladly accept it.

If I can give an intelligent rebuttal to an atheistic statement, then I generally do so (even if it appears to support a religion). While I don't believe in God, I do believe in honest and intelligent arguments and information sharing.

Answer 2

Okey dokey, lets give this a go then *cracks kuckles and dons devil's advocate costume*

For all Science's failure to find proof of God, science has also been unable to prove any number of unexplainable phenomenon. Faith does not require proof, but there remains such little amount of proof in anything that no school of thought can be fully discounted. An afterlife or spiritual world has been re-created in countless cultures across the globe throughout time independantly of each other. An absence of evidence is NOT evidence of absence. For a belief system not based on evidence but belief and personal experience it is not up to them to provide proof, nor is someone else's lack of belief really have any impact upon them. "I may not agree with what you say, but i will defend your right to say it" While I am not picketing people camped out looking for the Loch Ness Monster or practising Astrology (I actually have a huge academic interest in this field despite my atheism, it's a fascinating manifestation of modern culture) I equally cannot advocate the abolishment of religion.

That should get the ball rolling. Now might be a good time to show that there are many different types of Atheist, unlike Christiantiy we are not organized into different churchs or divisions, but like the term Vegetarian it is a personal choice that can be combined with many other schools of thought:

I'm an Athiest naturalist Spiritualist: Briefly thus: I disbelieve in the Christian God or any supernatural force which cannot be proven by science. Naturalist: All things that make up the universe exist in the material world that we know and experience, there are not other planes beyond this one where spirits reside and all phenomena are natural to this world. Spiritualist (when combined with the previous two): IF any spiritual/emotional/psychic energy does exist, they are part of the natural world and CAN (one day) be proved by science. This is different from outright theism because that states that scientific evidence is not necessary for it to exist. I believe that if these things are real they can be measured and explained by science. I accept the possibility they can exist, but I will not believe in them myself UNTIL science explains them.

We can be a complicated, this is just one form of Atheism that is rather specialised, although several of the branches are characteristics shared by many other atheists, and some are not.

Answer 3

I asked a question a while back about the extent to which people understood evolution and natural selection in particular, aimed at people who accepted evolutionary theory. I learned a fair bit from that.

It's a slightly skewed sample though because scepticism and self-reflection are kind of prerequisites to the atheist mindset, so it may also be assumed to be an ongoing process in their lives. Only they wouldn't ask much about it here, I would argue, because they might find a better answer to any question in the science section, the philosophy section, the history section, or a real library.

It's a good question though. I don't like absolutists of any mint, but you find far fewer of them among atheists and agnostics - which is not to say they are unknown among theists. Not at all.

Answer 4

There is no denying that the existence of god cannot ever be proved or dis-proved. To me, that's not the point.

To me, the ridiculousness of religion is overwhelming. The scientific record just wins on all counts, and yet bible thumpers continue to try to poke holes in science with statements that just demonstrate their ignorance of science. If someone were to read the bible for the first time without being raised religious, they would undoubtedly see it as a fairy tale, because, in fact, it sounds exactly like it is: A Fairy tale.

So in conclusion, I believe no god exists because all the evidence points to NO GOD, but instead science explaining the world around us. I base my beliefs on hard evidence. Of course I can never prove god doesn't exist, but anyone who is educated in the sciences and not brainwashed or scared into believing religion can tell you it's just common sense.

Answer 5

I've often times posted criticism of the prevaling view atheists hold of the morality of abortion. I've even been accused by one wicca-chick of being a Christian troll and of being on a moral high-horse because *GASP* I think for myself on matters of morallity.

I've also posted a tentative proof of the non-existence of ALL deities and so far no one has been able to find a conclusive flaw in it -- even though each time I posted it, I BEGGED for feedback so I could adjust or strengthen or abandon it as needed.

Yeah, we self-analyze. Some of us, at least.

Answer 6

On occassion. When I am not certain about something, I mention it. I am aware that I am fallible and that I could be wrong. And of course, atheists have a wide variety of opinions on a wide variety of other topics. I've encountered atheists who are almost as conservative as Bill O'Rilley. And others so militant they bother me. All I can do is post my own opinions and try to back them up.

Answer 7

i'm christian, my superb chum is wicca, my father is catholic, my cousin is jew, my aunts are atheist, no, no one hurts my thoughts. My father compelled me to pass to cathesism, I so hated it yet i went there and did no longer say a be conscious. So the lady that gave it consistently suggested "christians try this.. christians do this..." she in basic terms approximately suggested christians can no longer pass out of their properties without shooting somebody, refer to a demon, leaping thrice and reducing a monkey's hand.... it relatively is like, ridiculous using fact she did no longer even understand that i replaced right into a christian so because it relatively is something that bothers me, and if i wasn't christian i might have believed each and everything she suggested.... So, no. each and every theory is large as long as its respected, each and every time the honour is lost does not remember in the event that they are nonbelievers or large large religious it relatively is while the factor gets incorrect... slightly shaggy dog tale does not remember yet while they initiate treating you like crap ugh... in the adventure that your question is, "using fact i do no longer think do i harm your feeelings?" in no way... I recommend... why might it harm me? -.-' Idc human beings's ideals, the final factor i communicate approximately with my acquaintances is that

Answer 8

My thinking on God is that I disbelieve in his existence. It's logically sound and doesn't need scrutinising. As a Buddhist I explore spirituality all the time but the idea of a deity is a non-issue for me.

Answer 9

Being a compulsive proofreader, I'm always trying to find errors in my thinking. No luck yet.

Answer 10

Atheists refuse to understand any the evidence,
Agnostics refuse to understand all of the evidence.