Seems people like to take his words out of context too. From what I've always read about Einstein, he never once explicitly stated, "I do not believe in the existence of God."
It's like if you feel the evidence mounts in favor that there is no god:multiple different gods prove they can't be all truereligious thinking shows fallacies in cases x,y,z etcgod has not intervienedreligion is backtrackingno evidence for a godetc etc etc
That's a good list, but we should remember these points don't constitute "mounting evidence". The lack of evidence for god, is not the same as evidence for the lack of god. Quote from: reaperwell I also forgot to put some stuff in there, that is "evidence" for an alternative explanationQuote from: quadzI'd be interested to know what you have in mind. (All I'm currently aware of is that there appears to be no need for any supernatural interferance since the big bang.)
well I also forgot to put some stuff in there, that is "evidence" for an alternative explanationQuote from: quadzI'd be interested to know what you have in mind. (All I'm currently aware of is that there appears to be no need for any supernatural interferance since the big bang.)
I'd be interested to know what you have in mind. (All I'm currently aware of is that there appears to be no need for any supernatural interferance since the big bang.)
you should either believe in god or not. although if you feel it's similar to 50/50 that seems reasonable. So looking back at the quotations it appears he said he doesn't know what's going on. In other words, he's not going to discount that some higher power might exist because of the way things are on earth, yet he thinks the idea of a god who is interviening and hence personal is ridiculous, because that is not the case in everyday life. So I would say that's 50/50, and I can deal with that..
The natural explanation of how things work, and that the universe doesn't really have a beginning, in other words, it's self contained and exists forever. That said i'm pretty sure you're aware, I consider god self-evident and intrisic to humans, not just a byproduct of human emotion during times of stress, or the reminents of explaining away phenomena.
But I am interested in whether you believe there's a 50/50 chance the Easter Bunny is real. And if you don't think it's 50/50, then what reasoning do you use to arrive at a different likelihood?
I found a glaring inconsistency.
Reaper just conceded that an active, intervening god is self-evidently not the case in every day life. It is "ridiculous".He then goes on to say god is self-evident and intrinsic to humans:
I can still believe in god like most other people, and not believe god is actively stopping some car accident and not others. It's still the same type of belief. god works in mysterious ways
Quote from: reaper on July 28, 2009, 12:40:35 AMI can still believe in god like most other people, and not believe god is actively stopping some car accident and not others. It's still the same type of belief. god works in mysterious waysCompletely missed the point. Re-read please.
So most people believe in something "ridiculous", but it is "intrinsic" and constitutes as evidence in favor of a god.
I never said what I personally thought. But people saying they believe god is active, has varying meaning.
I never said what I personally thought. But people saying they believe god is active, has varying meaning.Quote from: focalorBut...Shouldn't they pick a side? Like Stephen Hawking did?
But...Shouldn't they pick a side? Like Stephen Hawking did?
I said Einstein beleived god wasn't active because he isn't active in everyday life, i.e, he's not out stopping some car accidents and not others. If god created everything, everything is, in a certain sense, attributed to god. For example, someone recovers from cancer, yes some others don't, but people thank god, because they are so happy for the existence of life. God is active to them, in one sense (he created everything), therefore you can attribute events to god, yet he didn't actually change the mechanics of things.
It looks like all the believers are saying they believe in some type of god. God is working as they expect.
Seems to me if god isn't taking an active role, then, from the big bang forward, you might as well be an atheist.