Stephen Hawking : There Is No God

[KillerCupcake 3]

Well duh of course there is no god.

Still boggles me how so many adults can believe in god and all the fairytales in the bible.

[VISION 52]

we? you and i? i have no recollection of this hehe.

not believing but hoping. not getting my hopes up either, but just hoping. if i didn't hope it would make me better than i wouldn't take the pill, would i? :P

not belief, but hope and aims. because belief in the unknown is not rational, but hopes and aims are and are valuable. i think that thinking positively is good for you too, but never deluding yourself.

 

Yes, it was in the thread where we discussed fortune tellers and future predictions. 

 

Is there a much of a difference between hoping and believing? "Believing" sounds more promising than just hoping to me, which is better. 

Sometimes we do things just because that's how they are supposed to be done, mechanically, without hoping they work. 

Well duh of course there is no god.

Still boggles me how so many adults can believe in god and all the fairytales in the bible.

 

IKR But I just think many of them know this is not true, they just want to live in a fairytale, like Gaga lives between half-reality and half-fantasy 

But...God bless those who truly believe in these stories

edit: I respect such people, but don't support this

[Melech 9,900]

Well duh of course there is no god.

Still boggles me how so many adults can believe in god and all the fairytales in the bible.

not fairytales ffs 

[garnite 8]

Yes, it was in the thread where we discussed fortune tellers and future predictions. 

 

Is there a much of a difference between hoping and believing? "Believing" sounds more promising than just hoping to me, which is better. 

Sometimes we do things just because that's how they are supposed to be done, mechanically, without hoping they work.

totally forget! oops.

if you believe something you are sure of it and accept it as fact. there's a bigger fall from realising you believed in something false than your hopes not coming to fruition i'd say, because with hopes you accept the possibility of failure while positively wishing the inverse is true. i hope for the best. i don't believe that the best will come. because i do not know. and i may be disappointed. i think reasonably all we can do is hope, and i don't think there's anything wrong with that.

[Jjang 2,262]

totally forget! oops.

if you believe something you are sure of it and accept it as fact. there's a bigger fall from realising you believed in something false than your hopes not coming to fruition i'd say, because with hopes you accept the possibility of failure while positively wishing the inverse is true. i hope for the best. i don't believe that the best will come. because i do not know. and i may be disappointed. i think reasonably all we can do is hope, and i don't think there's anything wrong with that.

*Do you believe in a bigger force/power out of this physical world? doesn't have to be titled as "god".

[Runway 27,876]

Beyonces opinion >>>> his

[garnite 8]

Do you believe in a bigger force/power out of this physical world? doesn't have to be titled as "god".

i don't have any reason to, no. that's not to say that such a thing doesn't exist, but as with all god arguments, yahweh or allah or any other god, i don't think i have any reason to believe in such a thing. show me the evidence and i might say differently, otherwise i can't hold any beliefs that i don't think are at this point substantiated. that's why i'm an atheist. and i refuse to entertain wishful thinking.

[Shadow 6,697]

this is just a myth. it's not true.

sure. probably quite a lot of people in fact, even if religion was forced upon them as a child. plenty of people say "i truly don't know" and leave it that. then there are people who go looking for answers in different faiths and non faiths. and then there are people who were religious and stopped believing. lots of people do that. and they do it because they follow the evidence.

Even with that theory being debunked, my point still stands that people mix their logical mind with creative thinking. Its even more apparent now that people can no longer be classified based on domination by either notion.

Evidence can either confirm what they believe or give reason to doubt. If people could make decisions like you described, why hasn't society become more secular since the Age of Enlightenment? Even within the confines of atheism, there are still notions rooted in Western faith and values that affect the way they think.

Did you know one of the persons who first came up with the theory of an explosion starting the universe similar to the Big Bang theory, was a theologian named Robert Grosseteste?

[garnite 8]

Evidence can either confirm what they believe or give reason to doubt. If people could make decisions like you described, why hasn't society become more secular since the Age of Enlightenment? Even within the confides of atheism, there are still notions rooted in Western faith and values that affect the way they think.

i'm not sure what you mean... you don't think society is more secular since that period? less and less people attend church. atheist figures are growing and growing. which notions are rooted in western faith and values?

 

Did you know one of the persons who first came up with the theory of an explosion starting the universe similar to the Big Bang theory, was a theologian named Robert Grosseteste?

i'd never heard of this person but he was alive during the 12th century. you'd be hard pressed to find a single non religious person back then when it was either criminal or extremely taboo. and they lacked the knowledge we have now that helps us fill in the gaps god previously occupied. but it doesn't really say anything. there are lots of accomplished scientists who leave their bibles at the lab door because they realise it is incompatible with their profession. or they just don't believe in the literal truth of their religions.

[Shadow 6,697]

i don't have any reason to, no. that's not to say that such a thing doesn't exist, but as with all god arguments, yahweh or allah or any other god, i don't think i have any reason to believe in such a thing. show me the evidence and i might say differently, otherwise i can't hold any beliefs that i don't think are at this point substantiated. that's why i'm an atheist. and i refuse to entertain wishful thinking.

Even if the information was provided to you, could you comprehend it? If there are forces at work that go beyond our known universe, then it's like trying to see the forest from the trees.

What we think of "god" or whatever force that governs our physical law and its properties that allow us to even make sense of our existence, could range from how gravity works per mass, the molecular structure and reaction to atomic energy, and the cycles in which those priorities either grow or diminish.

Could humanity somehow comprehend our universe beyond the labels we give it? Having faith in mankind with its limits can be just as flawed as having faith in a deity.

[Jjang 2,262]

i don't have any reason to, no. that's not to say that such a thing doesn't exist, but as with all god arguments, yahweh or allah or any other god, i don't think i have any reason to believe in such a thing. show me the evidence and i might say differently, otherwise i can't hold any beliefs that i don't think are at this point substantiated. that's why i'm an atheist. and i refuse to entertain wishful thinking.

 

I obviously agree, but sometimes you just wonder whats the purpose of it all...

 

 

 

I'm not religious but i do believe in god, but then again i might just be brainwashing myself or rather forcing myself to believe in a bigger power for the sake of comfort.

[garnite 8]

Even if the information was provided to you, could you comprehend it? If there are forces at work that go beyond our known universe, then it's like trying to see the forest from the trees.

if it's incomprehensible to humans then that means it cannot be proved right or wrong, which discredits it immediately.

Could humanity somehow comprehend our universe beyond the labels we give it? Having faith in mankind with its limits can be just as flawed as having faith in a deity.

i don't have faith in mankind, i just know that science is actively working towards the answers and i await them.

[garnite 8]

I obviously agree, but sometimes you just wonder whats the purpose of it all...

 

 

 

I'm not religious but i do believe in god, but then again i might just be brainwashing myself or rather forcing myself to believe in a bigger power for the sake of comfort.

nothing wrong with wondering the purpose of it all! i do think the best and most useful thing we can do is not get carried away with wishful thinking though. i truly believe one can find adequate comfort without needing to pretend things are the case when they know they might not be. i get that that is easier for some, but i'm not going to patronise people and say they have to have something false to hope for otherwise their life would be pointless because i just don't think it's the case.

[Shadow 6,697]

i'm not sure what you mean... you don't think society is more secular since that period? less and less people attend church. atheist figures are growing and growing. which notions are rooted in western faith and values?

i'd never heard of this person but he was alive during the 12th century. you'd be hard pressed to find a single non religious person back then when it was either criminal or extremely taboo. and they lacked the knowledge we have now that helps us fill in the gaps god previously occupied. but it doesn't really say anything. there are lots of accomplished scientists who leave their bibles at the lab door because they realise it is incompatible with their profession. or they just don't believe in the literal truth of their religions.

Have you not read the works of Max Weber and how the Protestant Ethic set the Western world up for the system of capitalism we use today?

You might find his a--lysis of Protestant Reformation interesting:

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber:

http://www.butler-bowdon.com/Max-Weber-The-Protestant-Ethic-And-The-Spirit-Of-Capitalism

https://archive.org/details/protestantethics00webe

Can you explain why a number of recognized scientists manage to retain their faith while contributing to the scientific community? Faith may have been withdrawn to a degree since schools have indoctrinated these ideas globally for generations, but it is still a very crucial factor to billions of people.

[garnite 8]

Have you not read the works of Max Weber and how the Protestant Ethic set the Western world up for the system of capitalism we use today?

You might find his a--lysis of Protestant Reformation interesting:

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber:

http://www.butler-bowdon.com/Max-Weber-The-Protestant-Ethic-And-The-Spirit-Of-Capitalism

https://archive.org/details/protestantethics00webe

Can you explain why a number of recognized scientists manage to retain their faith while contributing to the scientific community? Faith may have been withdrawn to a degree since schools have indoctrinated these ideas globally for generations, but it is still a very crucial factor to billions of people.

well, that's one opinion. i haven't read those so that's too much to get into right now. :P as long as you're not talking about things like thou shalt not kill etc.

because they happen to have faith. it's not supposed to be logical.