God, whether He exists or not, is an all-pervasive influence in our lives. — TheMadFool
There's something about God that impels us to abandon our rationality - it becomes an exception to the rule of evidence based worldviews. — TheMadFool
Nietzsche understood how immense the consequences of the rise of Christianity had been, and how immense the consequences of its decline would be as well, and had the intelligence to know he could not fall back on polite moral certitudes to which he no longer had any right. Just as the Christian revolution created a new sensibility by inverting many of the highest values of the pagan past, so the decline of Christianity, Nietzsche knew, portends another, perhaps equally catastrophic shift in moral and cultural consciousness. His famous fable in The Gay Science of the madman who announces God’s death is anything but a hymn of atheist triumphalism. In fact, the madman despairs of the mere atheists—those who merely do not believe—to whom he addresses his terrible proclamation. In their moral contentment, their ease of conscience, he sees an essential oafishness; they do not dread the death of God because they do not grasp that humanity’s heroic and insane act of repudiation has sponged away the horizon, torn down the heavens, left us with only the uncertain resources of our will with which to combat the infinity of meaninglessness that the universe now threatens to become.
The main problem with our usual understanding of secularity is that it is taken-for-granted, so we are not aware that it is a worldview. It is an ideology pretending to be the everyday world we live in. Many assume that it is simply the way the world really is, once superstitious beliefs about it have been removed. Yet that is the secular view of secularity, its own self-understanding....
I checked yes when I meant to check no when I couldn't decide whether I wanted god to exist or not. Unfortunately you didn't provide an "I can't figure it out" option. — Bitter Crank
Obviously theism and atheism can't be explained in terms of rationality. It's like two people put in the exact same environment (our world) and one sees God and the other doesn't. Clearly the fault is not in logic. — TheMadFool
there is no purpose in life, that there is nothing after death, that 'good' and 'evil' are only social contracts which serve no purpose other than to continue the survival of our species. That there is nothing that we can ever do in life which has any effect on anything rather than the physical world, which, ultimately, is meaningless. — Javants
Obvisouly theism and atheism can't be explained in terms of rationality. It's like two people put in the exact same environment (our world) and one sees God and the other doesn't. Clearly the fault is not in logic. I want to know if perhaps desire has a role in this. — TheMadFool
Since God is supposed to be immaterial, theists don't actually "see" God with their eyes. So I think the discretionary difference must be the result of some form of logic. Of course there must be some type of desire involved, as all choice requires motivating factors. — Metaphysician Undercover
Obvisouly theism and atheism can't be explained in terms of rationality. It's like two people put in the exact same environment (our world) and one sees God and the other doesn't. Clearly the fault is not in logic. I want to know if perhaps desire has a role in this. — TheMadFool
the correct response would be for both sides to suspend judgement. — Chany
In other words, belief in a God helps us determine our actions, as it is part of the inherent societal attitudes influencing our decisions. — Javants
I wonder - would there be anyone here who doesn't believe in God, yet want one to exist? Or vice versa? — StreetlightX
I don't think it's a question of logic. Why? Because, one thing we do know is that evidence for and against god is unavailable. — TheMadFool
The simple reason for this, upon even a superficial analysis, is that if the evidence was there, either for or against, one of the warring factions (theists, atheists) wouldn't exist. — TheMadFool
What I suspect is that there's a desire/hope/abhorrence that determines which side you choose. — TheMadFool
P.S. The God I'm referrig to is the omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent God — TheMadFool
... impels us to abandon our rationality
Therefore I think the question of whether or not one desires for God to exists is a rather irrelevant question, for the purposes you've expressed. — Metaphysician Undercover
And yet they ignore this perfectly reasonable option and become theists and atheists. What is the cause of this? Are theists a cowardly bunch afraid of death or are they idealistic dreamers with a poor grasp on reality? Are atheists fiercely independent thinkers or do they hate what god has to say about their, say, sexual preferences?
What is the root cause of atheism/theism? — TheMadFool
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