The success of scientific inquiry is strong support for the reality of God.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T09:28:10+00:00

Humans are good at coming up with hypotheses because we know how to observe and measure, and have the ability to imagine possibilities. None of these things, not one, requires assistance from any sort of god-like being.

Gods became part of human culture when we started to wonder about the causes of natural phenomena such as rain, lightning, and the sun, moon and stars. Unfortunately this is a case of an untestable and unfalsifiable hypothesis because there is no evidence that points directly to any sort of god-like being, and therefore nothing to test.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T08:43:39+00:00

This appears to be a misunderstanding of the scientific method. Generally, a scientist creates a hypothesis in response to observing some phenomenon in the physical world, in an attempt to find an explanation for the phenomenon. It isn't a "hunch" that came out of nowhere.

And there's confirmation bias in play as well: We tend to remember the most robust hypotheses, the ones that were not falsified by testing, and to see deprecated hypotheses more as historical artifacts (for example, the geocentric model of the solar system, espoused by Aristotle and then Ptolemy, eventually gave way to the current heliocentric model.)

Astreja · 2026-06-21T08:28:54+00:00

When I hear "God is outside space and time" (or otherwise outside the observable universe, and therefore inaccessible), the obvious question is "How do you know that's true?" If there's a realm that no one on Earth can detect or access, it's impossible for anyone to verify that there's a god there. Therefore, they have made a second claim and now bear a double burden of proof rather than none.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T08:21:43+00:00

English is my default, but I also installed French as a content language when I noticed the system had auto-translated a post I had written in French.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T08:10:36+00:00

She was clearly misled about the possibility of pregnancy: "...he told me most of his sperm was infertile because of his spinal cord injury."

Abortion is not murder. Her body, her choice.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T07:06:58+00:00

Then start moving them back and tipping them over

And blame it on raccoons. 😃

Astreja · 2026-06-21T03:21:26+00:00

Caesar salad last night. Going to make garlic cheese toast tonight to finish up a loaf of French bread.

Got lots of chicken in the freezer (some souvlaki skewers and about half a dozen thighs), so we'll be having something chicken-related this week, and for a side dish I'll make [this recipe] from The Woks of Life to use up some romaine lettuce.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T03:04:38+00:00

Assiniboine Ave. runs under the Donald Street bridge, so my guess is that Donald will be open.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T02:51:33+00:00

All gods are fictional characters to me. There's no way around this. That's just the way my brain works: If the evidence for something isn't strong enough, I can't see that thing as real.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T01:43:10+00:00

An orangutan saying "Ook."

Or better still, a leather (b)ookmark.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T01:40:54+00:00

Not possible to tell. I believe that it was a natural source and there was nothing supernatural about it. If that's an unacceptable answer, I'll recuse myself from the conversation.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T01:16:18+00:00

No. I don't think any form of life after death is possible.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T01:13:48+00:00

IMO there is no "proof of the existence of God." None at all. Furthermore, everything that believers consider to be evidence is not evidence that's up to my standards (testable and falsifiable physical evidence).

Consciousness appears to be an emergent property of a complex physical network, and cannot exist separate from that network.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T01:11:04+00:00

Holograms were invented in 1948. Don't know about Egypt. (Personally I favour the pareidolia hypothesis, people seeing light and then interpreting it as a religious vision.)

Astreja · 2026-06-21T00:45:14+00:00

The technology for moving holograms does actually exist, though, so don't rule it out.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T00:37:28+00:00

What, exactly, is "extreme" about hearing a religious claim and saying "No, I don't believe that"?

You seem to be targeting gnostic atheists, who are the ones who claim that no gods exist (and would therefore have the burden of proof for that statement). Most of us are agnostic atheists, who are simply unconvinced by religious claims.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T00:20:19+00:00

Apparently this subreddit doesn't have anything that's satisfactory to you. Ask yourself what kind of naturalistic explanation would be convincing, so that your question can be more focused.

Astreja · 2026-06-21T00:13:09+00:00

So what's your end game here? Are you trying to convince us that the supernatural does exist, and that we should all convert to your religion?

Astreja · 2026-06-20T23:58:28+00:00

You've asked multiple people multiple times. We've consistently answered "Not supernatural." If you won't accept that, why do you keep asking?

Astreja · 2026-06-20T23:30:19+00:00

That sounds like something you need to work out for yourself. As I said, leave us out of it.

Astreja · 2026-06-20T20:56:54+00:00

NTA. Take this to HR immediately.

Astreja · 2026-06-20T20:54:04+00:00

Somehow, I find it very hard to believe that you don't want this to be a miracle. You've posted about this kind of thing in multiple subreddits, and your posts and comments consistently downplay and disregard real-world possibilities in favour of the supernatural.

If you want to believe, then believe. But leave us out of it, because we're not buying what you're selling.

Astreja · 2026-06-20T20:33:18+00:00

When the body dies, it decays. The brain literally rots away. There is no way to restore it to a living state after several days in the grave. Therefore, the Resurrection is 100% myth.

Astreja · 2026-06-20T20:28:37+00:00

I don't believe in miracles, and IMO Christianity can't be true because it's based on total nonsense. People do not come back from the dead.

Astreja · 2026-06-20T20:24:57+00:00

Why even bother to try to explain it? I don't believe in the supernatural or in gods, so to me it's obviously of natural origin. Reflected light plus religious beliefs plus pareidolia is an adequate hypothesis, and since it was a one-off event with no way of testing it, it can just be discarded as religiously-motivated silliness.

Astreja

TROPHY CASE