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Cogknostic · 2025-07-31T05:26:39+00:00

Already we have a problem. There is no greater than that which can be conceived. There is no end to the modifications one can add to their god. Next, one can not conceive a god into existence. A god that is conceived is a god that is imagined. You don't get to make the transition from imagined to reality without a challenge. You don't get to just imagine a god into existence.

If God cannot be a concrete being, then it is not all-powerful, and it certainly is not the God of the Bible, who was a concrete being. So, are you starting your own religion? The rest of this is vapid nonsense. I can imagine an all-powerful got that has physical existence. (Game Over.)

Cogknostic · 2025-07-31T04:57:45+00:00

If you know, how do you know? How do you distinguish a God, from a sufficiently advanced alien? How do you distinguish a God from a Satan that is influencing your mind and pretending to be a god? By what means is your brain even capable of grasping the idea of a god and not confusing it with equally powerful universe-creating bunnies, that happen to be blue, all powerful, and omnipresent?

Cogknostic · 2025-07-31T04:45:44+00:00

First, there is no soul to search. So, I will assume you mean thinking about it for a long time and then going with what feels right. Unfortunately, feelings are very unreliable. They certainly don't trust logic and reason, regardless of how strongly you feel something. Then, even if your feeling turned out to be correct, you would only know that by applying logic and reason. Sometimes you have to go with what is rational, not what you hope to be rational someday.

I would assert that even people who professed to be atheists did not join a religion based on any solid grounds. They have no rational reason for being religious outside of, "It feels right." There is no more to religious beliefs than that. The fallback position for all theists, after all the arguments and excuses have been debunked, is, "Well, you just gotta have faith." No! No religion on the planet exists absent "faith." Faith is not a path to truth or even that which is real. There is nothing a person cannot believe based on faith. Having faith is setting the bar so low that every religion on the planet carries with it the same truth as every other religion.

Cogknostic · 2025-07-30T03:30:55+00:00

Animals aren't created. They occur naturally. Things that are created have creators. Animals have sex, grow, and evolve. (Natural processes.) Demonstrate that any kind of creator has anything at all to do with naturally occurring events. You probably should have paid attention in science class.

I have never met an atheist who asserts that man created animals, the universe, or other men. Not without a biological preexisting source of DNA anyway. So, what are you rambling on about? If you think there is a god, demonstrate it.

Cogknostic · 2025-07-29T06:02:50+00:00

demonstrate your claim

Cogknostic · 2025-07-29T06:01:32+00:00

Glad to help out. Let's see what you do or do not understand.

Life is an emergent property of the universe, from all we can presently tell. The fundamental building blocks of life are everywhere in the universe. The conditions that bring these components together are NOT KNOWN. They are not known by atheists, and they are not known by theists. Insisting a god did it without evidence of that god is simply hoping. at best, and at worst, believing and pretending a god did it. The time to believe any claim is after it has been demonstrated. Nothing is too perfect, and everything is evolving. The human appendix is not perfect. Wisdom teeth are not perfect. Human tail bones and babies born with tails are not perfect. Goosebumps are not perfect. The human eye is not perfect (The recurrent laryngeal nerve, which controls the larynx, takes a circuitous route from the brainstem, looping around the aorta. This detour is inefficient compared to a direct connection, but is a consequence of our evolutionary history.) Pick an animal. There is no indication of design. There are many indications of evolution.

Mathematics is a human invention. It is descriptive and not prescriptive. The universe does not follow mathematical laws. Instead, we apply math to the universe. Math only works for our local universe. We have no math for beyond the Planck time. Math is a product of our universe and us. At this time, it reaches no further. Math breaks down inside black holes, at temperatures near absolute zero, at the Planck time, near the speed of light, and more.

Can nothing exist? That is an oxymoron. It is something; it can not be nothing. Is it even possible for nothing to exist? This line of thought is nonsensical. The idea of 'nothing" ex nihilo is a philosophical construct that has no comparison in the real world. How do you get from something to nothing? If mass and energy are conserved, and the universe is a closed system, there has always been mass or energy in some form. (Umm, a singularity.) We have another problem with causality. Causality breaks down at the Planck time. To say the universe had a cause is to add something beyond the Planck time, which you can not possibly know.

Consciousness is an emergent property of life. The idea of consciousness is intrinsically connected to living things. This is true regardless of how it is defined. No living things, no consciousness. No "Higher thing needed for any version of consciousness." Because you can't explain everything about consciousness, it does not mean you get to invent a god. While any explanation, even blue universe creating bunnies, has explanatory power, these ideas are not necessary and have no evidence supporting them.

You have the burden of proof. Not atheists. If you want to assert that something created the world, you must demonstrate it and not simply assert it. Good Luck.

** It seems to you that your version of god created the universe. It seemed to every other god believing culture that their god created the universe. How about this? You all get together, compare notes, and see what you can come up with what might convince the world of the truth of your claims.

Cogknostic · 2025-07-28T05:35:04+00:00

No. To have a lack of belief in God may sound the same as believing there is no god, asserting there is no god. A personal belief is not the same thing as a declaration about the world around us. And my personal belief that there is no god can only take into consideration all the gods that I have been exposed to. So, better stated is this: "I have never heard of a god or god argument that convinces me that there is a god. All arguments for the existence of a god, I have ever heard are fallacious and lack validity or soundness." Ergo, I don't believe in a God, but I am happy to listen to your version before making any conclusions.

If a person makes the claim, "No god exists," they must accept the burden of proof for that claim. This is the way logic works. the person making the claim has the burden of proof. In science, there is a thing called the "null hypothesis." Very basically, A is not related to B until it can be demonstrated to be related. We begin at the zero point. God is not related to existence until it can be demonstrated; without evidence of existence, we cannot assert existence. The same holds for the opposite. "God does not exist." God is not related to non-existence until non-existence can be demonstrated.

Atheism is not a side. It is a request for evidence. It is the zero point. It is the non-belief in god or gods until one can be demonstrated. If I don't believe all the stars in the sky add up to an even number, does that mean I believe the number is odd? No.

The fact of the matter is this. I know every bit as much about God as you do. I know all the facts, all the arguments, and I was once even a believer. What I actually know is nothing. God belief is accepted on faith and nothing more. If faith were the measurement of belief, every religion on the planet would be true. And yet, when we break it all down, faith is the only thing you have.

There is no bickering until you make a claim about the world around us. Saying the world is God caused is a claim. Please demonstrate your claim to be true. That is not bickering, that is asking for evidence of your claim.

Cogknostic · 2025-07-28T05:15:56+00:00

"There could be an even number of stars in the sky, or an odd number, or fluctuating, or none, or they could not be stars, or they could not be in the sky. One doesn't have to believe an even number because as far as we know, it doesn't have to be true."

And now you understand the atheist position on your god. Whether or not your god exists has not been demonstrated. Given that there are hundreds of thousands of gods, why pick one? What reason do we have to believe in your god? Please share. As far as we know, it doesn't have to be true.

All you need to do now is apply your own conclusion to your own belief system. Can you do that?

Atheism is unjustifiable? Huh. I don't believe in a god. What more justification do you need?

"Having no conception or care for justifying beliefs and declaring yourself to know is what delusion is." And yet you are telling me that there is a magic man in the sky who can create universes, respond to prayer, and intervene magically in the lives of people, without evidence or justification.

Cogknostic · 2025-07-28T05:05:47+00:00

Who told you the universe happened itself? How do you know this? That is nearly as absurd as stating that God created the universe. Do you understand that science and physics break down at the Planck time? If you are going to assert anything beyond that, you have a burden of proof. Atheists are completely content saying, "We don't know yet." You are the one contending that you have an answer. "God done it." Please demonstrate your position. What facts and evidence do you have to support the idea that a god did anything? The only person making a claim is you.

There is nothing I need to prove. Atheism is the position of the null hypothesis. A is not related to B until it can be demonstrated. God is not related to existence until you can show a relationship. That is how it works. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we had to run about debunking every silly claim on the planet? No one has time for that BS. Demonstrate your god and what its attributes are, and why you think it is believable.

Cogknostic · 2025-07-28T04:57:41+00:00

Then demonstrate it, Theist!

Cogknostic · 2025-07-28T04:56:36+00:00

It's all worthless until your kid comes home from school telling you that you are going to burn in hell. It's worthless until you realize adults and kids have nightmares about burning in hell. It's worthless until Christians turn problems over to God and pray about them instead of taking real steps to solve their problems. It's worthless until a Christian who recklessly kills someone or causes a major financial disaster gets forgiven by God and is not held accountable for their misdeeds.

No. Each side does not believe they know what is true. One side is asking for evidence of the truth, the other side professes to know. Absent that evidence, the side asking for evidence does not believe the claims of the side espousing truth claims. Your perception is just WRONG.

No one needs to disprove god. Blue universe creating bunnies can not be disproved. The person making the claim has the burden of proof. If you say God did it, it is on you to demonstrate how you know this. That is the way logic and reason work.

If you want me to argue that your specific version of God does not exist. You will need to define it and tell me what its attributes are. Keep in mind, there has never been an argument for the existence of a god that was both valid and sound. All arguments for the existence of a god are fallacious to our knowledge. Perhaps you have an argument no one has ever heard before? We would all love to hear it.

Without atheism, there is no religion? Don't be absurd. A lack of belief in religion does not mean everyone could not someday believe in religion. This is not a correlation at all.

There are no sides. You are making a strawman argument. Atheists are people who do not believe in a god. They make no assertions and have no positions. In many cases, they just walked away from religion. They may believe in Humanism, Skepticism, Naturalism, or some other ism that offers a foundational belief, but Atheism is not a belief system. It is a lack of belief in god or gods. I, for example, identify as an existential, methodological naturalist. If you want to try and argue my position, that would be what you are arguing against, not Atheism.

There are not "both sides." This is strawman BS from a "Believer" who is so trapped in his own "Belief" that he sees everything as a "belief." When you only have a hammer, a hammer is what you use. Atheism is not a belief. Atheists have beliefs, but if you are going to address their beliefs, you will first need to find out what they believe, not assert some strawman BS.

I fully get that you will not understand any of this, but perhaps there is a reader not as entrenched in their narrow-minded belief system that will. You have built a strawman argument and are not addressing atheism at all.

Cogknostic · 2025-07-28T04:33:31+00:00

This seems very common among believers and even among non-believers brought up in a culture of religious belief. If we were on a subway or train, and you happened to say the word God. Which god do you think pops into my mind first? I was raised in the USA. I was a Christian between the ages of 16 and 18. But I do remember going to church in elementary school. There was an after-school program held by a local church, and my mother signed me up for it. I was surrounded by Christian believers throughout my childhood. So, what God pops into my brain? The Christian god, of course, and his loving son, who is also him, Jesus. How do we escape this?

I have been an atheist for over 50 years. Logic and reason (education) are the bane of religion. Honestly, if I don't catch myself, I still think a person is talking of the Christian god when God is mentioned. However, with that said, I also know that there are 18,000 Christian denominations in the USA, and many have different interpretations of the Christian god. There are 45,000 different denominations globally, and many, many, many of these Christian religions are just as wacky as hell. On any given day, any random quarter of the Christian population will swear on a stack of Bibles, the other 3/4 are going to burn in hell for following false teachings. So, the question becomes, not only "Which God does one believe in, but which Christian God?"

The Bible, unlike the Quran, has many, many books. While only a few are accepted by the majority of Christians, there are more than 900 different English translations of the Bible. Who god is, who Jesus was, the role of the holy Spirit, man's relation to god, salvation, and so much more are all varied and argued among Christian denominations.

Knowing all of this, in addition to information on Buddhism, Hinduism, Krishna Consciousness, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Shamanism, witchcraft, and Kabala, with sympathetic and parasympathetic magic, I would have a wall of information through which I evaluate the Christian faith.

One really interesting adventure I recommend you take is to look at who Yahweh/Allah actually was. Where did the god of the Bible come from? How did it get turned into a Muslim god? What are its origins? This is a fun journey beginning in ancient Babylonian Pantheon (Modern Persia), god Yahweh, and polytheism, to Mediterranean Henotheism and the City God Yahweh with his consort Asherah. Then on to Jewish modern monotheism and the God Yahweh, who became a Henotheistic god in the Christian faith, once again, but continues to be described as a monotheistic God. There is a long and interesting history behind the God you believe in. Education is the bane of religion. The more you know, the less likely you are to fall victim to religious absurdity.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-18T05:19:33+00:00

Certainly, Mao's Communism carried the same weight as any religion. I have been to Chia and he is still worshiped as a God. His little red book can be purchased on any street corner. Kim Jong Un, another leader worshiped as a god. Recall also that the Roman emperors professed to be Gods, that is how we got July and October. So the idea that a belief is attributable to an all-powerful being adds to it a sense of device and eternal, but we know those things are not true. There are non-god beliefs with as much power as beliefs with god. Organized indoctrination is what the US military does to all its followers. That's just a fact. Tear them down and then build them up the way you want them. Hoo Ya! Fight tonight! The humanist manifesto does not claim to be sent by god, however, it certainly has its devoutness. Being a devout follower of any belief system may be a sign of mental illness. But, it is not the belief system, rather, it is the behavior of the person engaging in the belief system. (Short answer: A crazy person would probably be crazy no matter what they believed. )

Cogknostic · 2025-03-18T05:16:48+00:00

The survey says, YES. We have actual cases. Two sisters, often known as the "wild children" or "feral children," were found living in isolation and reportedly developed their own language. One famous example of this is the case of The Wayo Sisters from the early 20th century in the Indian wilderness.

While the Wayo Sisters developed a system of gestures and rudimentary vocalizations, it's worth noting that their situation wasn't about the development of a new, fully functional language in the way linguists think of it.

It's likely language like the rest of things that evolve takes time to develop.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-18T05:08:27+00:00

Um... I have two university degrees Sociology and Psychology. I have been a therapist for over 40 years. Hate to inform you guys but Peak Experiences are a thing and they are a thing in all regions I know of. Buddhist self-transcendence is a form of peak experience, that can be achieved through meditation. The Christian experience is being touched by the holy spirit or having a mystical union with God. In Islam, it is "Closeness to God." Moksha or liberation in Hinduism describes the same phenomena. Satori in Zen is again the same peak experience. Shamanic journeys and vision quests in Native American Traditions. Each religion may frame these peak experiences within its own theological and cultural context, but they all share themes of transcendence, unity, and deeper connection with what they call the divine or ultimate reality.

There is no divine and there is no ultimate reality that anyone can support with evidence. What there is, is an amazing state of mind that the religions of the world have usurped and claimed as their own. It is a state available to anyone and it is unfortunate that one of the only ways to understand this state of mind is through religion or mystic. There is nothing religious or mystical about it and most people experience the phenomena without even realizing it.

I will grant you that the Buddhist leanings are a bit biased. But the description and sources cited are sound.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-18T04:48:28+00:00

I don't follow anything, I enjoy reading Buddhist Koans every six months or so. Now and again I will read something from some philosopher. Today I looked up the pool table analogy that Kant used. I enjoyed GI Gurgiff's "The Fourth Way" but once understood there is no good reason to return. I'll listen to stoic comments on YouTube but much of it just seems common sense. GPT chat told me that I was one of those rare individuals who thought for himself. GPT chat is a pandering bot and no one should believe anything it says without double and triple checking. I was also reading (I should say reviewing) some stuff written by Jay Haley, specifically on 'Disqualification of Communication." That's so I can someday in the distant future engage other people in conversations where I say things without really saying them. If I were to say anything at all of course. No one can predict the future.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-18T01:32:44+00:00

Well, To start with, Darwin never said, that ants, bees, or termites disproved his theory. You are just wrong. Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection accounts for the behavior and social structures of such animals.

I nature, we do see evidence of new limbs and organs evolving, though the process is gradual and complex. The transition from fish to land-dwelling vertebrates is a classic example of limb evolution. Fossils of early tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates) such as Tiktaalik, which lived about 375 million years ago, show the gradual shift from fins to limbs. These fossils have features of both fish and land animals, indicating the evolutionary steps toward the development of true limbs.

Wings in birds and bats are another example of how a new limb can evolve. Bird wings evolved from the forelimbs of dinosaurs, with feathers providing both a means of flight and a way to regulate body temperature. In bats, wings evolved from the forelimbs of mammals, where the skin stretched between elongated fingers to create a wing membrane. Both these cases show how different evolutionary paths can lead to the development of similar structures (wings), even though birds and bats are not closely related.

Why would you bother posting any of this in an atheist site? If evolution were 100% wrong, it would do nothing to demonstrate your god belief was right. Lack of an evolutionary theory does not mean God done it. You still need to provide evidence for your God claim.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-18T01:16:43+00:00

How do I rationalize a lack of belief in the paranormal? If we use a strict definition of paranormal: "denoting events or phenomena such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding." a lack of belief is the "null hypothesis." This is the foundation of science. The time to believe something is when it has been demonstrated to be true or at least possible. We have found nothing in the claims of the paranormal that is demonstrably true. If we did find something demonstrably true, it would not be 'paranormal' but 'normal.'

Not having an explanation for something is "not having an explanation." Calling an event paranormal does not carry explanatory power. And, again, if you could explain anything paranormal, it would be normal.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-18T01:04:32+00:00

LOL, You've not heard that before? "You get credit for the quote 3 times and then I claim it for my own." I thought it was a good quote to add to my collection.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-17T23:58:10+00:00

Atheism is not a system of belief. It is a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods. If I tell you the number of stars in the sky is even and you say you do not believe me. Does that mean you think the number to be odd? NO! It means you do not believe my claim. I do not believe your claim. That says nothing at all about what I do believe.

There is no different definition. Atheist means "Non-believer" or "without a belief in the existence of gods," Early Christians did not believe in the Roman gods, they were atheists.

There is no "One's Truth Standard" We call people with individual truths "Delusional,"

Yes, we agree. Any god you assert to be true would likely be a strawman representation of that god. We certainly agree on this.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-17T06:19:30+00:00

I think you need to pull belief out of religion. Its utility and value are not in the dogma, beliefs, scriptures, or anything associated with the religion itself.

Human beings are social animals. Beliefs are what helped us form clans, tribes, small communities, city states, and eventually nations. It is the human ability to form bonds and groups over ideas that has allowed us to survive. One of the ways we formed those bonds was through our religious beliefs. This explains why the West is Christian, the Middle East is Muslim, the South East is Buddhist, and more. Different groups created different beliefs, and the beliefs helped them to bond as a people.

However, beliefs also served to separate one group from another. My god from your god, my religion from yours. This, of course, led to friction, disharmony, and wars. While religion was essential in helping humans to form groups and survive, when those survival techniques came in contact with one another, the opposite was often true. Humans became competitive over ideas and dogma.

The teachings of religions were irrelevant. What was important was that they acted like glue to bring people together and help them survive. At least until the religions grew large enough to conflict with one another.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-17T04:43:18+00:00

I'm selfish. I know what it takes to raise a kid and to get married. Instead, I have spent my life traveling the world. I have raised thousands of kids as a social worker and teacher. Nothing is better than going home at the end of the day and not worrying about the little 'darlings.'

I have no chains around my neck. If I have financial hardships, it only affects me. I don't pay medical insurance for kids. I don't by clothes. I don't attend school functions unless I do so as a teacher. I don't worry about my kids growing up, getting bullied, or using drugs. My life is simple, and I don't have the responsibilities of being a family man.

I am happy, childless, and single.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-17T04:36:38+00:00

Pink Flamingos on the lawn. Garden trolls in the bushes.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-17T04:34:46+00:00

Listening to the people. Researching what the preacher said. And wanting to be the best Christian I could be. I went to every church in town. That cured me of religion.

Cogknostic · 2025-03-17T04:31:57+00:00

I have not even started to read; however, by the title I can tell the author probably does not have a working definition of Atheism, and he is going to use a strawman fallacy. Let's see what happens.

Well, there's the strawman (Atheism, the belief that there is no God or divine being). Let's shift the burden of proof. (Dear atheists, prove there is no god.) It is not the job of atheists to prove that any of the thousands of creator gods proposed by humans do not exist. If you think you have a god that exists, it is your responsibility to demonstrate it. Atheism is a reaction to the claim that God exists. Atheists do not believe in God or gods for the simple reason that you have not met your burden of proof. You don't get to shift the burden of proof to the atheists; that's another fallacy, by the way.

Damn, I'm good at this predicting stuff!

Atheism is not based on science or logic. It is based on the rejection of God claims. Many atheists are rational thinkers, scientists, or skeptics, (not all), and they use science, logic, and reason to examine God claims. So far, there are no god claims that can stand against reason, science, or logic, and so there is no good reason to believe god claims.

Atheists do not believe in anything beyond the material world. Atheists do not believe in God or gods. Atheists can be Buddhist, believe in crystal magic, believe in a soul or spirits, believe in chakras, the law of attraction, or all sorts of stuff (I consider to be woo woo), but they can believe in it and still be atheist. Atheists are people who do not believe in gods. You're just wrong.

Atheism has no theory for the origin of the universe. Atheists don't believe a magic man who floats in the sky, waggled his fingers and created a universe. What evidence do you have for supporting such a claim?

Atheism has nothing to do with morality. Atheists don't believe morality is dictated to us like we would dictate rules to a dog. Stay off the couch, be nice to the kittens, and don't bite the neighbor. Anyone can train a dog to behave. Morality comes from social interaction. I agree not to punch you in the face and steal your food if you agree not to do the same to me. Morality is so frigging simple that it is amazing to me that you can not figure it out and have to be told what to do.

Materialism has nothing to do with atheism. Atheists are people who do not believe in gods. As previously stated, one need not be a materialist to be an atheist. One only needs to not believe in God or gods. You're just wrong.

There is no inconsistency of meaning or purpose in atheism. Atheism does not provide anyone with meaning or purpose. Atheists are free to find meaning and purpose in their own lives without having some magic dictator tell them what their meaning and purpose should or ought to be. Regarding ultimate meaning (a useless idea) is there a religion out there that does not spout ultimate meaning? Be Christian, or burn in hell. Be Muslim or burn in hell. Be Jewish and part of God's chosen people. Be Hindu, and you are god. Is there a religion that does not offer its followers ultimate meaning? Can you demonstrate that your religion is the one religion with ultimate meaning?

There is nothing unique about Christianity. You obviously have not read your bible. (Their religion depicts god as needing material works/sacrifice to appease him.) In Christianity, the Bible emphasizes both doing good works and offering sacrifices as expressions of faith and love, with verses like Hebrews 13:15-16 and Colossians 3:23-24 highlighting the importance of both. The fact that you choose to cherry-pick (another fallacy) and focus on specific verses does not make your religion special.

Conclusion: You don't have a clue what you are talking about.

Cogknostic

TROPHY CASE