Voted 6, but only on very methodological reasons. I think I should have voted 6.5. (~ I see no reason why we should assume the existence of a god, so I am pretty sure there is none).
I find myself intrigued by the tone of the discussion here. I would suppose someone who felt themselves to be strongly theistic would be proud of choosing #1 and vociferously proclaim the nobility/morality of that choice, and yet the people here, who have dedicated much time and intellectual effort to examining and testing the theory that there is not and can not be a god are somewhat cautious about how we embrace that claim. No one has yet whole-heartedly proclaimed themselves a #7 and promoted that choice as one which reflects special virtue and integrity. While that could very likely be seen as a sign of weakness, a lack of surety, by a person trained to think in a religious fashion, embracing and recognizing the element of doubt in all things is the very essence of what appeals to me about the secular viewpoint.
I agree. Part of what makes the scientific method/worldview so powerful is the basic tenant that all knowledge is tentative and that nothing can ever be known to be 100% true. This is in direct opposition to almost all theological “knowledge” (actually dogma), which is never—or almost never—open to possible revision. It is for that reason, I think, that even hard nosed atheists like Dawkins are hesitant to go with 7.
It is for that reason, I think, that even hard nosed atheists like Dawkins are hesitant to go with 7.
Are you 100% it is in fact Dawkins who claims that? He could be an alien pretending to be Dawkins. I am 6.9 on the George Scale, believing that Dawkins is who he claims he is.
It is for that reason, I think, that even hard nosed atheists like Dawkins are hesitant to go with 7.
Are you 100% it is in fact Dawkins who claims that? He could be an alien pretending to be Dawkins. I am 6.9 on the George Scale, believing that Dawkins is who he claims he is.
I have it on good authority that Dawkins is in fact an alien. His spaceship is in orbit around Jupiter and looks suspiciously like a tea kettle.
It is for that reason, I think, that even hard nosed atheists like Dawkins are hesitant to go with 7.
Are you 100% it is in fact Dawkins who claims that? He could be an alien pretending to be Dawkins. I am 6.9 on the George Scale, believing that Dawkins is who he claims he is.
It is for that reason, I think, that even hard nosed atheists like Dawkins are hesitant to go with 7.
Are you 100% it is in fact Dawkins who claims that? He could be an alien pretending to be Dawkins. I am 6.9 on the George Scale, believing that Dawkins is who he claims he is.
I have it on good authority that Dawkins is in fact an alien. His spaceship is in orbit around Jupiter and looks suspiciously like a tea kettle.
I voted 7 because the god concept Western religions present is bindingly absurd, and there is no reason to believe other religions have any special insight into life, the universe and everything. Why be timid about this? There is no evidence for a god. All religions can offer are man-made concepts. Not one religion has taught us anything about the physical universe. It is time we acknowledge religions are nothing more than mythologies handed down over millennia.
None of these is quite right for me; they all depend on dicey interpretations. But I suppose I’d fall somewhere between 6 and 7.
(Also, I think the strongest atheist position shouldn’t be described as “100% certain”, whatever that means, but rather that the existence of God is logically impossible, i.e. the concept “God” implies a contradiction. I don’t think this is correct, but I know there are some atheists who’ve claimed to believe it).
Funny, I went with 7 because of our earlier discussion about “knowing” that a teapot doesn’t orbit Jupiter.
Yes exactly. My first reaction to Doug’s post was: “huhn? sounds slightly contradictory to past posts…”
100% certain means exactly that…100% certain. But let’s not go down this path again.
I could easily argue this point: There’s number 7 and everything else is the same! Really, logically in the context of religious belief that is a truism. A fact.
After-all, I’ve argued before that among professed believers there are varying levels of certainty. Numbers 1-6 are just extensions of belief, or faith.
This whole “to what degree are you an atheist/agnostic” thing is a very common recurrence here…it reminds me of the games girls used to play in middle school with folded pieces of paper with various “fortunes” and “crushes” etc…
I voted 7 because the god concept Western religions present is bindingly absurd, and there is no reason to believe other religions have any special insight into life, the universe and everything. Why be timid about this? There is no evidence for a god. All religions can offer are man-made concepts. Not one religion has taught us anything about the physical universe. It is time we acknowledge religions are nothing more than mythologies handed down over millennia.
There’s a difference between being timid and being honest with your self. I’m not going so far to say that I’m an agnostic about the issue. But at the same time, I take issue with the wording of number 7. I’m just not really sure that I know what it feels like to be 100% certain of anything.
I am between 5 and 6 on a Cosmic Intelligence that is part and parcel of the undelying reality of the Universe. Whooosh! The very fact that I do know how to know that might bring me to somewhere between 6 and 7.
I am between a 6 and 7 on any revealed Religion God simply because I am one humble dude.
I am between 5 and 6 on a Cosmic Intelligence that is part and parcel of the undelying reality of the Universe.
You seem to know a lot about something you claim you don’t know a lot about. Why is it “cosmic”? Why not merely “galactic”? How do you know it’s intelligent? What portion of the “underlying reality” does this “part and parcel” account for?
You are not a 5. And you are certainly not a 6. If you quack like a 3, then you are probably a 3.
I am between 5 and 6 on a Cosmic Intelligence that is part and parcel of the undelying reality of the Universe. Whooosh! The very fact that I do know how to know that might bring me to somewhere between 6 and 7.
I am between a 6 and 7 on any revealed Religion God simply because I am one humble dude.
