Atheos Faith Bomb, Part 2

Belief without sufficient evidence, or pretending to know things one doesn't know.

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I have faith that there is a God.

What do you mean by 'faith'? What do you mean by 'God'? Which God?

That's interesting. I'd love to hear what role faith plays in your having arrived at that belief.

Yeah, I know. I just can’t figure out why.

I pretend to know things I don't really know sometimes too, but it's a bad habit.

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I know the existence of God through faith.

How does one make the judgment that the beliefs of others who use the same process (faith)—but believe in a different God—are incorrect?

That is just is a belief lacking sufficient evidence! Hardly convincing of its' validity, partner.

Do you use faith to learn/know about any other aspects of reality?

If that's what makes you comfortable. I prefer reality.

How does that even make sense logically?

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If God revealed himself, then we wouldn’t need faith.

Isn't that an admission that we don't (& can't) have good reason to believe?

Then there is no need to have faith.

But is that really evidence for God's existence? Couldn't one say the same about leprechauns?

If there is no God, then faith is a terrible thing to have anyway, right?

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It requires less faith to believe that God created the universe than to believe what science tells us.

Science involves the process of performing tests & reporting observations. What role do you see faith playing in the scientific process?

Wrong. Didn't you know that trusting science requires no faith?

Faith is pretending to know something you don't know. You clearly have faith. I have facts & evidence; why would I need faith?

If you were to understand science for what it truly is, you would not need faith at all.

The word 'faith' has so many definitions. It'd be nice if I could understand your definition.

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It takes faith to be an atheist.

Atheists just see insufficient evidence to warrant belief in any Gods. Why do you say that necessitates faith?

No it doesn't, it takes trust of reason.

Faith & atheism are mutually exclusive, like water & oil. See what I mean?

How do you define 'faith'?

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It takes faith to believe that everything came from nothing. It takes only reason to believe that everything came from God.

Is that what you really think, or just what you were taught to say in church?

Why believe either one? Why not withhold belief until we have sufficient reason to believe?

When one states that a belief is held on the basis of reason, then there must be a reason that would dissuade one from holding that belief. That's what it means to hold a belief on the basis of reason. What is your reason?

I would argue it takes delusion to believe that a God was the reason. Wouldn't it be better to simply say 'We don't know.'? I think so.

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It takes more faith to be an atheist than to be a believer.

It takes no faith to be an atheist.

What do you mean by 'faith?'

Atheism is the antithesis of faith-based beliefs such as yours.

How are you defining 'atheism'? For me, it's just lack of theistic belief, not a claim that Gods don't exist. Is that your understanding?

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My faith gives me great comfort.

So does hydrocodone.

Would you say it's more important to believe things that are true, or to be comfortable?

Some people find comfort in abuse of narcotics. Is comfort really a reliable metric for deciding how to think & behave?

I bet you'd get even more comfort if you believed you yourself were a God. Why not believe that, instead?

Your loved ones should be able to give you enough comfort. If not, go to therapy.

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My faith is my identity. If I lose that, I’ll lose who I am.

If that is all you think you are, then you must be a miserable person.

That's fascinating. Do you recall the point in your life when faith became your identity?

Pretending to know what you couldn't possibly know is all you are as a person?

That's interesting. How do you explain people who don't believe in a God yet still have identity?

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My faith promises me eternal life.

You are permitted to pretend that is true, yet can't you see it doesn't make it true?

Does that make it true? Other faiths make the same promise; why not believe those, instead?

So do other faiths...how do you know you have the right one?

We are often presented with promises that turn out to be untrue. What reason do you have to believe the promise of eternal life is true?

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My faith is completely positive. Any alleged negative aspects are perversions or gross misunderstandings.

My aunt used to enjoy ketchup on everything, even her broccoli & she used to get so upset when anyone would question her preference.

Then explain slavery in the Bible to me. How could that possibly be misinterpreted?

Do you think believing things without sufficient evidence is a positive thing?

How did you confirm that your belief is the correct interpretation & not a misinterpretation?

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Of course I don't believe in Santa Claus & fairies. That's absurd!

Children often believe such stories because they trust the people telling them. Isn't your trust in your faith very much the same?

You already believe in God, so why not believe in Santa Claus & fairies too?

Isn't there much more evidence for Santa Claus & fairies than there is for any God?

But, you can't disprove the existence of Santa Claus or fairies, can you?

Don't fairy tales seem absurd because there's no good reason to think they're true? Why not consider faith claims in the same way?

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Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.' —Martin Luther King, Jr.

The first step toward which faith?

People who don't look where they're going deserve to be wherever they end up.

I encourage you to take the first step in clearing your mind of falsehood.

Is it reasonable to leave a clearing & enter a fog if one doesn't have sufficient reason to believe there's anything out there?

Why would I need to take any steps in faith when I've come so far in reason?

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We must censor Devilish illusions, such as the images of fossils.

If our goal is to know the truth about reality, why would we censor & ignore certain data that causes us to reconsider our understanding?

Why would we want to censor fossils?

What do you mean by 'images of fossils'? Why do you call fossils 'Devilish'?

You can't censor the truth.

Censoring ignorant religious beliefs is much more important.

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You put your faith in science; I put my faith in God.

Science' is a process of observation, & testing & revising hypotheses. Do you subject your faith claims to such rigorous scrutiny, & then revise your beliefs accordingly?

I don't need to pretend to know that science is superior to your belief. Isn't that clear?

Are you sure the word 'faith' means the same thing in those two phrases? What do you mean by 'faith'?

There’s a wide range of semantic uses of the term 'faith'. It’s true that we just place our faith in different things.

Why would science need faith when it has facts?

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Your problem is that you don’t have faith.

I've got a lot of problems, but a lack of faith isn't one.

You’re correct. I don’t have faith; I proportion my belief to the evidence. Is there something objectionable in my approach?

Perhaps my lack of faith is more of a problem for you than it is for me?

I'm afraid I don't understand why that's a problem. Could you explain that please?

I have faith in a lot of things, just not God.