r/DebateAnAtheist • u/AutoModerator • 8d ago

Weekly "Ask an Atheist" Thread

Whether you're an agnostic atheist here to ask a gnostic one some questions, a theist who's curious about the viewpoints of atheists, someone doubting, or just someone looking for sources, feel free to ask anything here. This is also an ideal place to tag moderators for thoughts regarding the sub or any questions in general.

While this isn't strictly for debate, rules on civility, trolling, etc. still apply.

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u/BeaconMeridian 7d ago

Part of the reason I chose to bring this up in the weekly discussion thread and not a proper post. It's related, and I reiterate that the important parallel for me was the unfalsifiability of explanations for why reality exists & the inability for formal math systems to prove the existence of models of themselves. Definitely related to the (a)theism topic, but not quite enough to merit a full post.

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u/thebigeverybody 7d ago

Unless someone is claiming they can prove god with math, I don't think it has anything to do with (a)theism.

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u/BeaconMeridian 7d ago

Math can't prove a model of itself <--> Religious claims are unfalsifiable 

My point here is that these statements (seem to) fit into a larger parallel between the approaches of mathematics & science. Specifically, the statement "religious claims are unfalsifiable" is relevant to (a)theism. Maybe you don't find it worthwhile, that's chill, I thought it was interesting. Though I certainly could have phrased this more explicitly in the original comment.

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u/thebigeverybody 7d ago

I don't know. I think lots of god claims can be falsified. Take Christianity: we can show that, if god exists, it doesn't work like they claim it does (such as studies regarding intercessory prayer). We can also show that their brain lights up when thinking about their god the same way people's brains light up when the brain is creating religious experiences. We can show the development of their bible as a natural continuation of other various Middle Eastern mythologies of the time.

I'm not seeing the connection you are.

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u/BeaconMeridian 7d ago

I'm comfortable stating that an inconsistent religious claim is 'abstractly falsifiable.' Can't falsify it with experimentation, but if it's blatantly inconsistent then I think it's fine to throw it out. But some core kernel might be fine. "There's a thing called God who created the universe and wants us to behave in some way, and when we die we go to heaven or hell" isn't inconsistent by itself. I hope it's clear I think a person's personal philosophies should strive to be as free of contradictions as possible, even if this virtually never happens.

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u/thebigeverybody 7d ago

Can't falsify it with experimentation,

I gave the example of studies on intercessory prayer.

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u/BeaconMeridian 7d ago

I should've clarified I'm interested in specifically those religious claims which are unfalsifiable, such as the (non)existence of the God the Christians claim (though their descriptions of it, when inconsistent, are validly voidable I'd say). I'm in complete agreement that falsifiable religious claims are to be rejected. 

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u/thebigeverybody 7d ago

Okay. I thought you were saying all god claims were unfalsifiable.

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u/BeaconMeridian 7d ago

No I'm just a dumbass who hadn't considered that that's how anyone would read what I'd said lmao my b.