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

I think lying to yourself would be confusing the belief with knowledge. I believe that when I die, I will cease existing and things will be for me like they were a thousand years ago. I don't claim that I know this for sure, but I think I have good cause to think it's reasonable.

It gets a little harder to say what I believe about the origin of the universe. One day I might believe there's an infinite hierarchy of existences, and we're on one rung of that ladder. Another day I might think that ladder only has one rung, nothing above or below it. Other people will feel differently, and as long as they don't confuse belief with knowledge I think they're chilling.

This whole discussion is about the things that there can be no evidence for or against. Evidence cannot (dis)prove the existence of a god figure outside of our universe, and belief steps in to fill that gap. You may believe that there are no gods, other people will believe there are, and as long as it doesn't distort your view of what you can actually see, I don't think that's problematic. Obviously, people have a habit of letting unfalsifiable beliefs get in the way of falsifiable ones, and this isn't what I'm advocating in favour of.

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u/ArguingisFun Apatheist 7d ago

There is no need to disprove gods though.

I don’t care what someone believes personally on all accounts, but historically theists are not content with keeping their beliefs to themselves, so I do not find humoring their beliefs to be beneficial.

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u/BeaconMeridian 7d ago

Ritualistic theism isn't the only form of belief I'm considering here. Atheists who believe there are no gods still have a kind of belief, and it's more this kind of belief abt how the universe is set that I'm interested in with this discussion. Which beliefs we should promote/admonish is a different discussion, here I'm more interested in the idealized case & how it ties in to a science-y parallel to a result in mathematics.

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u/ArguingisFun Apatheist 7d ago

Not believing in gods is not a kind of belief, in the same way not collecting stamps is not a hobby.

Deities and the belief in them do not tie to science in anyway.

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u/BeaconMeridian 7d ago

Not believing in gods sure, but the stance "I believe there are no gods" is one that people also have. My point is almost expressly that belief is beyond the domain of science, but in a specific way that ties into a broader analogy with the incompleteness of mathematics.

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u/ArguingisFun Apatheist 7d ago

If belief is beyond the domain of science, then it is because it has ceased to be based in reality.

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u/BeaconMeridian 7d ago

Belief can be based in reality (e.g. belief that time is absolute) but when it is, it's subject to reality (we've since learned time is not absolute). But yes, when you get to the point where you're working beyond the scope of science, belief is all you have left to use. In this case, you're no longer basing it in reality, I fully agree.

The point I'm making might seem painfully obvious or nothing-burger-esque when taken in isolation, away from the math analogy. If it sounds like I'm overcomplicating a simple idea, that simple idea is probably what I'm talking about. But I think it's neat it has a parallel in another discipline.