HomeLatest ThreadsGreatest ThreadsForums & GroupsMy SubscriptionsMy Posts
DU Home » Latest Threads » Forums & Groups » Topics » Religion & Spirituality » Religion (Group) » Why the Universe Obviousl... » Reply #98

Response to ellisonz (Reply #84)

Wed Mar 7, 2012, 12:08 PM

98. Who is supposing answers here?

Last edited Tue Jan 29, 2013, 05:39 PM - Edit history (1)

I simply believe that accepting a concept of God as a Creator is better than accepting nothing at all.


"Better" in what way? More emotionally satisfying to you? If you remain consistent with your opening words "There is no answer" then "better" is stopping there with that admission of ignorance.

That is a value judgment...

"To give is better than to receive" is a value judgment. The existence or lack thereof of a God is not a value judgment, it's a condition of the universe that we all share. Ignorance of the truth of that existence doesn't turn an assertion in the face of that ignorance into a value judgment.

...and until you can demonstrate otherwise...

In other words, even if I don't have evidence, until you prove me wrong, I'm right!

...this radical atheism is no improvement at all...

Apart from the fact that "this radical atheism" of yours is probably a cartoon caricature of atheism, what exactly needs to be "improved" here? A magic "black box" God who is nothing more than "the thing that does all things for which we don't understand how they are done" is not any sort of improvement, unless perhaps your only goal is to dress up human ignorance in a shinier, more impressive-sounding package, and not deeper understanding.

...those who care not at all to present a case to the opposite...

My "case to the opposite" is that I don't know, but neither do you. That you prefer to make up an evidence-free answer does not obligate me to have my own provable answer to replace yours.

If someone brings up what you're calling a "primordial soup" explanation for the origin of life they don't have to prove it to argue that it is plausible. Where plausible explanations exist based on proven principles and known quantities, even if the overall explanation is unproven, this demonstrates that there is no compelling reason to spend much effort exploring the unproven and the unknown as explanations, not until the known, and logical extrapolations of known principles, have been well exhausted and shown to be inadequate.

Suppose a bank has been robbed and the perpetrator is unknown. Hypothetically at least, the crime could have been committed by a werewolf or a zombie. There had better be good reason, however, to eliminate human suspects before you go wasting your time investigating werewolves and zombies. If the crime remains unsolved, the fact that it hasn't been solved, in and of itself, does very little to improve the odds that werewolves or zombies were to blame.

We may not know everything there is to know about how life works and where it came from, but using known principles of physics and chemistry and biology has increased our understanding of life far more than saying "God did it!" ever has. Given the track record of the scientific approach, I'd say the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate why it's better to say "God did it!" rather than to simply admit that our knowledge is limited, that we don't have all of the answers, but to stick to science as the best hope for increasing our knowledge.

Reply to this post

Back to OP Alert abuse Link to post in-thread

Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum
Replies to this discussion thread
Arrow 110 replies Author Time Post
ellisonz Mar 2012 OP
msongs Mar 2012 #1
laconicsax Mar 2012 #3
1ProudAtheist Mar 2012 #29
laconicsax Mar 2012 #2
saras Mar 2012 #15
laconicsax Mar 2012 #18
mindwalker_i Mar 2012 #25
Skittles Mar 2012 #16
DirkGently Mar 2012 #4
laconicsax Mar 2012 #5
DirkGently Mar 2012 #6
skepticscott Mar 2012 #39
zeemike Mar 2012 #21
laconicsax Mar 2012 #30
zeemike Mar 2012 #33
laconicsax Mar 2012 #34
zeemike Mar 2012 #35
laconicsax Mar 2012 #36
zeemike Mar 2012 #37
laconicsax Mar 2012 #38
zeemike Mar 2012 #45
laconicsax Mar 2012 #48
zeemike Mar 2012 #55
laconicsax Mar 2012 #58
tama Mar 2012 #66
laconicsax Mar 2012 #67
tama Mar 2012 #94
laconicsax Mar 2012 #101
zeemike Mar 2012 #68
laconicsax Mar 2012 #71
zeemike Mar 2012 #99
laconicsax Mar 2012 #102
Warren Stupidity Mar 2012 #74
laconicsax Mar 2012 #76
Ron Obvious Mar 2012 #70
saras Mar 2012 #100
DirkGently Mar 2012 #104
saras Mar 2012 #105
Drale Mar 2012 #7
DirkGently Mar 2012 #11
Drale Mar 2012 #17
DirkGently Mar 2012 #19
OriginalGeek Mar 2012 #107
Warren Stupidity Mar 2012 #8
DirkGently Mar 2012 #9
Gore1FL Mar 2012 #24
Warren Stupidity Mar 2012 #26
unblock Mar 2012 #10
laconicsax Mar 2012 #23
DirkGently Mar 2012 #42
Goblinmonger Mar 2012 #43
muriel_volestrangler Mar 2012 #46
tama Mar 2012 #65
edhopper Mar 2012 #72
tama Mar 2012 #93
edhopper Mar 2012 #95
tama Mar 2012 #97
Lint Head Mar 2012 #12
longship Mar 2012 #13
unblock Mar 2012 #14
DirkGently Mar 2012 #20
skepticscott Mar 2012 #50
Kalidurga Mar 2012 #22
ellisonz Mar 2012 #27
Warren Stupidity Mar 2012 #28
ellisonz Mar 2012 #31
Humanist_Activist Mar 2012 #40
ellisonz Mar 2012 #49
Silent3 Mar 2012 #51
laconicsax Mar 2012 #53
ellisonz Mar 2012 #54
laconicsax Mar 2012 #56
ellisonz Mar 2012 #57
Silent3 Mar 2012 #103
Humanist_Activist Mar 2012 #63
ellisonz Mar 2012 #64
laconicsax Mar 2012 #69
ellisonz Mar 2012 #77
Humanist_Activist Mar 2012 #79
ellisonz Mar 2012 #82
laconicsax Mar 2012 #85
ellisonz Mar 2012 #86
laconicsax Mar 2012 #89
ellisonz Mar 2012 #90
laconicsax Mar 2012 #80
ellisonz Mar 2012 #83
laconicsax Mar 2012 #87
ellisonz Mar 2012 #88
laconicsax Mar 2012 #91
ellisonz Mar 2012 #92
Humanist_Activist Mar 2012 #78
ellisonz Mar 2012 #84
LineLineLineLineLineLineLineLineLineLineReply Who is supposing answers here?
Silent3 Mar 2012 #98
Starboard Tack Mar 2012 #110
2ndAmForComputers Mar 2012 #32
Silent3 Mar 2012 #41
Goblinmonger Mar 2012 #44
deacon_sephiroth Mar 2012 #47
laconicsax Mar 2012 #52
mr blur Mar 2012 #59
FarCenter Mar 2012 #60
laconicsax Mar 2012 #61
FarCenter Mar 2012 #62
Silent3 Mar 2012 #73
FarCenter Mar 2012 #75
Silent3 Mar 2012 #81
YankeyMCC Mar 2012 #96
Odin2005 Mar 2012 #106
edhopper Mar 2012 #108
laconicsax Mar 2012 #109
Please login to view edit histories.