Poll: Who believes in God?

Your beliefs

  • I believe in God

    Votes: 135 13.4%
  • I do not believe in God

    Votes: 445 44.1%
  • I used to believe but have lost my faith

    Votes: 42 4.2%
  • I used to disbelieve but have found my faith

    Votes: 7 0.7%
  • I believe there is "something" but not sure what

    Votes: 200 19.8%
  • I'm Agnostic

    Votes: 167 16.6%
  • I believe in multiple deities

    Votes: 13 1.3%

  • Total voters
    1,009
Science doesnt answer any of the above questions though.

Nor does religion.

Remember, there's a difference between answering a question (What happens after you die? Fish!) and answering a question correctly or in a meaningful way.

Religion claims to have answers, but they answer questions that can't be proven (where do we go after we die? We don't know if any religion is correct, as no-one's ever come back to tell us), or they answer questions with things that make sense at the time, then continue to rely on them until even the most devout follower can't believe them any more (the sun is pushed around by Apollo and his chariot, the earth is the centre of the universe etc etc)


An honest scientist will admit when he doesn't know something. A religious answer will either be dogmatic or just made up on the spot (or dodging the question with a variation of "god did it/we were not meant to know")
 
Nor does religion.

Remember, there's a difference between answering a question (What happens after you die? Fish!) and answering a question correctly or in a meaningful way.

Religion claims to have answers, but they answer questions that can't be proven (where do we go after we die? We don't know if any religion is correct, as no-one's ever come back to tell us), or they answer questions with things that make sense at the time, then continue to rely on them until even the most devout follower can't believe them any more (the sun is pushed around by Apollo and his chariot, the earth is the centre of the universe etc etc)


An honest scientist will admit when he doesn't know something. A religious answer will either be dogmatic or just made up on the spot (or dodging the question with a variation of "god did it/we were not meant to know")

that's your opinion, and its irelevent. Religion claims to have the answer to why, correct or not is irelevent. Science claims to have the answer to how.
 
Because it's a fundemental law of physics that can be proven empirically.

Why do you think is falls?

You're not understanding. mavity is the mechanism behind how the brick falls. "Why?" it falls is the metaphysical question, or the philosophical question. A question that has both many answers, and no answers.

Science explains how things happen, it has no capacity, or need, to explain why they happen. For many people, that's where religion comes in and, imo, the only place it should ever come in- to provide individuals answers to the questions that our tools have no need to answer.
 
No, care to explain?

You're not understanding. mavity is the mechanism behind how the brick falls. "Why?" it falls is the metaphysical question, or the philosophical question. A question that has both many answers, and no answers.

Science explains how things happen, it has no capacity, or need, to explain why they happen. For many people, that's where religion comes in
 
that isnt why, that's how.

No.

Why does it fall? mavity.

How does it fall? mavity is a description for the warping of spacetime* that all objects exert. It's not actually falling, it's merely moving along a curve of spacetime that the mere presence of the Earth has created. It looks to us like it's falling, but that's just because of our frame of reference.

Happy now? Or would you rather try and claim that god (which god?) is moving the object, for reasons of his or her own?


*As I understand it, this is the current theory on mavity. If someone has a better one, that's fine.
 
If yantorson can't accept mavity, then is that not suggesting God intervenes at some point, or has some influence?

But then what about the many, many truly disgusting things that occur in this world, doesn't religion explain all this by saying God doesn't get involved, he gives us free will?

Either he gives us free will and sets 'laws' such as mavity (but otherwise doesn't get involved), or he doesn't.
 
If yantorson can't accept mavity, then is that not suggesting God intervenes at some point, or has some influence?

But then what about the many, many truly disgusting things that occur in this world, doesn't religion explain all this by saying God doesn't get involved, he gives us free will?

Either he gives us free will and sets 'laws' such as mavity (but otherwise doesn't get involved), or he doesn't.

no the usual explanation is Sin.
 
No.

Why does it fall? mavity.

How does it fall? mavity is a description for the warping of spacetime* that all objects exert. It's not actually falling, it's merely moving along a curve of spacetime that the mere presence of the Earth has created. It looks to us like it's falling, but that's just because of our frame of reference.

Happy now? Or would you rather try and claim that god (which god?) is moving the object, for reasons of his or her own?


*As I understand it, this is the current theory on mavity. If someone has a better one, that's fine.

I think it's already been explained, keep up. And nobodys impressed because you know the current theory on mavity either.
 
You're not understanding. mavity is the mechanism behind how the brick falls. "Why?" it falls is the metaphysical question, or the philosophical question. A question that has both many answers, and no answers.

Science explains how things happen, it has no capacity, or need, to explain why they happen. For many people, that's where religion comes in and, imo, the only place it should ever come in- to provide individuals answers to the questions that our tools have no need to answer.

Also, just so I'm clear, many people will use science as the answer to the question "why" too, and that's fine. Everyone is entitled to their belief. However, just because an individual decides that they can use science to answer philosophical and metaphysical questions, doesn't mean that they are any more or any less right than someone of faith. It just basically means that they are using a hammer to hit some nails, and believing that this is also the answer as to why the nail needs to be hit.

And therein lies the rub, people who stand resolute by their stance that science has the answers to questions that have many answers diffrent, but no definitve answers, they become just as "fundamentalist" as people who stand resolute beside those are think religion does also.
 
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Nor does religion.

Remember, there's a difference between answering a question (What happens after you die? Fish!) and answering a question correctly or in a meaningful way.

Religion claims to have answers, but they answer questions that can't be proven (where do we go after we die? We don't know if any religion is correct, as no-one's ever come back to tell us), or they answer questions with things that make sense at the time, then continue to rely on them until even the most devout follower can't believe them any more (the sun is pushed around by Apollo and his chariot, the earth is the centre of the universe etc etc)

Jesus has!!!! lol He came back from beyond the grave

An honest scientist will admit when he doesn't know something. A religious answer will either be dogmatic or just made up on the spot (or dodging the question with a variation of "god did it/we were not meant to know")
 
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