Underlying Philosophy

Well, there isn't necessarily a single philosophical starting point that leads to atheism. So I can only speak for myself.In my case, it's observation. Does it look like we live in a universe with a God? No, it doesn't. Therefore, I am obliged to provisionally conclude that there is no God, subject to further observation. Well, obviously I think it's valid. You would have to decide that for yourself. But I would point out that if observation isn't a valid way of gaining knowledge, then there is very little that we can say about anything. For example, I think that grass is green because it looks green. If you and I were to reject observation, then on what basis would we say that it wasn't pink? Indeed, on what basis would we say that grass exists at all? This is a bit like asking a disbeliever in Cupid how he accounts for the abstract entity of romantic love without an invisible baby with wings shooting invisible magic arrows into people. "Us"? Speak for yourself. Would you debate with a Muslim according to rules that he took from the Koran, because he says that the Koran commands "us" to follow his rules? I am not interested in discussing claims that you can't even be bothered to support. Nor, apparently, are you. If you're too apathetic to support your statement, or even to explain its meaning, then I regard it as worthless. Abstract entities are ... abstract entities. They "arise" because we want to apply nominal clauses to things which aren't actually things in the sense that a rock or a tree or a fish are things.Edited by Dr Adequate, : No reason given.

This is the closest I have ever seen any theist come towards understanding what "atheist" means.Curiously enough, the rest of your posts strongly suggest that you don't know what "atheist" means, and indeed that you suffer from contemptible delusions about what "atheist" means. But this one paragraph suggests that you have, for just one moment, really understood what "atheist" means.Hold on to that moment of insight. Yes, it's exactly like saying that one is not French, without laying claim to any other particular nationality. You've got it. Hooray!

There's this thing called "democracy", you might have heard of it.

Then why the heck should anyone care what you have to say?

A discovery made by observation, like my discovery that I have two legs, based on the observation that it looks like I have two legs.I look at the history of human ideas of morality, and I see that some people think that Protestants should be burned at the stake, and some people think that Catholics should be burned at the stake, and some people think that Jews should be burned at the stake, and some people think that heliocentrists should be burned at the stake ... and you would ask me to decide that one person (you) has got hold of an objective morality that we should all believe in?Well, I'm open-minded. Perhaps you really do. So prove it.

This is, of course, one of the Great Big Creationist Lies.

Once again, from observation.

You intrigue me. You say that it is up to God whether I respond. Is it also up to God how I respond?

If you were genuinely interested in British history, which you are not, then there are in fact books on the history of Britain which you could read if you really wanted to know the answer to this question, which you don't.

Obviously I thought about the evidence.I recommend the same practice to your good self.

Of course. How else would one think --- you tell me? You're a saint.

And you are, of course, wrong.

Was that a yes or a no?It's a yes or no question. You say that God decides whether I respond to you. Does God also decide how I respond to you?Yes or no?

Was that a yes or a no?It's a simple yes-or-no question.Let me repeat it.You say that it is up to God whether I respond. Is it also up to God how I respond?Yes or no?Edited by Dr Adequate, : No reason given.Edited by Dr Adequate, : No reason given.

Well of course it is. How would we find out the truth about any proposition about the real world without regard to the evidence?Without reference to the evidence, one could believe that pigs have wings, that the sky is green with purple spots, that the Moon is made of green cheese ... or even that there's an invisible magic pixie who lives in the sky and who really really hates lobsters, cotton-polyester fabrics, and people who pick up sticks on Saturdays.The only reason people ever ignore the evidence is that they want to believe daft stuff like that. You may wish to diminish the importance of evidence, but the fact is that you do accept it as "supreme" for all practical purposes --- you just ignore it when it gets in the way of your religious fantasy life. Fortunately, this is unlikely to kill you or even stub your toe. If you took the same attitude about something of real significance, such as crossing the road, you'd be dead.Edited by Dr Adequate, : No reason given.