There is no observable difference between a non-interventionist God and an omniscient God who knows and is aiming for a different good and different future than you think should take place.
The problem with that is that you've defined "evidence" as "something people with doctorates write about" instead of "something that has been observed".
Every single one of which is the Appeal To Authority Logical Fallacy. On both sides, irrational theist or irrational atheist. There is no quantifiable difference between taking somebody's word for it who lives in the present day, and taking somebody's word for it that lived 10,000 years ago.
If I had mod points, as an agnostic theist I'd mod you WAY up. And I'd also point out that the Roman Catholic Church has been battling gnostic Christians for about 1900 years now, give or take a few decades. It's one of the earliest heresies, to claim to KNOW for an absolute FACT something about theology.
Every single one of which is the Appeal To Authority Logical Fallacy. On both sides, irrational theist or irrational atheist. There is no quantifiable difference between taking somebody's word for it who lives in the present day, and taking somebody's word for it that lived 10,000 years ago.
Or perhaps he was an atheist who knew how to use religion to control people and had absolutely NO moral qualms about doing so being convinced there was no God.
Good- given that, there is no objective reality, since that's the definition of truth that rational religions like science, Buddhism, and Catholicism use.
But that's the definition of SUBJECTIVE reality, not OBJECTIVE reality- which is purely based on the intersection between what YOU can perceive and what OTHERS can perceive.
Miles O'Brien was another workaholic barely-there father. In fact, most of the fathers in Star Trek seem to be such. In fact, one of the things that burns up most conservatives who actually still believe in the concept of defined gender roles in this world, is that EVERY father in EVERY Hollywood movie is a workaholic barely-there father.
Do you have a time machine? I'm sorry, I can't even prove that a second ago existed. The past is as remote as the future. I *can* say data in the present seems to support the idea that this universe has existed for more than 10,000 years, but I have no proof that the whole damn thing isn't an illusion thought up by a sadistic God to try to fool us into damning ourselves.
Every atheist I've ever known refers to authority figures, usually by quoting the logical fallacy of appeal to authority without realizing that the entire concept of a logical fallacy depends on an authority figure.
Got a time machine then? I mean, I'm no YECer myself believing more in Theistic Evolution (evolution as God's engineering methodology, as opposed to Intelligent Design, I'm a software designer myself and I know very little intelligence goes into anybody's design), but even I have to admit that absent a written historical record from 11,000 years ago, I can't actively disprove YEC. I'm pretty sure we have good evidence that is far older than that; BUT absent a time machine, I can't rule out that evidence being created as is 10,000 years ago.
Actually, I usually find that Atheists have a much worse understanding of science and don't understand why science can't disprove God (one big reason being that science is based on OBSERVATION, and you can't observe a lack of something).
I'm a knowledge worker- ok code monkey- working with extremely complex issues every day- and I've NEVER seen offices for my level of worker. I certainly do feel that I'd be less distracted with an office, but if I'm honest with myself, I'd only spend more time on slashdot.
They'd be better off going back to DOS, tacking on a modern API, an IP stack, and a browser. Get rid of the Windows desktop entirely, at this point it's just eating clock cycles so that secretaries can display pictures of ponies and grandkids.
Well, if we're going anecdotal, I've NEVER been on an all-Male IT team since graduating from college. The women are just not usually fulfilling the development role- they're usually the project managers and analysts because they have better communication skills and can handle the ambiguity of the business.
The sad part about that was that the average serf had more rights than the average American does today. Yes, they were owned by the local lord, but he couldn't sell them; their ownership was tied to the land. He could sell the land and the serfs that went with it, but owning the land meant 100% responsibility for the health and welfare of the serfs. If a lord failed in this duty, chances are he'd be killed by his own guards.
Just try to get to any of the governmental or business owners that own the average American worker today. You won't get within any successful attacking range of any of them.
That's assuming that your diversity is aimed at creating a melting pot instead of a tossed salad, where differences are more emphasized than similarities. I find modern multiculturalism to be the later rather than the former- and the United States is beginning to show the strain of quota-by-differences.
The best person I know putting forth the cause of reason and sense is Pope Benedict XVI. Go read his address to the University of Regansburg if you don't believe me. Remember though it's the one that the religions you so deride decided to kill priests and nuns over, because the Pope was stupid enough to tell the truth about how certain religions deny reason.
"Jobs created first, a market segment, and that was "A PC for the rest of us". "
I would argue that it was Woz's Apple I, with it's wood case and 6502 microprocessor, that did that. The rest is innovative, but nothing close to a TV you could Type On (have to be over 30 to realize the magic of that- if you're under 30, that magic has *always* been in the world for your entire life).
The Apple I spawned the "PC for the rest of us" home computer market- three years before the IBM PC came out.
Hmm, the genre *might* have something to do with all of this. I could barely stand to sit through You Got Mail with my wife ONCE- but I've seen Star Wars so many times I've lost count.
I could easily see a fan of THIS genre downloading the pirated copy *just* to make a costume of their favorite character so that they could stand in line for 12 hours in costume to get a ticket for the very first showing in their local theater.
Slashdot Mirror
Better exempt Dawkins, he's stated several times the positive belief that God does not exist.
There is no observable difference between a non-interventionist God and an omniscient God who knows and is aiming for a different good and different future than you think should take place.
The problem with that is that you've defined "evidence" as "something people with doctorates write about" instead of "something that has been observed".
Every single one of which is the Appeal To Authority Logical Fallacy. On both sides, irrational theist or irrational atheist. There is no quantifiable difference between taking somebody's word for it who lives in the present day, and taking somebody's word for it that lived 10,000 years ago.
If I had mod points, as an agnostic theist I'd mod you WAY up. And I'd also point out that the Roman Catholic Church has been battling gnostic Christians for about 1900 years now, give or take a few decades. It's one of the earliest heresies, to claim to KNOW for an absolute FACT something about theology.
Every single one of which is the Appeal To Authority Logical Fallacy. On both sides, irrational theist or irrational atheist. There is no quantifiable difference between taking somebody's word for it who lives in the present day, and taking somebody's word for it that lived 10,000 years ago.
Or perhaps he was an atheist who knew how to use religion to control people and had absolutely NO moral qualms about doing so being convinced there was no God.
"Nope, just geology"
Which may or may not be accurate, due to that possibility of a Deus Ex Machina event.
"and the work of people like Champilion "
Appeal to authority fallacy.
Beginning to see the problem?
Good- given that, there is no objective reality, since that's the definition of truth that rational religions like science, Buddhism, and Catholicism use.
But that's the definition of SUBJECTIVE reality, not OBJECTIVE reality- which is purely based on the intersection between what YOU can perceive and what OTHERS can perceive.
Every Hollywood father I've ever seen in a show current in my 41 year lifetime has been a workaholic who is barely present in his kids lives.
It is one of the things that makes authoritarian social conservatives like me angry at Hollywood.
Miles O'Brien was another workaholic barely-there father. In fact, most of the fathers in Star Trek seem to be such. In fact, one of the things that burns up most conservatives who actually still believe in the concept of defined gender roles in this world, is that EVERY father in EVERY Hollywood movie is a workaholic barely-there father.
I thought science was about observation and describing what already exists.
Do you have a time machine? I'm sorry, I can't even prove that a second ago existed. The past is as remote as the future. I *can* say data in the present seems to support the idea that this universe has existed for more than 10,000 years, but I have no proof that the whole damn thing isn't an illusion thought up by a sadistic God to try to fool us into damning ourselves.
"and not be swayed by fear of authority figures."
Every atheist I've ever known refers to authority figures, usually by quoting the logical fallacy of appeal to authority without realizing that the entire concept of a logical fallacy depends on an authority figure.
Got a time machine then? I mean, I'm no YECer myself believing more in Theistic Evolution (evolution as God's engineering methodology, as opposed to Intelligent Design, I'm a software designer myself and I know very little intelligence goes into anybody's design), but even I have to admit that absent a written historical record from 11,000 years ago, I can't actively disprove YEC. I'm pretty sure we have good evidence that is far older than that; BUT absent a time machine, I can't rule out that evidence being created as is 10,000 years ago.
I just find it awfully strange that it would be.
Actually, I usually find that Atheists have a much worse understanding of science and don't understand why science can't disprove God (one big reason being that science is based on OBSERVATION, and you can't observe a lack of something).
I'm a knowledge worker- ok code monkey- working with extremely complex issues every day- and I've NEVER seen offices for my level of worker. I certainly do feel that I'd be less distracted with an office, but if I'm honest with myself, I'd only spend more time on slashdot.
They'd be better off going back to DOS, tacking on a modern API, an IP stack, and a browser. Get rid of the Windows desktop entirely, at this point it's just eating clock cycles so that secretaries can display pictures of ponies and grandkids.
The Apple I and Apple ][ were Woz's design. All Jobs did was the marketing- the boxes, the rainbow Apple sticker, and the brochures.
Well, if we're going anecdotal, I've NEVER been on an all-Male IT team since graduating from college. The women are just not usually fulfilling the development role- they're usually the project managers and analysts because they have better communication skills and can handle the ambiguity of the business.
The sad part about that was that the average serf had more rights than the average American does today. Yes, they were owned by the local lord, but he couldn't sell them; their ownership was tied to the land. He could sell the land and the serfs that went with it, but owning the land meant 100% responsibility for the health and welfare of the serfs. If a lord failed in this duty, chances are he'd be killed by his own guards.
Just try to get to any of the governmental or business owners that own the average American worker today. You won't get within any successful attacking range of any of them.
That's assuming that your diversity is aimed at creating a melting pot instead of a tossed salad, where differences are more emphasized than similarities. I find modern multiculturalism to be the later rather than the former- and the United States is beginning to show the strain of quota-by-differences.
The best person I know putting forth the cause of reason and sense is Pope Benedict XVI. Go read his address to the University of Regansburg if you don't believe me. Remember though it's the one that the religions you so deride decided to kill priests and nuns over, because the Pope was stupid enough to tell the truth about how certain religions deny reason.
"Jobs created first, a market segment, and that was "A PC for the rest of us". "
I would argue that it was Woz's Apple I, with it's wood case and 6502 microprocessor, that did that. The rest is innovative, but nothing close to a TV you could Type On (have to be over 30 to realize the magic of that- if you're under 30, that magic has *always* been in the world for your entire life).
The Apple I spawned the "PC for the rest of us" home computer market- three years before the IBM PC came out.
Hmm, the genre *might* have something to do with all of this. I could barely stand to sit through You Got Mail with my wife ONCE- but I've seen Star Wars so many times I've lost count.
I could easily see a fan of THIS genre downloading the pirated copy *just* to make a costume of their favorite character so that they could stand in line for 12 hours in costume to get a ticket for the very first showing in their local theater.