What you believe in

[Asmodean]

I don't believe that consciousness ends with death.

Why?

[Martin TK]

Remember folks, young Byronazriel is only around 21 years of age.  He has never NOT known computers, the internet, cell phones, or Star Trek/Star Wars.  His reality has been influenced heavily by a very strong fantasy reality in Hollywood and to the young anything technological seems possible.

I remember being young and wanting to believe in many things, and as I grew older, the probability of their existence diminished until the reality of what is and what one wants to be, came more and more into focus.

Now, as for me, I believe in what can be proven for the most part; however, I do leave open a belief in some rather "spiritual" things like LOVE, and BEAUTY,  realising that both are subjective and open to individual interpretation.

As for aliens, I believe that there is almost certainly life out there, but like Hawking, I believe that the distance of space makes our being able to communicate, much less interact physically, is virtually impossible at the moment, and within the forseeable future.

Just a humble opinion from the Left.  LOL

[humblesmurph]

I don't believe that good can exist without evil, or at least in any meaningful way.

Nor do I believe that science can explain everything, but that's more to do with the vast amount of things to know, and not a limitation of science.

I don't believe that we are all that is, or will ever be.

I don't believe that consciousness ends with death.

There are a great may things I don't believe in.

Well I guess we just have a problem with words.  The list above, to my eyes, looks like this:

You believe in good and evil.  

You believe that the universe is unlimited

You believe that there is other stuff besides us and that there will be more stuff to come

You believe that consciousness continues after we die


It seems you believe in any and every mythical, mystical thing.  It seems you must also believe that all of these things are not in the same universe, because many of them contradict each other.  The very reason that many people turn to atheism is that it is not possible that all of the God's are correct.  Any one or few could exists, but not all of them, some of them directly contradict each other.

[Byronazriel]

So you're saying that gods cannot contradict each other, when it seems that that's all humans seem to be able to do... Even when they're alone?

Belief and disbelief are just two sides of the same coin. Everyone has a set amount of belief, even if they don't believe in magic or the supernatural... They still believe in a lot of things! Such as science, or people, or trees, or the dallas cowboys, or art, or any number of comparitively mundane things.

Likewise, there are people who are like me... Except disbelievers, and I find them to be as annoying as they are facinating.

Why shouldn't I believe in everything? I'm an all or nothing kind of guy, and believing in nothing is boring.

[Thumpalumpacus]

That's assuming Time didn't exist in some fashion before the big bang.

It's not an assupmtion.  It's a verified prediction of general relativity: time is a dimension of this Universe.

I'm not saying time relative to this universe, and sepcifically as a part of spacetime didn't begin with the big bang... Only that there was most likely some sort of Time that exsisted before then in some greater universe containing ours and all universes.

It's possible, but we cannot say, and I'm not sure we ever will be able to.

[humblesmurph]

So you're saying that gods cannot contradict each other, when it seems that that's all humans seem to be able to do... Even when they're alone?

Belief and disbelief are just two sides of the same coin. Everyone has a set amount of belief, even if they don't believe in magic or the supernatural... They still believe in a lot of things! Such as science, or people, or trees, or the dallas cowboys, or art, or any number of comparitively mundane things.

Likewise, there are people who are like me... Except disbelievers, and I find them to be as annoying as they are facinating.

Why shouldn't I believe in everything? I'm an all or nothing kind of guy, and believing in nothing is boring.

You can certainly believe whatever you want.  I'm just trying to understand what that is.  Again we are having a problem with words.  Science, people, trees, the Dallas Cowboys, and art all exist.  We know this if we know anything.  These things don't require belief in the same sense as pixies, fairies and gods.

Do you have the same level of belief in all things?  For example on a scale of 1 to 10 my belief that I am typing write now would be a 10.  Other things like science, people, trees, the Dallas Cowboys and art, would also rank 10 on my belief scale. God would rank 0.  

 Yahweh is the one true god and Zeus is the king of all gods.  Where would your belief in this statement rank on a 1-10 scale?

[KebertX]

You sir, are epic.  I like your consistency!

[Byronazriel]

Between 2 and 4.

You're thinking about it all wrong, the Judeo-Christian god might believe that he's the one true god, or some other such things... But that doesn't make it so, the bible makes a lot more sense when you think of God as you would any other person.

He's probably just a narcisist. And Zeus is most definiately not playing with a full deck.

All things are true somwhere, and in some way. As I've said before: There's a kernel of truth in everything, but you need to see the fruit of lies that surronds that kernel in order to function properly in society.

I believe in gods, I believe that when I pray to any one of them SOMETHING SOMEWHERE hears it... And if its so inclined it may even do something about it, or answer it.

I believe that anything that can be dreamed up, and deemed a god, is a an aspect of some greater force of reality.

[Asmodean]

So you're saying that gods cannot contradict each other, when it seems that that's all humans seem to be able to do... Even when they're alone?

Why the need to compare the hypothetical "them" to us? If they existed, maybe they could. Maybe they couldn't. It's unimportant when their very existence is, judging by the evidence, the stuff of fiction.

Belief and disbelief are just two sides of the same coin.

For instance, I don't believe in UFOs is, as a statement, more telling than "I believe there are no UFOs" which, among other things, raises the question "where". It depends on the state of the object of your claim and the question setting.

Everyone has a set amount of belief, even if they don't believe in magic or the supernatural... They still believe in a lot of things!

Proof of concept..?

 

Such as science

Most intellectual people rely on it rather than believing in it.

 

or people

Their goodness and fairness..? Because for the existence of people, the word you are looking for is knowledge, as the fact that people exist is, well, a fact.

 

or trees

Again, we know the trees exist. You could have at least picked some facts that are demonstrable to a lesser degree for this thing.

 

or the dallas cowboys

Which are..? What does believing in them mean, exactly?

or art, or any number of comparitively mundane things.

Believe in the existence of art, the message of an individual piece or something else..? Again, you are not exactly defining the scope in which you are addressing belief.

Likewise, there are people who are like me... Except disbelievers, and I find them to be as annoying as they are facinating.

Having a dollar defines you as having money. Having one thousand dollars defines you as having more money. Still not rich, but in this example, better off than the other guy. It's a question of measureable degrees of something - belief in this case.

Why shouldn't I believe in everything? I'm an all or nothing kind of guy, and believing in nothing is boring.

You can. But then one day someone may come to you and tell you that you've just won a lottery and that your prize is in a house across the street. What they fail to tell you, is that within the said house, there is a bomb rigged to a door. Believing in goodness of humanity, which is a part of "everything", you go in and... End up a quad. That's what believing gets you.

[Martin TK]

So you're saying that gods cannot contradict each other, when it seems that that's all humans seem to be able to do... Even when they're alone?

Belief and disbelief are just two sides of the same coin. Everyone has a set amount of belief, even if they don't believe in magic or the supernatural... They still believe in a lot of things! Such as science, or people, or trees, or the dallas cowboys, or art, or any number of comparitively mundane things.

Likewise, there are people who are like me... Except disbelievers, and I find them to be as annoying as they are facinating.

Why shouldn't I believe in everything? I'm an all or nothing kind of guy, and believing in nothing is boring.

I can't decide if I want to classify you as a Deist, a Theist, or a confused atheist/agnostic.  I think the CONCEPT of gods always contradict themselves, yes; but since gods are a human construct, they are destined to do so.  Your statements about gods contradicting themselves because humans do, is correct in correlation to my previous statement, but if you are a Deist/Theist, you can't make that statement because you would then be putting gods and humans on the same plane, and that doesn't work for those who believe.

Belief and dis-beief are not always different sides of the same coin, in that the reasons for belief or dis-belief are not always opposite.  Having beliefs in things is much different than having faith in things.  The supernatural often requires both faith and belief, whereas, the belief in science, people, or even trees, requires little if any faith, in order to  believe.

If I was asked, and by your posting I'll assume you are asking, you are at a crossroad in your life which isn't uncommon among young adults whose brains are making some remarkable changes in physiology around this time; but, you can't logically believe in EVERYTHING since that alone is a contradiction.  It's like saying you never tell a lie, then tell someone you are now lying.  What you are doing is attempting to define what your mind is able to believe and what you logically will NOT be able to believe.  You are attempting to remain open to all possibilities, which is healthy but sometimes VERY far from logical.

Looking at your last statement that you believe in everything, that you are an all or nothing kind of guy, doesn't really work in reality.  You can't believe in Santa, unless you are speaking in terms conceptual belief, like one might "believe" that a cartoon character exists in the realm of fantasy.  Belief in reality does have certain limits, such as one might "believe" that one could exist in outer space without the assistance of a pressurized suit and oxygen, but we KNOW that isn't possible as we have limits imposed on us by our evolution and our dependence on our own planet.

Anyway, I'm rambling, but I hope you find what you are searching for, it can be a fun journey, just keep an open mind and respect the reality and experiences of others.

[Asmodean]

You're thinking about it all wrong, the Judeo-Christian god might believe that he's the one true god, or some other such things... But that doesn't make it so, the bible makes a lot more sense when you think of God as you would any other person.

What..? The Muslims get no cake..?   And what does Torah have to do with Biblical god..? (I know the answer, just poking flawed wording leading to a flawed argument)

He's probably just a narcisist. And Zeus is most definiately not playing with a full deck.

How about Sutekh? What's wrong with his deck? Or Quetzalcoatl? If nothing else, he has a cool name. Why can't he be a true god?

All things are true somwhere, and in some way

Things are. Ideas and assumptions, however, are sometimes completely and utterly false. Sorry to disappoint you, but ther isn't a measure of truth in EVERY lie - only in the most believable ones, usually.

As I've said before: There's a kernel of truth in everything, but you need to see the fruit of lies that surronds that kernel in order to function properly in society.

And as I said... You know what I just said.

I believe in gods, I believe that when I pray to any one of them SOMETHING SOMEWHERE hears it... And if its so inclined it may even do something about it, or answer it.

Yeah. A virus floating in the air probably hears you, although it technically has no ears. You wouldn't want a virus to do something about it though..? When viruses want to make someone shut up, it usually aint pretty.

I believe that anything that can be dreamed up, and deemed a god, is a an aspect of some greater force of reality.

"Greater force of reality"..? Define that, will you?

[Byronazriel]

For instance, I don't believe in UFOs is, as a statement, more telling than "I believe there are no UFOs" which, among other things, raises the question "where". It depends on the state of the object of your claim and the question setting.

"I don't believe in UFOs" is a statement asserting that all flying objects can be identified.

[Byronazriel]

I can't decide if I want to classify you as a Deist, a Theist, or a confused atheist/agnostic.  I think the CONCEPT of gods always contradict themselves, yes; but since gods are a human construct, they are destined to do so.  Your statements about gods contradicting themselves because humans do, is correct in correlation to my previous statement, but if you are a Deist/Theist, you can't make that statement because you would then be putting gods and humans on the same plane, and that doesn't work for those who believe.

If I was asked, and by your posting I'll assume you are asking, you are at a crossroad in your life which isn't uncommon among young adults whose brains are making some remarkable changes in physiology around this time; but, you can't logically believe in EVERYTHING since that alone is a contradiction.  It's like saying you never tell a lie, then tell someone you are now lying.  What you are doing is attempting to define what your mind is able to believe and what you logically will NOT be able to believe.  You are attempting to remain open to all possibilities, which is healthy but sometimes VERY far from logical.

Looking at your last statement that you believe in everything, that you are an all or nothing kind of guy, doesn't really work in reality.  You can't believe in Santa, unless you are speaking in terms conceptual belief, like one might "believe" that a cartoon character exists in the realm of fantasy.  Belief in reality does have certain limits, such as one might "believe" that one could exist in outer space without the assistance of a pressurized suit and oxygen, but we KNOW that isn't possible as we have limits imposed on us by our evolution and our dependence on our own planet.

Anyway, I'm rambling, but I hope you find what you are searching for, it can be a fun journey, just keep an open mind and respect the reality and experiences of others.

I think of my religion, or lack therof as being more of a spiritual hobby. It's as much just something amusing to think about, as it is faith in something or other.

[Asmodean]

For instance, I don't believe in UFOs is, as a statement, more telling than "I believe there are no UFOs" which, among other things, raises the question "where". It depends on the state of the object of your claim and the question setting.

"I don't believe in UFOs" is a statement asserting that all flying objects can be identified.

Trust me, you do NOT want to get into a nitpickery argument with me  

For the sake of maybe getting something more solid out of you though, I will redefine my statement:

"I do not believe that intelligent, as defined by a 1:1 or greater IQ relation of an average educated human to the said object, organical or mechanical organisms, originating on planets other than the Earth or the equipment manufactured by said organisms, have within the last one hundred Earth years, as defined by 1yr = approx. one rotation of the Earth around its closest star, been within the same solar system as the Earth.

[Byronazriel]

I believe in gods, I believe that when I pray to any one of them SOMETHING SOMEWHERE hears it... And if its so inclined it may even do something about it, or answer it.

Yeah. A virus floating in the air probably hears you, although it technically has no ears. You wouldn't want a virus to do something about it though..? When viruses want to make someone shut up, it usually aint pretty.

Darn those mind reading viruses! Now, where did I put my tinfoil hat?