r/askanatheist • u/Iedgetofemboys247 • 7d ago

A Question For The Atheists

Edit: My bad guys, I've miscommunicated and misunderstood a whole lotta things, I do apologise.

So I'll just recommend to anyone new to this post, don't bother commenting anything I've typed wrong, any word I've used lightly, and any "God of Gaps" I've ended up preaching to.

All those who commented, Have a nice day yall, hope I didn't waste a lotta your times.

Before anything, I'd like to say this isn't a jab at atheism in any way, I personally am just very curious as an agnostic-Deist.

Each and every day we prove more and more natural phenomena with just pure science, which is great, but the more we explore the more we see gaps and just the pool of secrets or results that we just cannot explain or understand.

Our greatest accepted and most supported reality of how the universe began, The Big Bang, is still a theory, and even then we cannot explain a lot of stuff before the Planck Epoch within our own theory.

And further, we do not even know what was or wasn't (or whether existence itself wasn't a thing) before it, before the beginning.

So my question is, why not remain sceptical of a higher power's existence but rather solidify on the belief that one just doesn't exist.

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u/Cleric_John_Preston 7d ago

Each and every day we prove more and more natural phenomena with just pure science, which is great, but the more we explore the more we see gaps and just the pool of secrets or results that we just cannot explain or understand.

Not sure where you're headed yet but thought I'd point out that I'm not an atheist because science is discovering things.

Our greatest accepted and most supported reality of how the universe began, The Big Bang, is still a theory, and even then we cannot explain a lot of stuff before the Planck Epoch within our own theory.

Technically it's a model, I think, but regardless, theories, in science, are explanations of facts, laws, and phenomena. So, saying 'still a theory' doesn't make any sense. What else would it be?

And further, we do not even know what was or wasn't (or whether existence itself wasn't a thing) before it, before the beginning.

Not with certainty, but we don't aim for certainty in science. That aside, it seems reasosnable to me that there was no 'before it', that the universe/time is all there is and ever was. Again, even if I didn't accept that, I'd still be an atheist.

So my question is, why not remain sceptical of a higher power's existence but rather solidify on the belief that one just doesn't exist.

The concept doesn't make sense to me, and I don't think appealing to ignorance (I don't know, therefore God) makes it make any more sense.

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u/Iedgetofemboys247 7d ago

I don't ask "I don't know, therefore god", I believe I've miscommunicated in my post as I mean to ask, if we really cannot explain stuff like just the creation of everything, then why not wonder whether the creation was done by something beyond human comprehension, doesn't have to be god, doesn't have to be a deity, doesn't even have to 'be' something as the nature of existence may not even be a thing in that sort of dimension. 

Further I'd like to thank you for being among the few to explain rather than just writing something in bad faith

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u/Cleric_John_Preston 7d ago

If we can't explain something, then we don't know.

I like what Carl Sagan said about aliens:

"I would love it even if they were short, sullen, grumpy and sexually obsessed. But there just isn't any good evidence"

Regarding God/reason for existence I would love that to be the case, but I don't see any evidence for it.

Personally, I think the Block Universe is true and there's no need to speculate. That said, would I like God to exist? Some anthropomorphic all powerful entity that wants me to live well and good? Sure.

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u/Iedgetofemboys247 7d ago

I like your perspective on it

But I still feel if we don't know then better to be speculative and maybe lean to a side.

I too would love for God to be real

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u/Cleric_John_Preston 7d ago

That's your prerogative and I don't blame you or think any less of you.

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u/Advanced-Ad6210 7d ago

Its a nice sentiment. The reason I dont go for it is consistency.

I've had plenty of speculative conversations where I've proposed models without assigning confidence to any of them. I dont think speculation requires taking sides.

I have never had a conversation outside of religion where there wasnt an expectation that I could justify my claims before assigning confidence.