Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="The Question" data-source="post: 1026178" data-attributes="member: 1100">Yes, a religious person would argue that. A rationalist would argue thus: Acknowledging a possibility, one defaults to the negative position until the positive position is supported by evidence.So, until evidence is presented, an agnostic would default to disbelief. Disbelief isn't the same as aversion. &quot;I don't believe it is&quot; isn't necessarily equal to, &quot;I believe it isn't.&quot;Religion is a cop-out from that question, at best, and a hijacking of that human tendency more often.&quot;God works in mysterious ways; by the way, here's a list of things God says you have to do, and here's another list of things you're not supposed to do. Pay no mind to the fact that all the things you're supposed to do benefit my friends and I. Oh, and if you do any of the things on the other list, don't worry -- you can pay me and God will give you a pass.&quot;Not at all; chiefly, I owe that to an excellent upbringing which included a classical education in the works of Thomas Paine, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Epictetus, Socrates, and others.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Question, post: 1026178, member: 1100"] Yes, a religious person would argue that. A rationalist would argue thus: Acknowledging a possibility, one defaults to the negative position until the positive position is supported by evidence. So, until evidence is presented, an agnostic would default to disbelief. Disbelief isn't the same as aversion. "I don't believe it is" isn't necessarily equal to, "I believe it isn't." Religion is a cop-out from that question, at best, and a hijacking of that human tendency more often. "God works in mysterious ways; by the way, here's a list of things God says you have to do, and here's another list of things you're not supposed to do. Pay no mind to the fact that all the things you're supposed to do benefit my friends and I. Oh, and if you do any of the things on the other list, don't worry -- you can pay me and God will give you a pass." Not at all; chiefly, I owe that to an excellent upbringing which included a classical education in the works of Thomas Paine, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Epictetus, Socrates, and others. [/QUOTE]

Name

Verification