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@cristo71
I was circumcised, if you are curious.
I told you that you it would not prove anything to you.Or anyone else of sound minded level-headedness.I'm just ignorant right?
You have such a bitterness to the things of God that you have to try to destroy everything pertaining to him.
You never told us why you are so bitter. Why are you just a pissy old man?
The agnostic premise is this: Nothing about God can be known. And it is a useful statement as it is essentially the starting premise for most scientists and atheists. And even for some theists.This is a self-contradicting statement. It proves God exists on a logical and philosophical level. It says - for those who can't figure out how it is self-contradictory the following:The one thing we can know about God is that we can know nothing about God. It is akin to another famous self-contradiction. There is absolutely no such thing as an absolute.
what would be acceptable evidence to prove that such an actual God exists? Who will fit the criteria and the measurements for such an equation? Someone who believes in that God or someone who doesn't. Both persons are going to be either biased in favour or biased against. That is unavoidable and therefore produces a dilemma. There is no such thing as an unbiased person in this situation. Someone who is neutral. It, therefore, means that according to our own scientific methodology that such a study would never achieve an unbiased result.
The agnostic premise is this: Nothing about God can be known. And it is a useful statement as it is essentially the starting premise for most scientists and atheists. And even for some theists.This is a self-contradicting statement. It proves God exists on a logical and philosophical level. It says - for those who can't figure out how it is self-contradictory the following:The one thing we can know about God is that we can know nothing about God. It is akin to another famous self-contradiction. There is absolutely no such thing as an absolute.If you are claiming this proves God exists it would really be helpful to start by defining God.
Beyond that, the agnostic premise is not that nothing about God can be known. This is wrong in two ways:1) Agnosticism is the position that God's existence is not knowable. This is as I just stated, a position (aka conclusion), not a premise. How one arrived at that conclusion is another question and ultimately unique to each individual.2) It's a contradictory statement because you structured it that way. When you say nothing about God can be known, you're saying it as if it's a given fact that God exists. Well of course, of one presumes to know that a God exists while also presuming to know that nothing about said God could be known, that sounds like a contradiction. But that position is by definition, not agnosticism or atheism.
Lastly, even if we accept your premise, how does those prove a God exists?
what would be acceptable evidence to prove that such an actual God exists? Who will fit the criteria and the measurements for such an equation? Someone who believes in that God or someone who doesn't. Both persons are going to be either biased in favour or biased against. That is unavoidable and therefore produces a dilemma. There is no such thing as an unbiased person in this situation. Someone who is neutral. It, therefore, means that according to our own scientific methodology that such a study would never achieve an unbiased result.Bias is not the arrival of a conclusion that differs from someone else's, it's a cognitive phenomenon where one's starting presumptions impair the individual's ability to follow valid and consistent logical processes to it's conclusion. Or more simply, it's what causes one to lead the evidence rather than follow it.The idea that we begin with a belief, and then find a methodology to fit said belief is itself a description of bias. To claim that is unavoidable is to claim it's not possible to think about this logically.The evaluation of any existential claim must begin with an epistemological methodology. We then follow that methodology to arrive at our conclusion. If you're arguing that this is biased against God then you're arguing against logic itself, which is untenable.
I could quote a definition from the shorter or larger catechisms if you wanted. But for me - the definition of God is not actually relevant to the proving of god.
how does an agnostic form a conclusion that god's existence is not knowable? It requires some form of definition of god, which most agnostics would not want to admit or concede.
since it is a self contradictory statement and it proves - ipso facto that god exists. At least on a philosophical level at a 100% level.
what is the purpose of an athiest wanting to define God? The primary reason is to disprove he exists. Not to explore whether God exists - but to disprove.
9 days later
I could quote a definition from the shorter or larger catechisms if you wanted. But for me - the definition of God is not actually relevant to the proving of god.If the goal is to have a rational dialog, it is not possible to have a conversation about whether something exists if you don’t define it.
I. There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will, for his own glory, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him; and withal most just and terrible in his judgments; hating all sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty.
II. God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone foundation of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom, are all things; and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth. In his sight all things are open and manifest; his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature; so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain. He is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands. To him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience he is pleased to require of them.
III. In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. WCF chapter 2.
I understand your point about someone proving one aspect of your definition wrong not disproving the concept itself, but without a definition we don’t even know what the concept is. It has to start there. If the person you’re interacting with is being intellectually honest that’s not going to be a significant hindrance.
how does an agnostic form a conclusion that god's existence is not knowable? It requires some form of definition of god, which most agnostics would not want to admit or concede.I have no idea where you are getting that last part. Again, without a definition there’s nothing to discuss.
Agnostics are not the ones asserting a god, so I don’t understand why you think accepting a definition as provided by the theist asserting it for the sake of conversation is an admission.
But to the first part, agnostics assert that god is unknowable based on the general definition of god most frequently asserted. The details differ tremendously throughout the religious community, but generally speaking a god is said to be an all powerful being that exists outside of space and time. The problem is that we don’t have access to what if anything lies beyond space and time, so without having access to it we could never know if anything could exist there let alone does.
since it is a self contradictory statement and it proves - ipso facto that god exists. At least on a philosophical level at a 100% level.A contradictory statement is nothing more than a statement that is logically inconsistent with itself. That does not prove the existence of anything.
what is the purpose of an athiest wanting to define God? The primary reason is to disprove he exists. Not to explore whether God exists - but to disprove.Some atheists may only be interested in disproving your god assertion, that’s irrelevant to the fact that we cannot have a rational discussion about whether something exists without a definition of it.
But to your greater point here, the way we go about removing bias is to focus on our methodology for determining what’s true so that we can check ourselves against it. This is why we study epistemology, logical fallacies, etc. Anyone sincerely interested in truth will recognize that the only thing we should pride ourselves on is our ability to stick to valid logical principals in our evaluations and decision making. i.e. If you can show me the error in my thinking, I’ll correct it regardless of what that means for me or my stated position.