Can an Atheist be a "Free-Thinker"

[Dameedna]

Even our knowledge of biology is contingent upon our brain working a certain way- and I have yet to see a legitmate atheistic explanation of why the brain works that way or how we know that it works that way.

As a theist, I have faith that God designed the brain that way. I see no reason why undirected atomic structures would orgainize in such a way, with no design, as to be able to infallibly interpret reality correctly.

As a thiest, you believe in a God, therefore you see the brain structure as no problem to your faith.

The athiest does not think like this. The athiest say’s, here’s the brain, here’s how it behaves…why does it behave this way? We dont’ know, but let’s research and try and figure it out.

There is no “out/god-clause” for the athiest, thankfully.

Its not biology, its faith.

It’s not cheese, it’s donkey snot.

See? I can do that too…use words and stuff.

To try to rely only on biology to prove the accuracy of the mind implodes upon itself because the very method by which we could know the idea to be true is contingent upon the idea being true in the first place.

Exactly. Which is why we should never resort to a humans imagination or desires like…I don’t know…a need to believe in virgin births or divine revelation?

X= accuracy of the mind
Z= biological brain (assuming materialism)

1. If X can only be proved through Z

1. And the accuracy of Z is contingent upon X being true

1. And there is no way to verify X without using Z

See the problem?

Theists can verify X through faith.

Thiests, cannot do anything other than believe. It’s okay to believe, but when you try and argue with a non-believer, using a meaningless concept like “faith” to prove your point, won’t get you anywhere.

Cheers

 

[Sarpedon]

.
The athiest does not think like this. The athiest say’s, here’s the brain, here’s how it behaves…why does it behave this way? We dont’ know, but let’s research and try and figure it out.

If I understand you correctly, atheists say “the brain is always accurate in forming true beliefs, but we don’t know why, so lets use our brain to figure it out (since fortunately its always accurate)”.

Is this your position?

It’s not cheese, it’s donkey snot.

See? I can do that too…use words and stuff.

I was using words that have meaning. I used biology to refer to the process of empirically studying life, while faith referred to accepting something as true without absolute proof.

Exactly. Which is why we should never resort to a humans imagination or desires like…I don’t know…a need to believe in virgin births or divine revelation?

I don’t follow your reasoning in the context of my previous post you responded to.

Thiests, cannot do anything other than believe. It’s okay to believe, but when you try and argue with a non-believer, using a meaningless concept like “faith” to prove your point, won’t get you anywhere.

Yes, its nearly impossible to argue with someone who will not even accept the concept of “faith” (when defined as accepting something as true without absolute proof).

How do you respond to my syllogistic argument?

BTW theists can do more than believe- take a look at the summa.

 

[ToddM]

What is freedom? Is a sinner free? Can one be? If so, how? Are there
gradients of freedom, or is it more a matter of frequency? (in other words, is freedom binary, or fuzzy?) Kinda free = kindof expecting?
‘Particle’ or ‘wave’? Can an atheist recieve grace and at that moment be free? Is the atheist still an atheist at that moment? …

 

[theAuthor]

I find it annoying that atheists try to claim some sort of high ground with bogus statements like this one:

The athiest does not think like this. The athiest say’s, here’s the brain, here’s how it behaves…why does it behave this way? We dont’ know, but let’s research and try and figure it out.

There is no “out/god-clause” for the athiest, thankfully.

Actually the only thing to be thankful for is that people study the anatomy and physiology of the brain so that people can be treated for defects and diseases. Many of those people are theists.

Looking at such thing from an acedemic perspective is interesting, but that’s it. Let’s think about the concept of consciousness/ self-awareness. A Christian has a clear idea why such a thing exists and a highly developed context for it. The Christian puts forth a cohesive set of ideas that explains much of human behaviour. Ask an atheist. “Oh, we don’t know but we are studying it.” OK then, well how about if/when you find an answer get back to me, OK? Until then I’ll stick with my highly developed and nuanced set of ideas that make sense of life and it’s meaning. Atheists have a lot of catching up to do.

Two facts:

1. Theists have an understanding of the meaning of life, whereas atheists baulk at the question even being asked.
2. There is really no such thing as an atheist. Atheist= anti-Christian. That’s the aganda. Just sit back and watch dameedna’s responses.

No offense dameedna, heard it all before.

 

[Greg27]

I think terms like ‘free-thinker’ can easily be turned into a cliche rather than a concept with genuine meaning pretty quickly. I would rather know how someone has reached their conclusion on a certain question, such as the existence of God, rather than hearing them proclaim slogans such as ‘I don’t believe in God, so I am a free-thinker.’ The reason for saying this is more likely to be associated with unpleasant experiences of religion or a distorted picture of religion, such as the stereotype religious people never think rationally or examine things critically.

 

[ToddM]

I think terms like ‘free-thinker’ can easily be turned into a cliche rather than a concept with genuine meaning pretty quickly. I would rather know how someone has reached their conclusion on a certain question, such as the existence of God, rather than hearing them proclaim slogans such as ‘I don’t believe in God, so I am a free-thinker.’ The reason for saying this is more likely to be associated with unpleasant experiences of religion or a distorted picture of religion, such as the stereotype religious people never think rationally or examine things critically.

'Verily verily… '