POLL---Who is more Reasonable

[DougShrapnel]

Right the reasonable beliefs are
I have faith God exists and,
I am without a belief in a God.

Do I dare include God exists but we have no way to konw him?

[usmhot]

Dear, oh deary me!!!

Its not difficult to guess at what your own position is. Basically, you have posed an incredibly fuzzy question and you're imposing a clearly prejudiced interpretation on the 'statistical' results. If the figures were the other way round would your interpretation be something like 'Aha, most people think its more reasonable to believe in God so it must be'?

I've been on both sides of the fence, and in my experience the people most open to the ideas and arguments are the non-believers. When I was an ardent young Christian, I had many long and interesting conversations with non-believers who were always (to a person) open to hearing my beliefs and reasons for believing.

Allow me to give another interpretation of your results - it seems to me that the human condition demands the hope of continued existence and so we cling desperately to any slim chance that there is an afterlife. Which makes non-believers far more open to the possibility of God and makes the believers completely closed to the possibility of there being no God. The non-believers have only 'reason' to convince them, against their natural urges, so fully appreciate that it is 'reason' that supports non-belief. Whereas, intelligent believers realise that it comes down to faith and that to maintain belief involves a departure from reason alone. So most people will vote that non-believers are more reasonable (even if many would think their reasoning is flawed or insufficient).

[Georgia Avenue]

I do agree with your criticism, particularly the fact that my question was "fuzzy". However, this---->
[ QUOTE ]
If the figures were the other way round would your interpretation be something like 'Aha, most people think its more reasonable to believe in God so it must be'?

[/ QUOTE ]is not the case:



No, then I would have to admit that it is Christian people (at least in this small sample) who are more narrowminded and illogical. Happy that was not the result. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] I'm not saying that atheists as a group are more predjudiced, but it seems to me, that this poll does show that a bigger percentage of believers than non-believers are willing to presume that their position is "reasonable" while their opponents' is "UNreasonable." I think that's a modest claim, and I think it's held up by lots of anecdotal evidence in the many discussions around this board.

Your alternative explanation may be true...but I doubt it. I haven't heard any god-lovers around here arguing that their position is based entirely on faith, without justification, particularly when the alternative is "BELIEF that God does not exist," which I specifically chose rather than "Doubt that God Exists."

[David Sklansky]

"I'm not saying that atheists as a group are more predjudiced, but it seems to me, that this poll does show that a bigger percentage of believers than non-believers are willing to presume that their position is "reasonable" while their opponents' is "UNreasonable." I think that's a modest claim, and I think it's held up by lots of anecdotal evidence in the many discussions around this board."

Of course you are right. But it could not be otherwise. Reason being that almost all non believers disbelieve BECAUSE they think believing is unreasonable. Believers on the other hand do not believe primarily because they think disbelief is unreasonable. The fact that religious people are more willing to admit that disbelief is not unreasonable merely shows that even they realize that their beliefs are on shaky grounds.

I have a problem with the wording of the choice" I believe that God doesn't exist."

I don't "believe" that a God doesn't exist, I just don't see any reason to believe in anything. I'm only going with the evidence.
Shooby

[benkahuna]

I consider absolute belief or disbelief in G-d to both be dogmatic (and therefore unreasonable) positions.

I don't think being unreasonable is necessarily some terrible thing though.