Is there a God? If there is, does Sklansky believe in Him?

[evil_twin]

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Perhaps some of you can offer up the best evidence you have to support your 'no-God' positions. I understand you cannot prove a negative, or whatever; I just want to know what your best reasons for unbelief are.

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The question is silly. Athiests don't really feel the need to chase evidence for a lack of God. If someone presents me with one iota of evidence for a God, then perhaps I'll start keeping my eyes open for evidence against.

Until that time, I'll manage without. When dealing with science, it's all about having some kind of evidence that one uses to postulate a theory. There is simply no evidence of any kind that there is a god who is even remotely interested in Earth and its inhabitants.

[KeysrSoze]

My aces keep getting cracked. Obviously, a loving caring god would not let this happen.

[IronUnkind]

It would not be an odd answer if I were in the habit of letting others form my opinion. But the way I usually do it is to answer the question directly. Anyway, the question you were asked was of a different sort.

In your case, you were asked to characterize yourself, to which you responded, "Similar to Hawking and a lot of other physicists, I imagine."

If your answer requires the use of imagination, then (you imply that) either your own thoughts are unclear to you or you are not entirely acquainted with the thoughts of Hawking and company. Since the former seems unlikely, one wonders why you would give a conjecture-based answer when you have instant access to your own opinons.

[David Sklansky]

I am in the habit of letting others have an impact on my opinion if they know more about the subject and can think almost as well as me.

[IronUnkind]

But I thought the topic was something along the lines of "Sklansky's views." You aren't the expert on that subject?

[David Sklansky]

Unlike the religious people here, I consider my views to be reasonable only as far as they don't seriously disagree with world class physicists. If they do I would change them in a heartbeat.

[IronUnkind]

would Freeman Dyson or John Polkinghorne qualify as "world class" in your book?

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I am in the habit of letting others have an impact on my opinion if they know more about the subject and can think almost as well as me.

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Beautifully said.

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“I cannot say that I disbelieve in God, I can only say that for every God based religion I have taken the trouble to examine its concept of God is obviously (at least to me) a product of human imagination.”

Um, doesn’t this make you a believer in Sklanskyism? You are a Sklanskyian - come out of the closet.

Except of course the “…I have taken the trouble to examine…” part - just kidding, David.

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"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence." -- Albert Einstein

[David Sklansky]

I've heard of Freeman Dyson. His viewpoints have to be taken seriously. But if he is in the great minority among physicists, or if his viewpoints were formed at an advanced age, they would be a big underdog to be highly persuasive to me.