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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

What begs the question is this:

>Using Swinburne's distinctions, we could say that an "atheist" is someone who >thinks that "no reason" is a better answer to this "fundamental question" and a >"theist" is someone who thinks "God" is a better answer

What answer is God? If we follow that the majority of those who posit God only believe in a first mover, a creator, but not someone who influences our daily lives, the word God is empty of any meaning; a word shell which means essentially the same thing as "no-god".

Only an active God would be "of use" to people - and positing such a God is indeed at odds with science, and leads to a path of darkness.

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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

Robin asks which criteria should count how much in choosing"the real experts"?

Dawkins ask whether theology is a waste of time. Thisquestion does not fit the usual frame work of the "choose anexpert" problem.

In the usual framework there is a family of problems and agold standard. The competing experts answer yes or no toproblems in the family and for some of the problems enoughgold is found to pay for the unveiling of the trueanswer. Sometimes yes, sometimes no, the true answers permitthe chooser to score the experts. Who said yes when theanswer was no? Who said no when the answer was yes? Whopassed?

Theologians are perhaps important people. One faces a moraldilemma and hopes that a theologian can offer guidance aboutGod's wishes. One would like a gold standard by which onecan check who is the wisest theologian. Imagine anexpedition to Hell. One surveys a 100 inmates and returnswith valuable data. Comparing what the dead really did withwhat theologians say about sin offers a basis for choosingthe theologian most in touch with God's will.

Some people will feel that the idea of an expedition to Hellis childish and doesn't take religion seriously. Others willtake the exact opposite point of view. This is the point atwhich they decide that religion is a word game withoutreferents and refuse to play.

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