Are Objectivists REALLY Atheists?

Hong made a comment or two about Texas...

Darn, I tried so hard to hijack this thread and it always came back to God.

I just found that Texas is a much more pleasant and interesting topic than God, whom, judging by the atrocities committed in its name throughout the history, we could manage just as well without.

(Edited by Hong Zhang on 7/23, 9:32pm)

Post 121

Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 9:51pm

Diamond Lyman -

As Ayn Rand noted, it is impossible to prove that something does not exist, unless the entity has properties which are contradictory. God is a particularly difficult such case because the properties attributed to God are often ones which are in no way of the natural world about which we have some understanding.

So, I repeat that I am an atheist because it is not the case that I do believe in God. If I were to believe in God, then I would have to have a reason for doing so and I sure would have to have a pretty good idea about what God was. However, when I say that it is not the case that I do believe in God, I am not saying that God does not exist. I am saying that I have no knowledge that God exists. The theist has a heavy burden of proof, while the atheist need not have any such burden of proof. It could be, if the evidence for the existence of God were everywhere around us, that the atheist is a poor observer and has simply missed that evidence. In that case, it would be natural to expect that the theists would be able to point at that evidence and so there would then be few bright atheists. They would see the evidence when it was pointed out to them.

So, I dutifully ask theists to produce rational evidence for the existence of God from time to time. No theist has ever provided me with reasonable evidence in such a case. Consequently, since I have not seen such evidence myself and no good evidence has ever been offered me, I see no reason to believe that God exists. Therefore, I am an atheist.

(Edited by Charles Anderson on 7/23, 10:06pm)

(Edited by Charles Anderson on 7/23, 10:09pm)

Post 122

Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 10:00pm

Teresa,

I would gladly trade chuckles for the "razor" that Sarah and Hong wield.

I am not in their league. Read their posts. Judge for yourself.

And they say a women can't be President! ........Bah!!!!!!

Wait a minute, Hong is prevented by that damn Article 2, section 1, clause 5 of the Constitution. Not thoroughly American I guess. That's ok, I predict.......the first women President of the Republic of Texas! "Halleleuha, there is a God!" Oops! There I go again!!!

and

Sarah is to busy writing her book on Michelangelo's Nunchakus. ...I can't wait to see the movie! (Starring Brad Pitt I guess!)

gw

Post 123

Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 10:04pm

Hong and Gary -

Texas has the advantage of being knowable. By the way, I enjoyed living a bit west of Corpus Christi as a kid and in Gainesville one summer when I worked in the Red River oil fields while in college. Another college summer, I spent weeks working on pipelines in the Texas panhandle. I've had recent enjoyable trips to Austin and to Dallas.

Post 124

Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 10:12pm

Gary,
As a fellow Texan, I am ashamed of you. We already had two woman Presidents of The Republic of Texas: Miriam A. Ferguson and Ann Richards. (Shaking head)

Post 125

Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 10:25pm

Hong,

BIG TIME OOPS!!!

Can I make it up by singing the words of Gary P. Nunn -

"I wanna go home to the armadillo, good country music from Amarillo to Abilene, we got the friendliest people and the prettiest women you ever seen!"

Do I here a "National Anthem?"

gw

p.s. - Ma Ferguson rocked!

Post 126

Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 10:29pm

Chuck,

Be careful saying "Gainesville" in polite company! It's sort'a thought of as lil' Oklahoma, if ya know what I mean!

gw

Post 127

Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 11:16pm

Why - too many injuns there?

Post 128

Sunday, July 24, 2005 - 5:01am

"Be careful saying "Gainesville" in polite company! It's sort'a thought of as lil' Oklahoma, if ya know what I mean!"

I have lived in both Texas and Oklahoma, and I can tell you they are virtually indistinguishable in many respects. Except that Texas thinks it is a country in and of itself, and Oklahoma seems to feel that it is a city in Texas.

Post 129

Sunday, July 24, 2005 - 8:23am

Ashley,

I have lived in both Texas and Oklahoma, and I can tell you they are virtually indistinguishable in many respects.

Oooooooooo.......Them's fightin' words in BOTH places! Oh well, this is the dissent forum! ;-)

gw

Post 130

Monday, July 25, 2005 - 2:10am

I have lived in Tulsa, OK and in Enid, OK as well as in Texas. They are both in the USA, so neither is bad, though both are by and by too religious to really suit me. OK is generally poorer than Texas, which appears to result from the fact that they are less favorable to business, by and large. Crossing the Red River from the Dallas area, the economic vitality on the OK side is clearly much less.

Yes, Texas and Oklahoma once quite literally went to war with one another over the Red River. Seems that the river moves around a bit and this leads to disputes about the boundary. I believe the war was fought in the 1920s. Well, it was a little war anyway. Some shots fired over a bridge over the Red River after the National Guard was called out.

Back in the late 1960s when I worked in the oil fields and on pipelines in the summers while going to Brown University, the roustabouts were full of Texan-Okie jokes. Things like: A Texan washes his hands before he takes a piss, while an Okie washes his afterward. Told by an old Texan. Apparently, lots of Texans are imposters, since I have seen many who follow the Okie procedure. Actually, apparently most Texans are really Okies by this criteria.

How about you, Gary. Are you an Okie or a Texan?

Post 131

Monday, July 25, 2005 - 5:58am

Chuck, Chuck, Chuck,

Apparently I'm a real Texan. I do not watch other men piss! ;-)

gw

Post 132

Monday, July 25, 2005 - 4:14pm

Neither do I. One can be observant enough to note whether someone washes their hands and when they do it however. At least, some old Texans apparently made note of such things. Recall, that the point was made by a Texan who worked in the oil fields. His assertion was backed by several other Texans, while a couple of Okies claimed that he got it all wrong. Just the facts, Gary.

Post 133

Monday, July 25, 2005 - 5:12pm

Chuck,

I know you jest! I am usually smiling when I read your posts. I have no problem being jabbed at and I suspect neither do you. Hell, people have way too thin a' skin these days, don't they?

Here we are swapping Okie jokes & I'm wondering "Where are all the theists?" Apparently they can't find their god or their sense of humor!

So if you come up with any new ones let me know, but remember - I personally know that "Sarcastic Bastard" that Diamond hated! //:-O

Later,

gw

(Edited by gary williams on 7/25, 7:11pm)

Post 134

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 11:32am

I'm no atheist; I worship my wife.

Post 135

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 11:32pm

Gary,

I have to like you. You are a Texan and I like cowboys who shoot straight. I really enjoy it when those effete Europeans get upset about American cowboys.

Matthew,

Good sex turns a good woman into a goddess. In that sense, I am a theist too. Just don't anyone quote this out-of-context!

Post 136

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 1:05am

As a Christian Objectivist is see no contradiction in the two beliefs

Though I must admit that it worries me to hear people who disagree with you
referred to as delusional and irrational.

Post 137

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 8:55am

Hi Michael,

You said you see no contradiction in the beliefs (Christian and Objectivist.) This isn't the first time I've heard this from someone, but it surprises me as they seem at odds over basic issues. Would you be open to discussing this, or do you prefer to refrain.

Ethan

Post 138

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 9:54am

Michael said:

"As a Christian Objectivist is see no contradiction in the two beliefs
Though I must admit that it worries me to hear people who disagree with you referred to as delusional and irrational."

Well, you must admit that Christianity is a matter of faith, not reason, and in that context you are irrational. That doesn't mean that the person who calls you irrational thinks you are waving your fists in the air and threatening people on the street.

Sam

Post 139

Friday, August 12, 2005 - 1:40am