Atheism and the supernatural

[Pliny the Elder]

So what would be supernatural about them?

They do not nor ever have existed and all are used in stories that have a supernatural bent.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

So what would be supernatural about them?

They do not nor ever have existed and all are used in stories that have a supernatural bent.

They're supernatural because stories about them are supernatural? But surely it's the other way around: the stories have a supernatural bent because they're in them. If they weren't there, it'd be just a run-of-the-mill gingerbread house .

 

[Polycarp_fan]

On another thread someone has (quite accurately) pointed out to me that an atheist whilst not believing in Gods, could still theoretically believe in the supernatural.

I was wondering, of the atheists here, do any of you have any belief in the existence of anything that could be termed supernatural and if so what does this mean to you?

Thanks,
Mike.

"If You Can Read This, I Can Prove God Exists":

http://www.cosmicfingerprints.com/ifyoucanreadthis.htm

OK, I'm starting to find some agreement with some atheist positions, but only when it comes to health of The Church. And to keeping a good discussion going. I just wish they were not so angry and holier-than-thou. Boiled down and protected against, atheism is just an opinion.

You gotta agree with a good point. To a degree.

A question, is supernatural.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

"If You Can Read This, I Can Prove God Exists":

http://www.cosmicfingerprints.com/ifyoucanreadthis.htm

DNA isn't a digital communication system . It's a sequence of nucleotide base pairs that have evolved within populations of imperfect replicators over 3.5 billion years. By natural selection, this sequence can be fed into ribosomes and useful proteins come out the other side.

No need to invoke a Designer (intelligent or otherwise) to 'explain' DNA.

Boiled down and protected against, atheism is just an opinion.

Almost: it's the lack of an opinion.

 

[LostJohnny]

I don't believe in ghosts or ghoolies or that Uri Geller is anything other than a conjurer who makes dishonest claims. Some atheists do believe in such things as well as fortune tellers etc., but then, atheists can be dumb as well.

 

[PsychMJC]

Hey lets be fair, vampires are albino hemophiliacs with iron-deficiency anemia and an allergy to the sun. Or kids that like Twilight and pretend to know goth music. Not supernatural at all.

 

[Oneofthediaspora]

Well really, science isn't about 'the truth' as much as finding useful explanations for what we observe. In this sense, it started with early spirituality and we've been replacing beliefs with what works better since then.

Ahh, now this is interesting. Thank you Tenka.

So in your opinion science is not moving us gradually towards a more accurate understanding of reality (what some people would call the truth about reality) ?

YNWA
Mike.

Ps. The "Well really" at the beginning of your quote above ... is it meaning "Really science is about..." or is it the "Well really!" mild expression of exasperation that some English people use?

 

[redwards]

On another thread someone has (quite accurately) pointed out to me that an atheist whilst not believing in Gods, could still theoretically believe in the supernatural.

I was wondering, of the atheists here, do any of you have any belief in the existence of anything that could be termed supernatural and if so what does this mean to you?

Thanks,
Mike.

No, not a bit. And for the same reason: evidence.

As a matter of fact, I'm a good deal more vitriolic in my disagreements with psychics and so on, as I tend to view them as cons bilking people out of money.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

Hey lets be fair, vampires are albino hemophiliacs with iron-deficiency anemia and an allergy to the sun. Or kids that like Twilight and pretend to know goth music. Not supernatural at all.

Unless, of course, they really are paranormal.

 

[SiderealExalt]

Just to throw in my .02. I don't believe in anything supernatural at all. Ghosts, reincarnation,etc. None of it.

 

[JustMeSee]

No, I don't believe... nor do I disbelieve .

 

[Tenka]

Ahh, now this is interesting. Thank you Tenka.

So in your opinion science is not moving us gradually towards a more accurate understanding of reality (what some people would call the truth about reality) ?

Truth is a religious idea, I don't think it is right to call the facts of the natural world 'truths'. We find more facts, we generate a more accurate description with less truths.
Example, it was once true that to guarantee a good harvest you had to sacrifice an animal and pray to the right gods and the people with this belief knew all there was to know about it, 100%. We now know that although it was 'true' it was completely incorrect.

Science is about finding useful answers but all things that try to be useful answers are not necessarily science.

Ps. The "Well really" at the beginning of your quote above ... is it meaning "Really science is about..." or is it the "Well really!" mild expression of exasperation that some English people use?

"Really science is about...", like, technically science is about useful answers and approaching 100% correctness not about finding absolute truth.

 

[truthshift]

On another thread someone has (quite accurately) pointed out to me that an atheist whilst not believing in Gods, could still theoretically believe in the supernatural.

I was wondering, of the atheists here, do any of you have any belief in the existence of anything that could be termed supernatural and if so what does this mean to you?

Thanks,
Mike.

Certainly!

What defines supernatural is something that cannot be explained within the definitions of the laws of our physical universe. i.e. beyond natural.

I, personally, do not doubt that there are things out there that exist (or don't?) in realms beyond ours. I, also, personally believe that things like that can, in some way, effect our world as we experience it to create the phenomenon we witness. The affects of supernatural things may be explainable, however the supernatural cause itself is likely beyond our ability for comprehension... for now.

There are many theories regarding the supernatural and ideas concerning "mana", mental existences, immaterial universes, antimatter, and alternate dimensions. They are all very abstract concepts that are very interesting, I think. Who knows what is possible though.

 

[Garyzenuf]

Anyone care to take a stab at what i'm talking about in post #15, its got me stumped for an explanation.

Thanks.

Gary.

*

 

[Andreusz]

I'm a member of a 12-step recovery fellowship, as part of my recovery process, I pray and meditate everyday, and receive positive direction from the expeirence. Is it a self-fulfilling mantra, a self-hypnosis
exercise (ala Dawkins), or some kind of Pantheistic God at work I don't know. In fact its got me so confused about how to label myself, that I got rid of my faith icon altogether.

I would say it was one of the first two possibilities, or a combination of them. They are much more plausible explanations than the third.

 

[lawtonfogle]

If the supernatural means 'something that exists but has no material being', then I don't believe in the supernatural.

It seems by that definition gamma rays are supernatural and that you don't believe in them, or do you consider energy as a material being?

 

[Wiccan_Child]

It seems by that definition gamma rays are supernatural and that you don't believe in them, or do you consider energy as a material being?

The same could be said for neutrinos: billions pass through us every second without ever interacting with our atoms. Does this constitute immateriality?