Quote of the Day, by Articulett

To me, being a naturalist means that you don't believe in anything supernatural... the arguments against Randal [Rauser'] supernatural beliefs are identical to his own disbelief in myths past and other superstitious or far-fetched ideals. Not knowing a natural answer is not a good reason for plugging in a magical answer!-- And all religions plug in magical answers. They feel like answers to the believer, but they don't really explain anything. And there's no way to tell a true supernatural answer from the infinity of competing supernatural answers that would be false if ANY supernatural answer was true. So even if naturalism wasn't correct-- there is no method for distinguishing a true supernatural answer from a false one... no way to tell a true prophet from a false one-- or a real god from a demon or advanced space alien or tricky fairy or a myth! People who believe in these sorts of things tend to be people who were indoctrinated to believe such things --people who have a vested interest in believing those things-- and people who are afraid they might be punished if they don't believe such things. If there was actual evidence for any of these things than scientists would be testing, refining, and honing that evidence for their own benefit... especially if there was actual evidence that there was life after death. But how can one be alive or conscious without a brain? It makes no more sense than concluding a rock is conscious! Can one have a debate or discussion as to the problems with not believing that rocks are conscious? How is Randall's suggesting any more coherent than his being asked to demonstrate the problems with his non-belief in rock consciousness?

Despite eons of belief in the supernatural, the supernatural has never once turned out to be the real answer once we could understand the real answer. It turns out neither Zeus nor Thor are responsible for lightening. And demons don't cause diseases and gay people don't cause hurricanes and neither witches nor curses are real. People who don't believe in angels or chupacabras or UFOs don't see them. And the voices in peoples' heads are not coming from ghosts, fairies, nor gods. And no matter how much a person believes rocks can be conscious... nor how much they imagine it takes "faith" NOT to believe in such things... nor how they babble that science can't prove that rocks are NOT conscious-- conscious rocks will never exist anywhere except in the human imagination... exactly like their gods.

When a person doesn't know or understand the answer to a scientific questions, then the correct answer is "I don't know"... the correct answer is not "my 3-in-1 goddidit!" At least that's not a real answer for anyone actually interested in the truth. Cosmological questions are best answered by experts in those subjects... not people who imagine themselves saved for what they believe.

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