Lets take a little break from politics and have us a real atheist conversation.
Personally, I’m open to the idea of the existence of supernatural phenomena, and I believe mainstream religions are actually complicated incomplete stories full of misinterpretations, misunderstandings, and half-truths.
Basically, I think that these stories are not as simple and straightforward as they seem to be to religious people. I feel like there is a lot more to them. Concluding that all these stories are just made up or came out of nowhere is kind of hard for me.
Asking if the supernatural exists is not a scientific question whose answer can be derived empirically. Which to me means the question isn’t even worth asking until a bunch of other questions can be asked / answered enough that this question becomes a scientific one, belief really has nothing to do with it (not sure I’m even capable of belief like that).
Concluding that all these stories are made up IS the simplest and most logical explanation. But, they almost certainly do not come from nothing. We as a species are kinda hardwired to understand things, and when we encounter something we don’t, we have a tendency to either make shit up or seek things that satisfy that understanding (even if its not really understanding). The result is that we have all these fantastic stories and myths that are only distantly related to reality.
So basically, you’re saying that if it’s not science, it’s not worth the time?
I’m saying that it’s not worth asking this question yet. There are a bunch of other foundational questions that need to be asked and answered first (there is a never-ending loop of ask/ answer, btw, it can be quite infuriating), before this supernatural question can be asked scientifically.
I’m saying let’s focus on finding and asking these more basic questions first, then we can take the little baby, scientifically sound steps towards asking what the answer to life, the universe, and everything is. Ironically, if there is any purpose in life, it’s finding our own special way to take these little baby steps for humanity.
So, you’re on the fence?
No, I am decidedly not on the fence, lol. In fact, I’m like the next county over from the fence. I think maybe you should go back and reread what I wrote with a different perspective.
You are seeking an answer to a question that has quite literally no answer, least not an answer based on truth and reality. Every single person in this thread can talk in circles for the rest of our lives, and absolutely none of us will ever be even a little closer to an answer. To me that means the question itself is flawed and there are better questions that need to be asked first. I don’t think the pursuit of the answer is wrong or a waste of time though, quite the opposite actually. I just think we aren’t yet equipped to ask these kinds of questions, and pretending we are isn’t very useful until we know more.