Making Light: All Religions are UPG

[MellowDem]

18. Yes, that is the premise...

how is it not? I am able to determine what parts of the author's post I wish to discuss. One premise I chose from the author's piece is that gods are not provable or falsifiable. We both agree on this. It is from that premise that I arrive at a lack of belief in gods. It is from that premise that the author (irrationally, IMHO) arrives at the conclusion in a belief in gods.

I am not discussing whether god exists or not, but rather the method used to come to a conclusion on that question (or any question that is not proveable or falsifiable).

Of course the author is asserting that gullibility is the only way for believers not to be hypocrites, and she's right. Read the piece again if you need to, but she asserts that all religions are equally valid because she won't question the validity of someone's explanations of their experiences. That is gullibility. It's well intentionted, that is, it's all about avoiding conflict with other people that hold different supernatural beliefs. It unites believers under their common faith and gullibility. But I'm saying gullibility and faith are not rational grounds to proceed from the original premise.

All of the words I've used have been relevant, you quoting them does nothing to bolster any argument you have, whatever it may be.

Considering the informality of a discussion board on the internet, I don't believe I need to do more than present common knowledge on such subjects. It's like saying the sky is blue. Honestly, if someone doesn't know that religions have and continue to use supernatural explanations for experiences that have been shown to be nothing more than psychiatric disorders, then they can look it up themselves and find many examples of it. I don't believe the burden is on me, and I really don't care if someone else thinks otherwise, because, once again, it's not something in controversy. It's widely known and accepted.