mtkaiser

Jake - Thank you for pointing out the things that I was wrong about. You are someone who I KNOW I can learn a lot from, which is my purpose for joining this forum. I completely enjoy being wrong. I totally agree its the only way to learn. I very much respect the response that Jake and bluey gave to my last post.

I do not know how to do all those fancy quotes yet, So I will try to paraphrase. First off, I have never expected anyone to accept my "whimsical fill-in-the-blanks seriously". It is how I think and how I feel. I sometimes feel like some posters on here look to attack or to make the originator of a message look stupid or wrong. Here's why I love objectivism. I believe it is rooted in ones belief in HIS OWN ability to reason and come to his own conclusions. I never expect someone to believe exactly what I believe. If that was the case, I would be an avid church patron (which choose not to be). I enjoy sharing opinions with others but look at any type of debate, especially one about god, as a win/win, meaning you share your opinion, and I share mine, then hopefully, we each get a little closer to well, I guess a better conclusion or deduction from the facts. Trying to make someone feel wrong is not the way to encourage and embrace growth and thought. O and the yellow unicorn comment - Its a horse with a horn that is yellow. We have seen a horse, a horn, and the color yellow. Can you comprehend or define a color that you have never seen? I'm also interested in hearing out David about why god can logically not exist...

I guess we would have to first define what we mean by "god". My definition is more along the lines of a higher power and creator. When I try to think through the potential existence of a creator, I try to work backwards. Let me give you an example. What is steel made of?? Well I'm sure lots of stuff that I do not know about but I could generalize with saying "stuff" or matter. Okay, now what is matter made of?? Well smaller "things", okay, lets call them atoms! Okay, what are atoms made of?? Even smaller things called protons/neutrons, and electrons. So on and so forth until there is no actual answer that we as humans know, which is where the blank out comes. By blanking out at that point, you are admitting that you've reached a point that you can not reason or you can not comprehend. The reason (no pun intended) is that there are certain things that are impossible for the brain to fully comprehend or define because the brain has never been able to experience it. Like the word infinite. If you think you know the definition of infinite, you are kidding yourself, unless you have experienced it. So I'm not making a case for an almighty god that can come down and smite anyone he/she/it wishes. What I'm trying to say is that comparing believing in god to believing in 1=7 is an irrelevant argument because the brain can comprehend a simple math problem that we have all experienced, but unless someone has evidence to prove or disprove the existence of a creator, my brain will continue to fill that blank out with the role of a creator. My last point that I will make is that things we take as fact and reality such as science and math, can also be compared to religion and faith. I know 2+2 = 4, wait, I have faith that 2 + 2= 4. I have been taught that by a preacher... wait, i mean my first grade math teacher and I took his word for it. I do not know about you but I have never talked to the guy/gal that created mathematics and asked him how math is supposed to work. What makes us human is the ability to pass on knowledge from one generation to another with a little bit of faith in giver of the knowledge. p.s. As a newbie, I am truly enjoying this sharing of opinions with like minded individuals!

I certainly appreciate the passion in the responses to my post. I did not know how sore of a subject this was! My own personal views differ and do not wish to share them publicly (if you care/choose to know, you can send me a message). What I like about objectivism is the emotional health it brings me. My definition of emotional health is "how close someone is to reality" ( I read that somewhere and I thought it to be a great definition). The other equally intriguing thing about objectivism is the belief in free will and every human's ablitly to the right to choose what they feel is right with in their own sets of values, as long as they are not infringing on the values of those around them. I wanted to take back my post after reading it because of the word, that most of you painfully highlighted, "typical". Typical to who or to what? (to reference atlas shrugged). I enjoyed reading most of your responses...

So, I'm new, but not completely new to objectivism and have come across a few articles that proclaim that there is no god. Is that typical with objectivism??? If so, what are all your views???