(06-12-2023, 05:11 PM)Freija Wrote:(06-12-2023, 03:24 PM)Snarl Wrote: Do you believe in UFOs ... or do you 'know' they're real? I can't impose them on you either.
I do not "believe" in UFOs but I am open to their possibility which I guess makes me agnostic? As a fan of science fiction, UFOs are a fun concept and I have always found the mindset of UFO "true believers" somewhat fascinating in a morbidly curious/skeptical kind of way comparable to the same way I view most conspiracy theorists. It would be cool if UFOs were real but I'm not holding my breath or proselytizing for their existence.
But a big mean wrathful all powerful omnipotent sky god is just a stretch too far for me even in my wildest imagination.
I'm curious. Consider this question a part of my ongoing education. Why is belief in a "big mean wrathful omnipotent sky god" more of a stretch than believing the possibility of big mean wrathful all powerful aliens, who can apparently violate the laws of nature and physics at will to travel vast distances in an instant, more of a stretch?
It seems to me that if one is agnostic of one of those potentials, they should also be agnostic towards the other of them. Either way, if they have not seen, how can they "know"? Isn't denial of the possibility it's own kind of faith? And isn't the essence of a religion "faith"?
Non-belief, same as belief, seems to me to be it's own sort of religion, albeit a negative one, since absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Therefore any conclusions, either for or against, are "faith-based".
A corollary question, in my mind, is why do folks, believers and unbelievers alike, seem to limit the extent of a deity to the sky only? Isn't that, in itself, a limitation on the theoretically limitless? Doesn't the very concept destroy notions of omnipotence?
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