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All worldviews require faith, even atheism and empiricism, why?

"The truth claims of atheism cannot be proved. How do we know there is no God? The simple fact of the matter is that atheism is faith, which draws conclusions that go beyond the available evidence." Alister McGrath from Oxford

The truth claim is that God does not exist. Well.....

How did the universe start, suddenly, just once, all of a sudden, for sure?

15 Answers

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  • Sean
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Faith is the process of building and Atheism is the process of destruction. Empiricism sorts through the mess.

  • 1 decade ago

    I know that the universe started sometime. So, I have faith that it did start. No one knows how it started.

    Would atheism require the faith that the existence of God can never be proven? That is the only way that I can see to tie faith and atheism together.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I'm not sure what you're asking, but you're right. Atheism is just as much faith-based as any religious belief; the only world view that isn't is agnosticism- the hands-off, 'I ain't gonna call it either way 'till I get some evidence' stance.

    Although I don't understand why you say this about empiricism, which deals with real, measurable experiences to form theories.

    No clue as to how the universe started- I hear it had something to do with a Big Bang.

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    A Christian POV. Christians use the term in yet in any different case. one million) faith is believe. human beings have self belief every time they sit down in a chair that it will carry them up. in case you notice somebody 'restoration' the chair you will not have self belief to sit down down in it. If somebody else comes alongside they'd have blind faith that the chair will carry them up. This faith walks had in hand with doubt and scepticism. 2) faith is a mysterious present from a mysterious god. This faith is the style you have have been given it or you have not have been given it.. it somewhat is the comparable faith because of the fact the 'believing in something that may not real' faith. Logically if god would not exist then the present would not exist. i think of the word that desires to be in an answer is premise. All ideals, religious or in any different case, are equipped on premises. human beings have self belief or believe that their premises are real. some Atheists get bent out of shape because of the fact in this particular area in accordance with premises there's a point enjoying field and that places them out of their convenience zone. The source of the project is that Christians use the term to propose particularly some issues. some Atheists have blindly picked up the sickness. LOL *places on pastafarian pirate hat* would the Sauce be with you.

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  • 1 decade ago

    All ideals require faith, because what is faith but 'thought'. everything we believe comes from thought, and the process of thinking, be it rational or irrational.

    god in the bible acts like man does, so therefore isnt real, as it is mans wishes to make god. but gods flaws show it as being a human construct. any god out there wouldnt act anything like flawed mankind. no anger, no revenge, no pain. only humans dwell on emotion like that.

    so even if god exists, mankind can only assume its qualities based on our experience with metaphysical reality, which is pretty limited. so shame on man for acting like it knows anything about the wishes of god. a few magic mushrooms in the goat stew in Israel 2 thousand years ago, and people believe it happened. we laugh at hippies nowadays, yet billions believe in one that may or may not have held the key to life everlasting.

    once again, human weakness rules, and the weak follow follow anything that gives them strength, true or not.

    one vote for magic mushrooms, or more relevant locally in the middle east: Syrian Rue.

    it could easily have been in the diet of the disciples and witnesses of jesus and his 'feats'

  • eri
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    You're the one making the ridiculous claim (that there is a god); you have to prove it. If I tell you that I own the Brooklyn Bridge and will sell it to you for 10 dollars, you'd ask for proof, right? You wouldn't just accept my claim. Same here.

    Just because you work at Oxford doens't mean you're not a moron.

    The universe began with the big bang. We have plenty of empiracal evidence for this which is easily found with a google search. You should try it sometime.

  • 1 decade ago

    The logic follows as such.

    If god is eternal, then he had no chronological origin. And he came before anything else, ergo from nothing.

    So simply replace god with universe, because they believe that it always existed.

    So to how it started.... it didn't, it always was. In fact, as scientists go further and further back, the theories get stranger and more complex. The current standing is that the universe as we know it begam when to M-membrane's slapped together and our universe is a product of that collision. Research M-Theory to know more.

  • Nick F
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago

    tend to agree with you, atheism requires as much faith in things that can not be proven as religion does (which does not mean that there is a god or that atheists beliefs are not valid, just that they can not supported with evidence)

  • 1 decade ago

    Some posit that the world has always existed or there is an infinite regress of causes. This is not as strong of an answer, but it is one available to atheist.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    The universe started randomly because a monkey (don't ask where that animal came from) shook up some free atomic particles (don't ask where they came from) in a box (don't ask where it came from) and BANG the universe started.

    That's, at least, how the Randomists say it happened!

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