[thomastwo]

Irreligious wrote

Stories that go "above and beyond" the facts? What does that mean in context? How can you go "above and beyond" what is knowable?

There is a spark of creativity that is required to move from the facts we know towards the unknown. That is present in all worthwhile human endeavour. There is always a state of unknowing and guessing towards what might be. It happens in science in a controlled way when making hypotheses. It happens in philosophy when making assumptions about morality and purpose and meaning. It happens in "extreme philosophy" (aka religion) when making guesses about how things came to be.

These stories go above and beyond the facts. They help make sense of what we see but cannot explain. They help provide context for our lives and moralities and relationships.

Irreligious wrote

Thomastwo, "we" atheist here, obviously, make up something of a community on this forum, which you appear to resent greatly as evidenced by your very presence here.

However, there is no mass organized effort to recruit and indoctrinate atheists in the outside world.

I don't resent you at all. My presence here is driven by two things. First, I think atheists present a good critique of religion and help to sharpen what I think. Secondly, I think that you hold some half-truths and lies in your beliefs. I'd like to provide contrary information that you might want to consider.

I only poke at the idea of atheist community because it seems you folks alternately claim it and deny it as it suits you.

As for mass efforts to recruit atheists, your heros Dawkins, Dennet, Myers and Hitchens are devoting their careers and publishing efforts to do just that.

Irreligious wrote

Again, I have to ask what you mean by going "above and beyond the facts?" On it's face, it makes no sense. You don't know what you can't know. However, you can believe anything you like.

Hopefully my explanation made some sense. We have to live with unknowing and we all have different ways of dealing with that.

Irreligious wrote

I, personally, find it strange for one to be a proponent of evolutionary biology while simultaneously holding a belief in the existence of an anthropomorphic god, but I readily acknowledge that there are many who do, even if those divergent points of view appear incompatible to me.

By the way, you're not contradicting Sternwallow here by pointing out how enriched you are by summoning a cosmic purpose for your existence out of thin air. As he said, you do it because it brings you comfort, not because you actually know that the cosmos is conscious of your existence.

Yes, this isnt about knowledge in the sense of empirical facts. It's about a story that informs the way we live in community. It emphasises what we do and how we relate to other people rather than what we know.