No atheist is going to say to a 4-year-old, or anyone else they can get over on "we don't know". There's no motive. Those who always PRESUPPOSE God doesn't exist are perpetually in a state of having a claim they cannot support. Dodging it makes sense around adults who might challenge, but in no other context would it occur.
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You don't know either. You're in the position of explaining why you believe to a 4 year old and you'll do it in a 4 year old level "just because".
And the 4 year old will wonder why you don't believe in Spider-Man "just because".
No, buddy, the onus is on you to prove your claim that God does exist. I know that fundies never seem to grasp this inconvenient little fact, but that's your fucking problem - not ours.
I have said "I don't know" or some variation of it lots of times, If you truly don't know then saying "I don't know" isn't a dodge. It is being honest.
Apparently, honesty is so foreign to you as a believer that you can't imagine some one using it. Indeed, making up answers on the spot, regardless of their veracity or sensibility, has become a system among believers. They call it "apologetics."
Burden of Proof, bitches. You lot claim that a 'God' exists, you must prove the existence of such, and to our satisfaction. And if in the process of doing so, your precious 'faith' is destroyed, not our problem
And 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (KJV) forces you to do so: 'Prove all things'.
Scripture that destroys scripture. Aren't paradoxes a pisser, eh fundies...?! >:D
'Context'? Contextualise this, Danny-boy : That kid eventually learns that it's not a fat bearded man in red who supplies him with those toys on December 25th, but his parents, relatives etc. It's called Growing Up.
Religious 'faith': Santa Claus for adults who refuse to grow up.
Moral: 'Context'? Bollocks.
Here's one atheist willing to say "we don't know." No, we don't know for sure that no gods exist, but it's highly unlikely and quite obvious that every god ever worshiped was an invention of man.
I'm much more willing to say "we don't know" rather than invent an answer and then persecute people for not agreeing with that answer.
No atheist is going to say to a 4-year-old, or anyone else they can get over on "we don't know". There's no motive
How about encouraging critical thinking and intellectual honesty? There's your motive. And I'll HAPPILY tell a 4 year old that not everything is known. That might encourage them one day to find the answer. Telling them "God did it" might satisfy them but it won't actually answer anything.
Those who always PRESUPPOSE God doesn't exist are perpetually in a state of having a claim they cannot support.
Okay, here's the deal. Officially my stance is that I don't believe in gods until someone gives me solid evidence. Unofficially, I've kind of given up on the idea that anyone will ever provide that evidence. I can still be convinced otherwise, but I'm pretty confident that won't happen. So in theory I'm a weak agnostic atheist but in practice I'm a strong agnostic atheist.
God did it = I don't know.
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When I was a kid, at home, it was "Because I say so".
On the playground it was, "I'm bigger'n you".
In the navy it was, "It's the law of the sea".
It all means "Shut up and do it my way".
Those who PRESUPPOSE God exists are perpetually in a state of having a claim they cannnot support.
Fixed.
Edit: Darn, Mister Spak got to it before I did.
Those who always PRESUPPOSE God doesn't exist are perpetually in a state of having a claim they cannot support.
Nobody "presupposes" God doesn't exist, any more than they "presuppose" that Santa Claus, unicorns or the Loch Ness Monster don't exist. There has never been verifiable evidence for the existence any of these things, God included. The proof is in the fact that there are thousands of different religions, each claiming something different. If you went to 1,000 different doctors and got 1,000 completely different opinions, wouldn't you conclude that they probably didn't know what they were talking about?
<No atheist is going to say to a 4-year-old, or anyone else they can get over on "we don't know".>
"Those who always PRESUPPOSE God doesn't exist are perpetually in a state of having a claim they cannot support."
"Dodging it makes sense around adults who might challenge, but in no other context would it occur."
"I know you are, but what am I?"
Fixed.
BTW: I'm not in the habit of trying to convince 4 year-old children. They don't have the reasoning ability to follow a complex argument, but they are easily bullshitted. That makes them prey for your ilk.
Well, it's not that bad to say "I don't know" to a 4 years old in general, not just about religion. In this sense, it will make him or her try to think for him or herself and look for evidence and resources in an indenpendent way.
"We don't know" is a completely valid answer, if we don't know something. Anything else would be lying, and isn't there some kind of, I don't know, commandment in your religion against that kind of thing?
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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