Can a Skeptic believe in God?

by Beans 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Beans

  Recently I got the winter edition magazine of the Ontario Skeptic news and found a great six page article on "Can a skeptic believe in God? And what a great read it was, some of the points were well versed. It went into some detail of believers and non believers arguing about God, what I found interesting was how at the end of the argument both sides would have felt they had won the argument. I am not a member of this organization but have found some of there topics and free seminars very interesting.

  This article will be available on line in a few months at http://www.skeptics.ca . There was one sentence in the article that really made sense to me and here it goes,

  "the bottom line is that we do not need the concept of God for any immediate practical purpose"

  Beans

  http://Quotes.Watchtower.ca
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  Phantom Stranger

  By definition, the word skeptic means to tend to doubt, not neccesarily to doubt entirely or always...so it's not the self-evident question that I initially thought it was :)
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  cypher50

  The problem I find with people is that they tend to think that being skeptical of something is automatically bad. I would think that if you never had any doubts then your faith is like a house of cards that can be blown over at any time by the slightest debate...
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  LittleToe

  Cypher:
  Agreed, however "the problem I find with people is that they tend to think that being skeptical of something is automatically" good.

  A healthy dose of it is profitable (IMHO) but to call "everything" into question, on a perpetual basis, can have a detrimental effect on your personality.

  Beans:
  Interesting article. Thanks
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  peacefulpete

  Skepticism is a provisional approach to claims. Is not negative nor positive, it is not inclined to disbelieve nor believe, it is simply an endeavor to discipline our minds and be as honest to available facts as possible. It means regarding claims that lack scientifically recognizible evidence as anecdotal, not less not more. It means understanding the weakness of arguements based upon conclusions drawn from untrained and unvarifiable testimonials. Nearly everyone claims of course to respect and practice this method, the history of humankind proves otherwise however.
  
  Can a Skeptic believe? Yes, tho he/she will recognize that doing so is not a conclusion arrived at by the afore mentioned method. Therefore the person is likely much more conscious of the deliberateness of the decision to believe. Skeptic societies do not use the word "skeptic" as the nonskeptic world does. That is unfortunate as it has led many to conclude, as the first responder, that declaring oneself a Skeptic means you are a suspicious or incredulous spoilsport. This is why many skeptics are seeking to coin a new name for the discipline.
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  Carmel

  Being an XJW I have led a life of skepticism about much of life. It was refreshing to my professors to have someone question the assumptions of every "given". Most in the humanities, though, were put off when you questioned. Not unlike the JW leadership. Don't ask embarrassing qestions, wait on Jehovah!!! My skepticism about belief in God was not fundamental but secondary. I was agnostic for more than a decade and only gradually accepted the notion of a "god" when the definition did not include much of the OT personified version. My skepticism now is directed at those that bring their bagage of with them into a faith that is tolerant, but has left most of the human accretions behind.

  carm
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  jgnat

  Doubting Thomas is one of my heroes. Skeptic? I think so. He needed proof. Though he received mild reproof, was it really wrong of Thomas to ask the hard questions?

  I say this without reading the link you provided, Beans.
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  Beans

  One of the interesting things about the skeptics is they can give you the ability to learn reason, for those who only think in one direction becoming a little skeptical will give you a better ability for choice on issues.
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  Love_Truth

  Sure, I'm a skeptic and believe in God. The two are not mutually exclusive whatsoever.

  Now, if one carries skepticism or cynicism so far that they refuse to be objective, they will probably never be very convinced of anything.

  Love_Truth- Theist and "Healthy Skeptic".
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  peacefulpete

  Jnat...GJohn depicts Thomas in a very unfavorable light, as slow to grasp spiritual symbolism as a doubter and the last to be vistited by Jesus after his resurrection. While John likely contains very old material it also was the last to be compiled. The Gnostic GThomas was very popular at the time and GJohn seems to be a deliberate attempt to put Thomas character in a subordinate place. Also Thomas was originally viewed as the mortal twin of Jesus, utilizing a very ancient motif of twin sons of a god. The Thomas tradition was deemed a threat to the Petrine tradition (that Peter was the heir to Jesus) and needed to be squelched by reinventing the character in a more modest, even thickheaded, role.