I wish I could vote you up so much more! The distinction between a-convincing-argument and what-it-would-take-to-convince-me is very real and overlooked by almost everyone posting here.
To take my own experience in becoming convinced of atheism, I sometimes like to think I accept atheism for the same reason that I accept evolution—because of the evidence/lack thereof/etcetera. But that is simply not the case. I accept atheism because of a highly personal history of what it took to get me, personally, to stop believing in Christianity, and start believing in something else that, as much as I would like to pat my rational self on the back, has fairly little to do with the arguments and evidence I heard on the matter.
When asking someone why they believe something or are convinced of it, “what is the reason?” and “what is your reason?” are two totally different questions.
To take my own experience in becoming convinced of atheism, I sometimes like to think I accept atheism for the same reason that I accept evolution—because of the evidence/lack thereof/etcetera. But that is simply not the case. I accept atheism because of a highly personal history of what it took to get me, personally, to stop believing in Christianity, and start believing in something else that, as much as I would like to pat my rational self on the back, has fairly little to do with the arguments and evidence I heard on the matter.
It’s possible that the reason you accepted atheism is different to the reason you currently accept atheism. To make an analogy, I use the QWERTY keyboardnow because it’s the industry standard and therefore the most likely keyboard layout for me to encounter on an unfamiliar machine, regardless of the fact that I learned the QWERTY keyboard because that’s what was the setting on my computer when I started posting obsessively in the Dominic Deegan forums.
I wish I could vote you up so much more! The distinction between a-convincing-argument and what-it-would-take-to-convince-me is very real and overlooked by almost everyone posting here.
To take my own experience in becoming convinced of atheism, I sometimes like to think I accept atheism for the same reason that I accept evolution—because of the evidence/lack thereof/etcetera. But that is simply not the case. I accept atheism because of a highly personal history of what it took to get me, personally, to stop believing in Christianity, and start believing in something else that, as much as I would like to pat my rational self on the back, has fairly little to do with the arguments and evidence I heard on the matter.
When asking someone why they believe something or are convinced of it, “what is the reason?” and “what is your reason?” are two totally different questions.
It’s possible that the reason you accepted atheism is different to the reason you currently accept atheism. To make an analogy, I use the QWERTY keyboard now because it’s the industry standard and therefore the most likely keyboard layout for me to encounter on an unfamiliar machine, regardless of the fact that I learned the QWERTY keyboard because that’s what was the setting on my computer when I started posting obsessively in the Dominic Deegan forums.