It’s still a semantic stop sign, because it attempts to stop you from asking the next question, which you mentioned:
Why is God necessary?
The point is to never stop asking. You might be stuck at “I don’t know”, but that just means you need to find more information.
A “stop sign” is any answer that automatically causes you to stop asking the next question. It can be “God”, but it can just as easily be “the big bang” or “evolution”. If your intent in making the statement is to prevent further questions, it’s a stop sign statement in that case.
If you believe there must be a God, there isn’t really anything wrong with that as long as you aren’t using the idea of God to keep you from asking the next question. I find the belief ridiculously hard to maintain though.
By the way, Eliezer, I think I have to officially recognize my atheism. I’ve been clinging to the last vestiges of my monotheistic upbringing up until now, but this post hits the nail on the head, so to speak.
It’s still a semantic stop sign, because it attempts to stop you from asking the next question, which you mentioned:
Why is God necessary?
The point is to never stop asking. You might be stuck at “I don’t know”, but that just means you need to find more information.
A “stop sign” is any answer that automatically causes you to stop asking the next question. It can be “God”, but it can just as easily be “the big bang” or “evolution”. If your intent in making the statement is to prevent further questions, it’s a stop sign statement in that case.
If you believe there must be a God, there isn’t really anything wrong with that as long as you aren’t using the idea of God to keep you from asking the next question. I find the belief ridiculously hard to maintain though.
By the way, Eliezer, I think I have to officially recognize my atheism. I’ve been clinging to the last vestiges of my monotheistic upbringing up until now, but this post hits the nail on the head, so to speak.