Do you believe in God

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Nick Thomas
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Do you believe in God

Post by Nick Thomas » Sun May 29, 2011 8:37 pm

I got to thinking that maybe chess players might not be typical in this regard. Does anyone have a theory on whether chess players are predominantly deists/theists/atheists/other? Is it possible to do a secret poll?

PeterTurland
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by PeterTurland » Sun May 29, 2011 8:53 pm

Nick Thomas wrote:I got to thinking that maybe chess players might not be typical in this regard. Does anyone have a theory on whether chess players are predominantly deists/theists/atheists/other? Is it possible to do a secret poll?
I am a pantheist, check out Spinoza.

I don't believe in belief - I believe in evidence, I resist the temptation to go baa.

Nick Thomas
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by Nick Thomas » Sun May 29, 2011 9:46 pm

Yes I am aware of Spinoza. Dawkins described pantheism as a sexy form of atheism I believe.

Niall Doran
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by Niall Doran » Sun May 29, 2011 10:47 pm

No.

PeterTurland
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by PeterTurland » Sun May 29, 2011 10:50 pm

Niall Doran wrote:No.
So you only believe in details, top down thinking in terms of us blundering bipeds, is meaningless for you?
Last edited by PeterTurland on Sun May 29, 2011 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Alex Holowczak
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by Alex Holowczak » Sun May 29, 2011 10:52 pm

PeterTurland wrote:
Niall Doran wrote:No.
So you only believe in details, top down thinking in terms of us blundering bipeds is meaningless for you?
I believe the question set in the topic wasn't one that invited a general criticism of whatever beliefs people happened to hold. :wink:

PeterTurland
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by PeterTurland » Sun May 29, 2011 11:00 pm

Perhaps we need to separate concept from context - if it is at all possible?

Robert Dale
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by Robert Dale » Sun May 29, 2011 11:18 pm

I am an evangelical Christian. Our local club includes one Anglican churchwarden, one lapsed Baptist, one devout Muslim; the rest, to my knowledge, have no religious views. That probably makes us an average cross section of the population. One famous theologian who played chess was the Bohemian Reformer, John Hus. He regretted later that he had wasted so much time on it and "was unfortunate enough to provoke myself and others to anger!"

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Sun May 29, 2011 11:19 pm

I like to call myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say, while I recognise the possibility that some god or gods may exist, I shall believe that they do not unless given convincing evidence to the contrary.

(I am sure that an omniscient, omnipotent deity, as the Abrahamic God is claimed to be, would be able to give convincing evidence to the contrary if he wished.)

Arshad Ali
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by Arshad Ali » Sun May 29, 2011 11:44 pm

But demons exist.

Chris J Greatorix
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by Chris J Greatorix » Mon May 30, 2011 12:17 am

I shall assume those that are agnostic or athiests do not celebrate Christmas, it does seem contradictory to do so otherwise.

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Rob Thompson
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by Rob Thompson » Mon May 30, 2011 12:28 am

I don't believe in the God hypothesis because there is no evidence to support it. Simple as that
True glory lies in doing what deserves to be written; in writing what deserves to be read.

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Mon May 30, 2011 12:39 am

Chris J Greatorix wrote:I shall assume those that are agnostic or athiests do not celebrate Christmas, it does seem contradictory to do so otherwise.
Why? It's a festival that has many contributing factors to its origin; the elements relating to Christianity are just part of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

(Now Easter, on the other hand, I'll give you, and I do not celebrate that except insofar as to play in chess tournaments during it.)

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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by AustinElliott » Mon May 30, 2011 2:10 am

Chris J Greatorix wrote:I shall assume those that are agnostic or athiests do not celebrate Christmas, it does seem contradictory to do so otherwise.
Err... what Jack said. Winter Festivals, especially around the shortest day of the year, are common to many cultures and religions, and were undoubtedly widespread in pre-Christian times. It's a pretty sure bet that early Christianity "adopted" existing times of celebration.

Anyway, we just enjoy the holiday, family time etc. No religious add-ons for us, though the daughter gets the normal nativity/Christmas story stuff at school.

Nick Thomas
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Re: Do you believe in God

Post by Nick Thomas » Mon May 30, 2011 8:27 am

IM Jack Rudd wrote:I like to call myself an agnostic atheist. That is to say, while I recognise the possibility that some god or gods may exist, I shall believe that they do not unless given convincing evidence to the contrary.

(I am sure that an omniscient, omnipotent deity, as the Abrahamic God is claimed to be, would be able to give convincing evidence to the contrary if he wished.)
Atheists tend to have an open mind about the possibility of being wrong. It is after all simply a "non belief" usually caused (in so far as a passive non belief can be said to be "caused") by lack of evidence. I'm not sure I therefore see the need for the agnostic bit. I consider an agnostic someone who has some evidence but only enough to consider the odds around 50/50.

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