This comes up from time to time, so I felt it merited its own thread. Here in the UK, atheism is typically a mark of nothing more than disbelief in gods. I have few friends who attend church, which is less a reflection of my choice of friends than the demographic of the country I live in. I tend not be exposed to bigotry as a result of denoting myself as such. I go online for that!
I don’t wear a badge or steer the conversation towards the subject, but it’s no secret either. No-one cares. If I wanted to run for public office it would be no barrier; people don’t appear to trust me any less, or assume amorality or a lack of goodwill on my part.
But other countries are different. Atheism is the ‘state religion’ in some, in others it can still be a reason to put you to death (surely one of the densest ideas ever dreamed up). I am interested in experiences, and in how you view ‘the other side’. Over to you.
I’m a fictionalist about mathematical objects. And I suppose that near enough to being a nominalist.
I see no need for an alternative to theistic creation. Likewise, I see no need for theistic creation. The world just is, and it is up to us to deal with it. The metaphysical speculation does not seem useful.
I am more inclined to say that it is not even a valid question.
Certainly not a question that will be answered. I ask it rhetorically.
It certainly seems bizarre on its face – that a universe of kickable, energetic material should just come to exist out of nothing, along with the space to hold it and the time to allow its development into stars and solar systems and – just occasionally – questioning inhabitants.
But that is certainly no more bizarre than postulating a Mind somewhat like our own, just … existing, and having the capacity to tune the necessary parameters to ultimately create minds somewhat like itself, and being bothered with the minutiae of our lives (with especial interest in the sexual content).