And other supernatural topics go here; It's like a thread about unicorn farts, only relevant.

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This thread is a revival of the God thread from the old Edge forum which I would link to if it still existed in its 250+ page glory, and kudos must go to Pie for starting it (though I'll refrain from making any statement about who finished it).

That does lead nicely to the point that this sort of discussion is old so many of the points raised will likely have roots into past examinations and while the existence or non existence of a possible deity is not something that can currently be concluded, the ramifications of believing one way or the other (or neither) can certainly be evidenced and discussed to useful ends. Hell, we've even talked about impossible deities, though not everyone listened.

We are likely well educated people who understand how a forum works, and while I am not interested or able to maintain rules about how people chose to post I might point out that if you are planning to partake in the wonders of the God thread, whether a newcomer or veteran, there are some things that are useful to keep in mind:

Someone is likely to disagree with your opinion, it's almost a given that someone will. Unashamedly, forcefully, with disrespect to your beliefs and feelings, and in acrid tones. That being said, they might also do it in as nice a way as possible ... and maybe a god exists. You get the picture. Vitriol and Ad hominem attacks are your choice, and they certainly do keep things lively, but try to couple them with substance as well, on pain of looking like you cannot actually back your claims up with evidence and rationality. No one here will be shocked if that happens, I assure you. I may even engage in some unshocking substantial vitriol of my own.

Being clear is important. Poorly defined points, and misuse of terms lead to misunderstood claims and semantic fallacies. It is very difficult to be clear and concise at the best of times, and the failure to do so has led to the majority of disagreements in the past. Seriously, I dare say 90% or more. You are not the first person to come along as say 'All atheists am faithful because they beleev that their am no god', without any understanding that not all people who legitimately identify with the atheist label actually believe this, or 'All agnostics am just teh people who haven't made up there minds' without any understanding that there are people in the world who legitimately identify as agnostic who happen to also believe in a god. Language is a fluid and evolving tool, and just because you assume that a word means something does not mean that it does, and expecting that other people will somehow magically intuit what you mean when you use a word that can imply something else, does not mean that they will. You are not the boss of language, but you are responsible for making your point clear. If you need to clarify your position because someone doesn't understand then do, and if someone catches you out in a semantic error (especially equivocation, don't get me started on equivocation; rationalizing does not mean you are being rational) acknowledge the problem and accept that you need to qualify your statement and understanding of the matter. Define your terms, or be an obtuse, obfuscating and lazy asshat who adds nothing to the conversation and is likely ignorant of the problems with their own position – the choice is yours.

Logic, get educated about it and be interested in how it works. The nature of the discussion means that conversations tend to revolve around theoretical models and conclusions that can be drawn from them. If you do not understand how to draw logical conclusions from a given premises then you will have a hard time talking about them meaningfully and will likely not develop the tools to distinguish the rational from the irrational. If you're thinking about making a post about how being rational is not rational then I am talking to you. Save face now. The only way we can reach a mutual understanding of things and assess claims is by applying logic to them and seeing if they hold up. People who make irrational claims appear to think irrational thoughts.

Glean from that what you will, and see you inside :-)