Comment 20 by healthphysicist :

@19 AtheistEgbert

Well said...my point is believing or not believing in gods is completely arbitrary. In that way, atheism and theism are equally supported.

Those atheists who use science to support their atheism, don't understand the a priori assumptions they've made.

They start out assuming the Universe is NOT evidence of god, then use science (which is a priori restricted from appealing to a diety) to convince themselves that they have examined the evidence and there is no god.

That is concluding your initial assumptions.

Very much like most theists.

I'm sure there's a name for the argument your presenting but I can't be bothered to find it.

Since you haven't really stated, I'm assuming you to be a theist or someone who has some belief in some form of god? Maybe deist?

In any case the points you are making have been made by many before and have been dealt with thoroughly, not only here but in many atheist blogs and books.

Most of us who are atheists have come from some form of religion or other, We've been raised either culturally or fundamentally so our decisions to be an atheist is hardly arbitrary. When faced with the facts the idea of a god appears highly unlikely. Most atheist are 6.9 on Dawkins scale, we leave a little bit open for the possibility, however remote, of there being a god but live our lives (like some religious people do) as if there isn't one.

Atheists use science to support their ideas simply because it's usually learning about science that makes one start to question the idea of a god. The more you know the less likely you are to believe. This doesn't mean that all atheists use science as a means of becoming an atheist, some just use their holy books.

Most sophisticated theists use a form or deism as a means to bring science and religion in line with each other. Truth is most people who believe are not deists. They believe in their religion with some level of conviction and assume it is right. This is the difference between the religious and atheists. That's not to say that all atheists are like this but most are open to having their ideas questioned.

To sum up my thoughts, where we come from is a rather simple philosophy. Prove us wrong. We have the whole of science backing us up, what does your god have?