@Frank Apisa,
RE: Albert, Steven, and Carl.
Of those you've cited, only Hawking attempts to explicitly take a position that they are not an atheist. Unfortunately, Hawking is not here to discuss his position with us.
Sagan and Einstein's position does not lend support to your position that you're not an atheist.
All very smart men, and all make great cases for skepticism on the matter of gods. Should I accept an association fallacy from you?
Hawking's case seems to be the only one really comparable to your own. I'm particularly interested in this:
"He's certainly not an atheist and not even very sympathetic to atheism."
While not sympathetic, he may be empathetic. Perhaps he thinks being an atheist feels some other way? Perhaps a different "state of mind?"
These are of course the words of Henry F. Schaefer III, and I'll take him at his word, and not assume he is exaggerating Hawking's position.
Hawking's position seems to be somewhat unformed itself.
From Wiki:
Quote:Religious views
In his early work, Hawking spoke of God in a metaphorical sense, such as in A Brief History of Time: "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we should know the mind of God."[61] In the same book he suggested the existence of God was unnecessary to explain the origin of the universe.[62] In the Channel 4 documentary Genius of Britain, in his 2010 book The Grand Design, and in interviews with the Telegraph, Hawking has clarified that he does not believe in a "personal" God.[63] Hawking writes, "The question is: is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we can't understand, or was it determined by a law of science? I believe the second."[63] He adds, "Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing."[64]
His ex-wife, Jane, has described him as an atheist.[65] Hawking has stated that he is "not religious in the normal sense" and he believes that "the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws."[66] In an interview published in The Guardian newspaper, Hawking regarded the concept of Heaven as a myth, believing that there is "no heaven or afterlife" and that such a notion was a "fairy story for people afraid of the dark."[61][67] Hawking contrasted religion and science in 2010, saying: "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works."[68]
I think that perhaps Hawking may struggle in the same sense that you do. I've tried to find more on how he is "not very sympathetic" to atheists, to see what he means by that, and what difference he believes exists between "them" and himself.
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