Theism vs. Atheism ... will it ever be settled?

Math doesn't prove anything really, since it fundamentally relies on axioms. 

Textbook wrote: I know this will set the theists aflame so I'm really talking to the non-theists here- Do you think there is any grounds for a non-theist to not offer jobs to theists over a legitimate concern over how this individual's mind works? On the surface it looks like prejudice, but many non-believers have said they have concerns over voting for politicians who believe and this doesn't seem to be controversial. So why can the same not apply to giving people positions in your company? I mean, imagine this job interview:   Me: So tell me about your core beliefs, what drives you in life and so on. Interviewee: My faith. Me: Tell me about that. Interviewee: I believe benevolent magical fairies govern the universe. M: What? I: They're all around us, controlling everything. Sometimes I whisper to them at night so that they will give me what I want. M: And do they? I: About half and half. But that it ever happens at all proves they're there. M: Mmhmm. Well I'm a bit concerned about what sense of responsibility and order of logic someone who believes in this has. I: Oh no, it's fine, I'll behave just like any other worker. I take full responsibility and I'll work hard to make things come out right. M: But surely that's in the hands of the magical fairies. I: Yes it is. M: So we're back to what I said just before. This gives me concerns about how you think and what kind of decisions you make. I: YOU'RE A RACIST!   And so on. Obviously I don't think this is prejudice but do you? Isn't it OK for an employer not to hire someone he finds irrational? And isn't this how a non-believer may see a theist?

Your question makes no sense since, as you yourself so eloquently stated:

Textbook wrote: "should" doesn't enter the picture. They will be or they won't.

However, I will answer it anyway. Employers should be allowed to employ or decline to employ anyone for any reason.

T: I'm afraid what you've said is absolutely wrong on both counts. A lot of top tier hard-headed businessmen like dealing in facts and certainties. People who genuinely rely on prayer-granting ghosts are treated with great suspicion. Now of course a lot of these top-tier businessmen may nominally be theists but if you get them alone and put a couple drinks in them, virtually without exception they'll happily trash the churches they go to every Sunday for appearances and call it BS. They will also, virtually without exception, make a very strong point that THEY, not some guy in the sky, are entirely responsible for their success and all that they have.

Mr ProgFreak wrote: Math doesn't prove anything really, since it fundamentally relies on axioms.

^ I'm not touching that one, since it's been a while since I learned this stuff and the devil's in the details, and I'm not going to make the mistake anymore in this or other threads and devote a lot of time to answering arguments that are irrelevant and/or beside the point.

Mr ProgFreak wrote: ^ I'm not touching that one, since it's been a while since I learned this stuff and the devil's in the details, and I'm not going to make the mistake anymore in this or other threads and devote a lot of time to answering arguments that are irrelevant and/or beside the point.

Equality 7-2521 wrote: Mr ProgFreak wrote: ^ I'm not touching that one, since it's been a while since I learned this stuff and the devil's in the details, and I'm not going to make the mistake anymore in this or other threads and devote a lot of time to answering arguments that are irrelevant and/or beside the point.   I don't mean to take the topic off course, but the way people through around Godel's theorem annoys me.

Tough sh*t.

^ Second only to libertarians.

We would have one rude child then Mike.

Mr ProgFreak wrote: rpe9p wrote: by the way this is my first time viewing this thread and your original post Mr ProgFreak wrote: And so the topic for this thread is: Are there any theists out there who think that they have any argument in favor of their belief that hasn't already been refuted over and over? embodies everything that annoys me about atheists.  Of course nothing is settled, because we know absolutely nothing for sure.  It is unbelievable to me how many atheists act as though their beliefs have been logically proven correct.  I'm all about logic, but to me it seems illogical to put so much blind faith in your own powers of observation to think we can draw logical conclusions about concepts we cannot even begin to understand So - are you one of those gravitation-deniers? Come on, we can't prove anything "for sure", but we can examine claims and make an educated guess about whether they are likely to be true. "Beyond reasonable doubt" is good enough for me, and it is good enough for Theists in most aspects of their daily life except for their religion.