Questions from an agnostic

Humblesmith,

re: "If he says no, then his problem is not evidence, but refusal to believe."

Are you implying that you think that a person has the ability to consciously CHOOSE to believe that someone or something does or doesn’t exist or that a certain proposition is or isn’t true?

 

It's amazing how quickly so-called contradictions fade from view when one is encountered by the Living Christ.

 

Interesting question. I'm currently studying this exact thing in an epistemology class. My instructor doesn't believe that it's possible to choose to deny what your mind clearly percieves. It's an interesting point.....at first glance, I'd say that the mind is more complex than that, able to deny what it clearly perceives. Look at the people who get devastating news, such as terminal cancer, and their mental defence mechanisms kick in, and they go into denial. Also, plenty of people make statements about the existence of God, whether the bible is true, and doctrinal positions, and people can clearly grasp the propositions yet disagree.

But I'm still studying about the "automatic belief" thing, I'm not sure. Cognition and mental states are an interesting thing.