Raw_Power comments on The annoyingness of New Atheists: declaring God Dead makes you a Complete Monster? - Less Wrong

-7 Post author: Raw_Power 17 January 2011 01:13AM

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Comment author: Raw_Power 17 January 2011 01:13:21AM 0 points [-]

Occam's Razor has never even been a factor in my turning: I was never looking for "the simplest theory", only "the most consistent theory". It is religion's inconsistencies and predictive uselessness that did the trick for me. Perhaps Occam is implicit in that?

Comment author: Dreaded_Anomaly 17 January 2011 01:36:26AM *  1 point [-]

Consistency and predictive ability are also important for beliefs, and recognizing that religion lacks them may help turn away someone who is already feeling unsteadiness. The people about whom I'm talking are those who are absolutely convinced of their beliefs by subjective experiences (because, in my experience, these are the most difficult people against whom to argue). We can't deny the fact of the experience, but we can deny the explanation it is claimed to support.