Kishkumen wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 1:20 pm
I think where I part with you on this is your use of the words thought and think. To the infinite mind of God, according to classical theism, those words could only be used in a metaphorical sense. Human beings could not possibly know the thoughts of a being like that, and so one wonders what the point would be of worrying about them.
When I used the word concern, it was meant as interest, not anxious or worry, although that does come into play with many. Classical theism still does go into that territory of what God thinks even if is believed they cannot know more then a fraction. Many sacred scripture is all about this ultimate being interacting and communicating what it wants of us, which is why most theists are interested in it.
Furthermore, I am not really interested in pursuing an ad populum fallacy, in that what most people think is not a concern for me. Most people are idiots (in the narrow sense of not really having a concern for or a handle on larger issues). One of the things I find interesting about our current religio-philosophical discussions, as far as they go--and that is not very far, it that they sound a lot like consumer conversations about products. Most people buy this, this is why they prefer this, and they don't select this . . . vel sim.
Perhaps they are idiots, but most are part of that classical theism, and maybe they just think issues you consider large as trivial. I certainly see people in my own life have different ideas of what are important issues, and I don't think I am better because they don't spend time deeply thinking about the same things I do.
Why should it matter to any of us that most people think one thing or another? Why does this even figure into this discussion? In my view, it doesn't, and I don't care about it. What matters for practical purposes for the majority of people is of no concern to me.
Then why get into a discussion about what most people think?
It's also not uncommon for people in general to engage in sexual activity, including illicit sexual activity, for all kinds of reasons. Whether they choose to involve their God ideas in it or not, it looks like people are going to engage in sex. Take for example, the village atheist hero Richard Carrier. He declared himself to be polyamorous and decided to harass young women at Skeptics events. I note that he denies these allegations. Still, I think you will find that there are many people who do this kind of thing, regardless of their religious views or lack of such.
Of course people have many reasons to engage in sex or not. It's just that an atheist is not interested in reasons regarding God. My example was just one of many, and an extreme example that does happen.