Introduction to Skeptics

I am going to refer to this introduction post often because it's very easy to read blogs and have knee-jerk reactions.

So first off, I am Ben and I am a Skeptic. What does that mean and why did I capitalize it? Let's get a Wikipedia definition for triteness.  Skepticism is "generally any questioning attitude toward knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere."

I like to think of Skepticism as the opposite of Gulliblism (that's not a word). Gullible people believe anything they are told, despite any strangeness and with little critical thinking. Skeptics pride themselves on doubt and logic.

So why Anonymous? Because in today's world, being a Skeptic is like being a cynic. It's seen as a pejorative term.  But when we talk about it being the opposite of gullible, it sounds pretty good right? If it wasn't for Skeptics, parents wouldn't tell their kids: "Don't talk to strangers." We say that because we are skeptical that a stranger has our children's best interests at heart.

Then why is Skepticism frowned upon? Mostly because its virtue is only applied to certain situations like the one above. We are taught to be skepitcal of strangers, but to never question the stories we are told in Bible school. All this being said, there are some fantastic and compelling reasons to support religion and a deistic religion. One example is Evidence for God from Science.

I will refer to this website often because frankly it has some of the best-formed reasons why Christians are right about their worldview. Often both sides sling mud, and discussions quickly deteriorate. The opinions and arguments are well-formed on EGS, which makes them quite interesting to read.

I want to make one last point on the introduction. My feelings on the subject at hand are going to be largely obvious, but I will do my best to present arguments from the opposite viewpoint. This way, readers can determine on their own whether to be a Skeptic or not. Additionally, as you can probably tell, I am writing this in a very conversational tone. I won't pretend to be an expert in this field, so I won't pretend to write in a technical or authoritative tone.

All that said, let's get to work Skeptics!