| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 8:30:32 AM | | I guess this is a pretty broad question but I would hope that there is a god but how can anyone be so sure when there is not a real evidence of such. Must it all be taken completely by faith? What is the best evidence for and against? | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 9:19:36 AM |
What is the best evidence for and against?
Best evidence for: none
Best evidence against: none
Personally, when I'm confronted by an absence of evidence I prefer to suspend judgement. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 9:30:20 AM |
What is the best evidence for and against?
Look around. All that exists had to come through some agency. Consider all the natural laws that exist to maintain this existance. Random chance would not bring that about. An intelligence far beyond our own had to be involved. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 9:31:24 AM | Must it all be taken completely by faith?
I think so. Yes.
What is the best evidence for and against?
I don't think there could ever really be any evidence, as in empirical terms. Here's why:
-who's god? which god? Define god in every aspect. Can we get people from differing points of view to agree?
-Once that's defined, if ever. How can we know this "god" is not just some advanced life form that posseses knowledge, technology, etc. that we don't understand. Arthur C. Clarke posited that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". I would add that any sufficient advanced technology not understood by the observer is indistinguishable from magic. So how do we know it's not just some advanced life form and not the divine?
-How do we know this "evidence" of a god is not some type of mass delusion?
I am an atheist, but I do not discount the POSSIBILITY of the existence of a god, only because I can't say for sure there isn't one, this keeps me from being in argumentum ad ignoratium. But I do not believe because there is no evidence of one to date. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 9:33:26 AM | | Faith as small as a mustard seed.... | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 9:50:26 AM | | to me its a feeling of sanctity,a oneness with creation.god is spirit.to love "god",is to love period.the ability to forgive,see the good,appreciate life and bathe in its splender.thats "god" to me.i pray everyday for the ability to do so. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 10:44:43 AM |
Look around. All that exists had to come through some agency.
As in a creator? Why?
Consider all the natural laws that exist to maintain this existance. Random chance would not bring that about.
Why do you think the are called NATURAL laws and not SUPERnatural ?? Why wouldn't random chance bring this about??
An intelligence far beyond our own had to be involved.
Ahh, that's why, the classic fallacy of argument from incredulity... we can't conceive any other explanation, so it's "goddidit".......... | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 10:48:19 AM |
Ahh, that's why, the classic fallacy of argument from incredulity... we can't conceive any other explanation, so it's "goddidit"..........
Yes, it is less incredulous then the argument that "chance" did it. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 10:52:36 AM | If everything is the result of some agency, then that argument can be extended to say that God is the result of some agency, which would make God not God. The agency could be random chance, and if so - and in the absence of verifiable evidence for the existence of God - then eliminate the middle-"God" and simplify things.
So, my conclusion is: No, there is no God.
I also think life in all its variety and interaction is far too complex to be designed - it had to evolve. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 11:30:33 AM | | Yes indeed, you gotta love evolution and that big bang theory. When I wanted a new car I just dropped a bomb on a junk yard and when they smoke cleared away I had a brand new Rolls Royce. It worked for me the first time I tried it. But if at first it doesn't work for you, try try again. Surely it will work one time out of ten wont it? Maybe one in a million then? How about one in a billion, a trillion, a bezillion, a gazillion ...? Don't give up. It'll work for you eventually. I'm almost sure of it. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 11:47:28 AM | Of course there isn't.
Are there unicorns and fairies?
Can you prove there aren't? | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 12:02:26 PM | There might be thousands.....or more
or none at all
"god" is a pretty loose term actually. There is no empirical "proof" of divine beings, yet the rumour persists
Many who do believe in divinity probably accept our subjective experience and thought matrix as "proof"...scientific, it is not....it's purely subjective. It therefore does require a certain amount of "suspended" judgement.. or faith, if you will.
No one can answer this for another. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 12:08:01 PM | Yes, it is less incredulous then the argument that "chance" did it.
We can show chance to be existant, we don't have evidence of god, unless we start thinking in circular logic like "the evidence for god is nature because god created nature", or arguments from incredulity "What else but god could have created nature and the universe, the "goddidit" escape hatch.
At best, we can only say we don't know for sure...
But you keep laughing if it makes you feel better... | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 12:23:12 PM | E.g.
Looking at intelligent design.... believers will probably for a while find supposedly irreducibly complex life forms. For a while, the flagellum was considered to be irreducibly complex but even that has seen potential evolutionary pathways proposed.
I think it's too easy to say... 'god did it'
Chance?
Frankly, with the size of the universe, the number of stars and the number of planets that exist. Statistically, it's not ridiculous for this (and many other) planets to have evolved life forms on it. It takes millions and millions of years to evolve. It's not an overnight procedure. It takes time and it really is survival of the fittest. NOTE: Every life form that exists on this planet is driven by the same basic instincts.... to pro-create and to survive long enough to pro-create (if not longer).
As for how did life begin? look at new scientist magazine and search for origin of life. It's explained and goes into some heavy chemistry that i couldn't fit on this page.
If god does exist...in his infinite power.... why did he make such a rubbish world... earthquakes, volcanoes, starvation, suffering beyond belief, george bush, gordon brown and the rest of the nasties of the world.
He could have made everything PERFECT.
He could have made us live forever and made it such that THAT was the way it was supposed to be.
If there is a god. He's a complete W***er and I'm glad that I'm be going to hell 
PERSONALLY.... (opinion only) I think people should ask themselves questions and see if god is just their convenient answer or the perfect crutch for them so that they don't think that there's nothing after we finally turn up our toes.
That's my opinion anyway. Sorry if it sounds aggressive, I just get quite passionate about this sometimes and carried away and it makes me think HOW can people believe when in my mind, it's so blindingly obvious that there isn't.
Again sorry if i seem to get carried away.... i could go on for hours (more) But i shan't. | |
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| Is there a mod?
Posted: 3/7/2008 12:23:52 PM | A more important question is, "Is there a mod?"
Is there a mod that will come and delete redundant and essentially flamebait threads that are going to end up locked due to the essential polarizing nature of the question and the potential for hijacking, prosletyzing, exclusivity of truth claims, and inability of many parties to conduct an argument? It's happened before...
Our moderator, who art in the Server,
Varied be thy names,
Thy Job Is Thankless, ThyWill Be Done,
On Threads as it is in Topics.
Give us this day our daily ruling,
And Lead us not into divisiveness,
But deliver us from Trolls
For thine is the last word,
The Power and the ability to delete, ban, and Suspend
Without mercy for a fortnight and forever
Amen. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 12:33:08 PM | Haha!! ^^^
No, there isn't. And it okay to let the 'belief' go. It's fine...really it is. It sort of feels the same way it did when you're finally told
that there is no Santa. Or that the tooth fairy is really your mom:)
At first you might feel a little disappointed and perhaps even a little let down. But at the same time you feel kind of relieved.
You're relieved to know that you weren't crazy after all.
And you're very relieved to know that the world you live in is NOT made up of ghost and goblins and witches and fairies and men and reindeers capable of flying the world over in one night. Something that never quite resonated with you to begin with.
And you're also relieved to know that Santa or the tooth fairy didn't just ignore the "poor" children after all. It all starts to makes sense.
And that sense of loss you might have felt at first is quickly replaced with this feeling of pure joy at knowing that the world is
exactly the way it appears to be.
And then and only then do you finally grasp the concept that YOU and YOU alone are in control of your own destiny. Not some
man in a red suit [or a god] who watches over you from 'above' to see if you've been good [heaven] or bad [hell].
And that's how it was and still is for me and this is just my opinion...to each their own.
JMHO | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 12:57:35 PM | Lol@Madfiddler
It is comforting to finally realize that life originated from nothing, means nothing and rushes to nothing. All the toil and tribulation has no more meaning then yesterdays garbage. No hope, forget the dreams. Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. Our destiny controlled by some mad politician who will sacrifice your short life for his greater glory.
Lol, no wonder an estimated 50% of americans are on anti-depressants. Pass the prozac please. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 1:03:51 PM | There is no evidence that 'love' exists. Yet people believe it does.
As a matter of fact, there is no evidence that any abstract concept exists - it wouldn't be 'abstract' otherwise. It makes me laugh when people keep insisting they only believe in things which can be proven through 'evidence' because so few things actually can be. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 1:11:05 PM | arguement for? denial, delusion, escape, cure for guilt, curtail the fear of death, feel like you belong somewhere.
against? having a sense of personal power, being accountable to yourself and mankind, to keep asking questions and being curious, to believe in mankind and our ability to solve our own problems.
One of the most popular religions believes in a god who created mankind in his own image but born in sin doomed to die and go to hell. so to correct this little mistake he found a virgin and broke himself in half and popped in her to be born and live as a human to be persecuted and put to death by us so he can save us... the interesting thing is he did this without any witnesses at all. Without any real account to his even being alive. pretty amazing.
The good news to the rest of the world is that there will be a rapture. How long must we endure.... still waiting | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 1:20:09 PM |
When I wanted a new car I just dropped a bomb on a junk yard and when they smoke cleared away I had a brand new Rolls Royce.
That's because a Rolls Royce is manufactured and not a living, evolving organism that can reproduce itself. It's transportation, but a horse can do that for you too - and horses evolved. Living things don't respond too well to bombs, either. | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 1:21:46 PM | "The good news to the rest of the world is that there will be a rapture."
A rapture, I believe I experienced that last night, and I even used the diety's name! | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 2:55:57 PM |
Look around. All that exists had to come through some agency. Consider all the natural laws that exist to maintain this existance. Random chance would not bring that about. An intelligence far beyond our own had to be involved.
Perhaps the most thoroughly tested natural law is the conservation of energy. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. look around. The evidence of our senses and reason says that the universe always existed. The evidence tells us that no god is needed. God is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist and which creates more problems than it solves. Who created god? If you can conceive an uncreated god that is more complex than the universe then why can't you conceive of an uncreated universe | |
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| Is there a god?
Posted: 3/7/2008 3:25:54 PM | | if you need to ponder the exsistance of the spirit,you havnt found it yet. | |
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| Is there a thought?
Posted: 3/7/2008 3:31:37 PM | | I guess this is a pretty broad question but I would hope that there is a thought but how can anyone be so sure when there is not a real evidence of such? Must it all be taken completely by faith? What is the best evidence for and against? | |
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| Is there a thought?
Posted: 3/7/2008 3:41:30 PM | Must it all be taken completely by faith?
i am affraid so.it all doesnt make much sense otherwise. | |
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