Can you via logic make an atheist believe in the existence of God?

Question

I know, I’m answering my own question, but I do not believe you can. All logic can do is give validity to a concept. Validity by the way does not equal truth. You can give an atheist your conclusion, the hypothesis and theory that lead you to that conclusion, but ultimately there has to be empirical evidence that they personally experience, or a leap of faith, in order for them to believe. Personally I don't know how crucial it is for everyone to believe in the Existence of God as I am sure that there are many morally sound atheists and that via enough lifetimes they'll figure it our anyway. How’s that for empirical?

Jsem24, the point you make true or not is just another argument.

You don't, though many in ignorance may try.

cpt_fevers_f..., In general I agree but you forgot one more possibility, reasonable assumptions.

Ashleigh, no.

Wise Guy, so says the rhetoric of you and he.

the_pretty_o..., I don't think it is about logic so much as it should be not being attached to our dear mental attachments.

picard, logic does not prove this, you very existence does. But I understand what you meant.

iknowtruthis..., I don't think logic can prove non superstitious beliefs either.

ajgoestogether I whole heartedly agree : )

EyesLikeHoles, faith is not necessarily higher than logic in that you can have faith in many things including when you die after blowing yourself and others up you will be greated by 72 virgins.

patronne06, I was with you all the way till you had to specify who you think God is.

Johnny Bravo, true, true.

Adam T, thinking for oneself is never a bad thing, though so think too much hence they cannot sense the true nature of reality.

tonalc1, glad to be of service : )

Zoofashan *, I am sure some will try with their various beakers and chemical reactions.

Resurrectionist, according to me, I think therefore there is thought.

mike_castaldo, maybe I gave some too much credit. My reference to the epirical has to do with being out in the sea of life, or lives as it may be, long enough to put together the experiential pieces of evidence in order understand the existence of the Divine.

science_geek, asking helps, but if you ask you are pretty much already there.

Jakob the Li..., you are so right

Answer 1

You are correct in that you answered your own question, and very well also. For logic to work, a mutually agreed-to set of axioms needs to be in place, and it is unlikely that a theist and an atheist will be in accord with that. By the same token, an atheist cannot in reverse disprove the existence of God or gods to theists.

Answer 2

There is a difference between a logical conclusion and logic it self. Logic used based off of belief, will never have a conclusion. Logic must be based off of fact. A fact does not need belief to be a fact. The sky is blue, even if you do not believe it, the sky is still blue. It does not need your belief to be blue. The fact that it is blue can be proved just by looking at it. If I believe the Bible to be true, well that's all good, but there is no way to confirm it's validity, no matter how many times you read it, or much you believe it to be true. It's as simple as that.

Answer 3

There is no empirical evidence. There are logical arguments for the existence of God that can help persuade others if they are seeking, but I wouldn't expect them to suddenly cede a former way of life for the life of a deist or a believer. But over time it may have an impact. That's the beauty of God - He is available to all who allow themselves to be willing to believe.

The only real great American psychologist, William James, called God consciousness a process. In "Varieties of Religious Experience," he stated that very few people are instantly converted. Most people believe it is an instantaneous and dramatic change. It is for me, but very few. Most people have a gradual and educated conversion. Something that starts with the seed of an idea, grows and flowers into fruition almost imperceptibly.

So open your mind to the possibility that God is real. Billions of people can't all be wrong.

Answer 4

If there was logical evidence pointing to the existence of any sort of supernatural being, then yes you could. Since, however there is no logical evidence pointing towards it, then... no you can't.

And that wasn't empirical. At all.

For those who apparently need a refresh of freshman high school science: "A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent on evidence that is observable by the senses."

So yeah. Science: 1. You: -1

Answer 5

How high is your logic developed?
Are you sure your logic would be sufficient to comprehend a complex being like GOD?????

Give it a try check out the "String Theory", though a theory based on logic it includes empirical evidence as well and might give you the answer you are looking for.

Answer 6

No, you can't

Someone who believes can explain why THEY believe but there is no way to explain it logically as it's a nebulous concept.
I know there's a God... I know it when I wake to birdsong and sunrise and I knew it at the birth of my son and the death of my father. Those things can't be explained to my son who's going through his search for faith at the moment. What he learned from us is that we've set a good example as people who happen to be Christians. He's shown himself to be a good, compassionate, caring and thoughtful person so, whether he chooses the same faith path we're on or whether he finds his own path, I think there'll be the same light at the end of his path as there is at the end of ours, just as there will be for all good people of different faiths (or non-faiths).

Religion is primarily an accident of birth... most people choose the religion they're born into and rarely are called upon to spend their 40 days in the desert as Moses, Elijah and Jesus to test their faith but that doesn't mean faith isn't real and deep in those who have it.

"validity.. does not equal truth" I couldn't have said it better :)

Answer 7

The problem with this argument is that atheists, if they know what is good for them, stay away from it. the reason being that they cannot logically disprove the existence of God.
So, while logic has convinced many an atheist (CS Lewis, for example) that there is a God, the flip side of that coin is that it must be logic that they themselves discover... speaking of empirical ;)

Answer 8

I don't understand this "Leap of Faith" nonsense. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our might, and with what else?? That's right all our mind. Christianity is completely logical in every facet otherwise there would be droves of apostates.

Answer 9

You're right, you have answered your own question. Applying logic to religious faith is a sticky wicket.

And thank you--you're the first person I've seen on here that doesn't believe it's crucial for someone to believe in god.

Answer 10

C.S. Lewis wrote a book that did just that.

Using observation and logic the book "Mere Christianity" establishes God as fact.

Amazon has 118 available.