2006-09-09 07:50:29 · 74 answers · asked by r t 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
When people claim nature is proof of god, that would be like a person who claims a giant turtle built nature, and nature is proof of the giant turtle. There are a nearly infinite number of possibilities of why nature exists. It is the height of fallacy to claim nature's existence is proof of any one of them.
sunamwal - einstein said no such thing. Please don't lie.
So far the best evidence anyone has given on here is the grilled cheese sandwich. I guess that is an indication of the lack of evidence to be found.
2006-09-09 07:58:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 2⤋
I just wrote the same answer for another question, and it's quite simple: Pascal's dilemma...
There are 2 scenarios:
1) Let's assume for a moment that God does not exist. What will happen to me if I did believe in God? Nothing, if you believe in the big bang, reincarnation, some equivalent of Nietzche's Thus Spake Zarathustra, Atheism, Agnosticism, etc. There is no down-side. Nothing bad will happen to you, right?
2) But let's assume God does exist, and you decide NOT to believe in God. Well, my friend, you may have a problem, according to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and other monotheistic religions. The possibility of Hell does exist in this scenario.
Conclusion: Your best bet is to believe in God. :)
Furthermore,YOU should prove to me that God does NOT exist. Give ME examples. Whichever side the scale tips, go with it. But first we have to do the proper weighing, don't we? It's kind of like an innocent until proven guilty, jurisprudential approach: God should exist (based on Pascal's dilemma) unless you can prove otherwise. And if you can't, hey man, just force yourself to believe and go through the motions, then hope for the best after you die. I know it's hard to force yourself, but do you really have any better options?
Peace be upon you (Assamalu alaykum).
2006-09-09 10:19:21 · answer #2 · answered by HQC 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you ever noticed that everyone in this world has a yearning in their body (mind) to wonder if there is more to life than trying to be a good person and be happy? We were all created with that yearning because there is MORE to life than our own little worlds we live in. Surely, I wasn't created over time from millions of years of evolution to become a secretary to sit behind a desk all day and that be my purpose for this life. No, instead, we are here to discover that life is not all about us. Once you take the focus off of yourself and how you want to live, you will see that "someone" has a better plan for you. Far better than you can comprehend. Nature tends to bring people closer to spirituality due to its beauty and complexity. I am a Christian so I agree that faith has a big part to do with believing in God, but also, you can't hide from the feeling that there is more to life than our menial lives. I would recommend doing some soul-searching and find out what makes you enjoy life to the fullest and know that you are here for a purpose. Maybe possibly read The Purpose Driven Life.
2006-09-11 09:26:43 · answer #3 · answered by Rachel B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Proof that God exists?
Science. People think that science disproves the existence of God. I believe science confirms God's existence.
Take for example the begining of life in the perspective of a scientist...
They say that life began with certain "perfect" conditions w/ mixtures of amino acids and other basic "life" ingredients at the beginning of time and this lead to life (trees, animals, us, etc.) as we know it today. My question is, if scientists are ever able to replicate all these will they be able to create "life"? (and no, cloning is not creating life.)
I believe only God can create life.
Honestly, i find it funny how atheists battle it out w/ christians. They accuse and criticize christians for their use of arguments coming from the bible. while they use arguments mostly from science. It kind of looks like this...
atheist (science book) <---> christians (bible)
Science isnt absolute. Its never constant, its relative. Most of the things science has proven are just "theories." Sometimes theories that are upgraded to "laws" are even disproved in the end.
On the other hand the bible and its accuracy, has been proven true over and over again. Not just by ordinary folks but also by scientists, archeologists, historians, etc. etc. as well. It has never changed. Just translated from one language to another.
If you want to believe science then fine, if you want to believe the bible then better.
Honestly, only time will tell who's right between atheists and christians...
a philosopher, Descartes, it think, put it mildly...
....believe, if there is no God then fine... but what if there is? (or something like that)
Lastly, this is the reason why christians are out there spreading the word. They simply care about their fellow people.
Atheists or atheists-a-like, let me ask you this, how would you act around the people around you (especially those you cared about), if you believed with all your heart that a God does exists and if you don't believe you'd go to hell?
there isnt a second chance, once you cross over to the after-life (given there is.), it's over.
and, to previous answers, YES, i do believe the bible would hold in court. : )
2006-09-09 08:56:21 · answer #4 · answered by coolbob31 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not going to pretend that an actual "proof" exists; it doesn't.
However, a religious person worth their weight in ink would never use scripture as "proof." The reason for wanting God to exist is much larger than the rituals and ramblings of illiterate desert chieftains and their minions. Believers who are worth the price of a conversation are convinced there must be something more to the universe than what "meets the eye." They are awed by the majesty and vastness of it all. Many of them feel a profound sense of communion with that immensity - and they can't imagine that awe is simply a result of their own existence and limitations.
I am not one of these, but my point is God doesn't arise out of scriptures, but out of the collective human activity called "culture." You will either need him (them) or not, but don't expect a proof.
2006-09-09 08:08:01 · answer #5 · answered by JAT 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds to me like somebody tried to convert you, but you had a problem with their circular reasoning. I suggest you use it against them like so:
1. They say the Bible, Koran, etc. is the word of God.
2. You ask, how do you know?
3. They tell you it says so in the Bible, Koran, etc.
4. You ask, how they know that passage is correct, and they jump back to step 1.
Eventually, they'll relent, and you'll have done your good deed for the day by having kept them from bothering some one else!
2006-09-09 08:00:00 · answer #6 · answered by nospamcwt 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
God is apparent in the self-realization of one's own unique existence and ability of freewill choices. We have the innate ability to stand alone from single-minded animal instincts. We do not require such consciousness to survive evolutionarily speaking, but do require such awareness to exist spiritually. The concept of the Big Bang Theory where everything was created from nothing is just as far fetched as a Supreme Being doing the job. God does not exist as we do and therefore cannot be reckoned in our terms. To know that one's existence is special, is the proof that one has been created.
2006-09-10 17:28:15 · answer #7 · answered by Edwin D 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you prove to me that Santa Clause exists then I'll prove to you that god exists.
Deal?
I get a kick out of the people who answer "just look around". Like evolutionary process is proof of god's existence? Like just because of the world's complexity, it must have been created by a god?? Such tremendously flawed logic serves as absolute truth for these people. Wow. Is there anything so outlandish that some people WON'T believe in it? Probably not. Man is a funny creature.
2006-09-09 07:59:05 · answer #8 · answered by ratboy 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Everything comes from something. There is no such thing as something coming out of nothing. Everything has a source, which has a source, which has a source etc. If we trace back to that original source, from which everything is coming, that is called God (or you can call it otherwise if you want). Now, because so many personalities are coming out of that original source, we can conclude that that original source must also possess personality. So the conclusion is that there is a Supreme Person from Whom everything is coming, and that person is tradicionally called God.
2006-09-13 06:28:09 · answer #9 · answered by H. B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm an atheist. Once i had that discussion with my cousin, who is very intelligent. He ended up acknowledging that it is just FAITH! I totally respect people who believe in God as long as they don't tell me that the Bible is THE TRUTH (or whichever Holy Book they refer to) and that I should just look at the sun or around me to believe in God! That's not proof of his existence.
I don't believe in God because I believe in logic and science (I'm not a scientist: I studied English), and there's nothing in there that has ever proved me that a supreme being exists.
For me, it's just faith. I don't have it. Full stop. If faith helps people, if it gives them a reason to live, if it gives them a moral, then , I'm happy for them. But I don't need religion to tell me what's good or bad. I think I'm intelligent enough to know what's good and what's not; to know when my freedom ends (where that of other people begins); and so on.
Congratulation to "nospancwt": circular reasoning. I think a lot of hard core Christians (or believers) have never heard of that!
2006-09-09 08:00:21 · answer #10 · answered by Offkey 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋