A challenge to theists?

Question

You and I both have 5 senses: Sight, Smell, Taste, Touch, and Hearing. I cannot utilize any of these senses to perceive a "god." Why, then, should I believe that one exists? Do not give me BS about the importance of faith, I've heard it all before.

And to those who are going to bring up First Cause theory, saying "OMG, What caused the Big Bang?! It must be God!!"

...I don't know what caused it. Not everything on Earth has a KNOWN answer. There IS a logical, scientific reason behind the Big Bang Theory, we just haven't discovered it yet. I am compelled more to spend my life pondering a scientific theory than to blindly accept that some random deity created the universe.

And, please, spare the humor.

It is not FAITH that there is an answer to the Big Bang Theory, it is FACT, for every question that exists has a counterpart, an answer. It is just that humanity does not yet have all of the answers. I believe that religion is backward and that we, as a species, could spend our time more wisely, making advances in Medicine, Government, Space Exploration, et cetera. You are thinking, now, that Religion does not hinder these advances...Lets see, stem cell research could lead to cures for all sorts of ailments, yet the Pope will have you believe that a human blastula, essentially a ball of cells, is alive and has basic human rights. It's ridiculous. Furthermore, the Pope would rather have people contract AIDS than to use condoms, for contraception goes against the "sacredness of sexuality." You will say, now, that you should not be having premarital sex in the first place...Guess what? People have, they are, and they always will: Like it or not, humans are just another species of animal.

Answer 1

"There IS a logical, scientific reason behind the Big Bang Theory, we just haven't discovered it yet."

So you are taking that on faith I take it.

You can not utilize any of your senses to perceive this "logical, scientific reason" that you accept with blind faith.
Yet you blindly believe in it anyway.

Why?

I'd guess that you blindly accept this supposed "logical and scientific, yet still undiscovered" reason for purely emotional reasons.

It sounds to me that you are a lot less "Rational and scientific" than you think you are. At the risk of speculating without any data, I'd guess your afraid of religion. Religion, certianly Christianity, would require you to grow, change, and do things are afraid to do.

So you put your faith in less demanding places. After all the logical, scientific and yet still undiscovered reason behind the Big Bang Theory that you blindly accept on faith isn't going to ask you to clean up your act, treat people decently, give to charity, not sleep in on Sunday morning, and treat women as something besides sex objects.

And BTW, you can't see, smell, taste, touch, or hear X-rays either... or gamma rays, microwaves, or radio waves for that matter. Somehow I suspect they still exist though.

Answer 2

You have not found God because you are looking in the wrong place.

I feel I must give the lie to anyone who says, "I'm looking for God, but I can't find God!" Let that person try to do everything in the truth, free from the demon of pride and the suffocating density of egoism. Let every trace of racism be rooted out, let everyone be welcomed as a brother or sister, and you will see … you will see!

Live love. Act truth. Honor life. And it will be the God beyond you whom you live, act and honor. God will not come to you because you have become "good." God was already there. God has always been coming and always is coming. But now you see God because you have purified your eyes, softened your heart and stooped down.

Remember, God was always there … the only difficulty was that you were unable to see. Now you identify love and light and life more and more with God. You see God even if God is still veiled and expressed in the mysterious parable of created things.

Peace and blessings!

Answer 3

>>>You and I both have 5 senses: Sight, Smell, Taste, Touch, and Hearing. I cannot utilize any of these senses to perceive a "god." Why, then, should I believe that one exists?>>>

Where's the challenge?

This is an easy one. One word -- AIR.

You can't see, touch, taste, smell, or hear air.

But it exists, right?

Things exist beyond our five senses. To believe otherwise is incredibly arrogant and human-centered.

Think outside the box.

Your body is a complex machine -- far more complex than any computer or any other apparatus.

The fact that a computer exists proves that someone brought it into existence. Someone created it -- the computer's creation is proof of that.

Well, our bodies are far more complex than the computer -- and we exist, which could only happen if something created us.

.

Answer 4

Who says you have to believe anything. Go on don't believe a thing. You really really don't have to.
I have a question of my own to you: What do you hope to achieve with your question? You have made up your mind that God does not exist so why rub it in our faces?
The last time I checked religious conviction was not compulsory in any advanced Western society so your freedom from religion is assured. What more can we do for you?

Answer 5

My connection to Deity exists largely in the world around me. It is in the energy of nature - I can see a waterfall and the waves lapping on the shore. I can smell freshly mown grass, and flowers blooming even if they stuff up my nose. Same for all the other senses. My senses each confirm the existance of Deity every day - the interconnectedness of myself to the larger world around me.

Answer 6

Who said you can't use your senses to perceive God? The Bible says that the heavens and all of creation declare the handy work of God. He gave you eyes both spiritual and physical to read his word and ears to hear the Truth. Now all you have to do is open your heart so that you may know the Truth and be set free by it . Otherwise you will remain just as those Jesus spoke of when he said, "they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!" (Matt. 4:12)

Answer 7

For every question in and of the universe there must be those that wonder at the question and those that promulgate or create the environment that calls forth the question in the minds of those that wonder. It is all a mystery wrapped in emotion and curiosity.

Answer 8

Nature and the whole of the universe bears witness to a creator. That is how you can use your 5 senses to perceive God.

Answer 9

Sometimes I feel the same way. But I believe it is important to believe in a higher power... that's from going to AA.

Answer 10

One should start these discussions by stating their justifications for the presuppositions informing their epistemology and ethical system.

One cannot simply state “I believe/don’t believe in {evolution, God, young earth, etc.} because anything else is not rational or there are no facts”, for to say this or similar things is irrelevant until one has first defined their presuppositions of truth, knowledge, and morality.

No one attempts to make their interpretation honest to “the facts”, but rather “the facts” are determined by reference to the individual’s system of interpretation. Therefore, our systems of interpretation (our presuppositions) determine how we look at the world. No one is a neutral explorer.

For example, the cumulative case arguments for the non-existence of God are often constructed without proper consciousness of the system of interpretation personally being applied to the evidence.

As the arguments are presented in this fashion, they belie the myth of objectivity. Therefore, such persons should quit acting as if they objectively evaluate the evidences in some neutral laboratory before they arrive at the likely rational conclusion. Both explorers (believers and non-believers) possess different commitments that control their interpretations of the evidences. Unless persons can articulate their world views, they will continue to talk past one another.

My world view is simple.

As a Christian, I presuppose a Triune God exists. Therefore, I am obliged to see all of reality in the light of who God is and what He has revealed to me in His word, the Bible, and in the world around me.

Furthermore, I am a Christian rationalist of the order of the practices of Augustine and Calvin. Borrowing from Crampton ("A Call for Christian Rationality"), “my rational system does not exalt the human mind as autonomous; instead, it affirms Biblical revelation as axiomatic. Divine revelation of Holy Scripture is a rational revelation. This revelation is internally self-consistent, non-contradictory, and non-paradoxical. A rational Christian reasons from revelation, not to revelation or apart from revelation. My Christian faith is intellectually defensible.”

While all of my questions will never be definitively answered, I find that rationally my belief is on solid ground. There are many things in the world I do not fully comprehend or experience with my five senses, yet we have no problems in believing them. For example, solar physics is not fully known, yet we all objectively accept, using our presuppositions and scientific discourse, the "fact" that the sun will rise tomorrow.

Persons that seek absolute proof (or factual evidence) of this or that are inconsistently applying logic and rationality, for these persons do not seek this same level of absoluteness in all things. Hence, their epistemologies are not fully baked; they speak without proper understanding of the nature of knowledge (epistemology).

Why is it we can believe in many things using rational analysis, even when what we believe is only partially known, yet when it comes to matters like a supreme being, we suddenly want the "show me beyond a shadow of doubt" proof? As Aristotle once stated, "It is the mark of an instructed mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits, and not to seek exactness when only an approximation of the truth is possible."

When evaluating evidences for belief, I base my judgments on the Bible and God’s revelations in the world around me. These are my presuppositions. Obviously, my presuppositions may not quite line up with your basic beliefs. Then where does that leave us? Are believers and non-believers left to snicker at one another while understanding that both sides possess presuppositions that taint the evidence? No. Even due to the fact that we possess different paradigms for interpreting our reality, I believe that by weighing the coherence of our worldviews much fruitful dialogue is available from this point.

In short, unless two parties to any discussion about belief/non-belief define their inherent presuppositions and the nature and grounds of knowledge, especially with reference to its limits and validity (epistemology), there can be no meaningful dialog.