2007-12-26 07:27:34 · 38 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
He could appear before every human on Earth, simultaneously, and personally explain himself with the kind of wisdom and clarity that only an all-knowing being would have...
2007-12-26 07:30:02 · answer #1 · answered by The Reverend Soleil 5 · 10⤊ 4⤋
First we have to define "exists." For far too many Christians, God "exists" simply because He appears within their subjective mental experiences. Sorry, that's just not good enough. The fact a person can imagine an abstraction within their mind, does not prove that the abstraction actually exists anywhere, except as an idea within the mind of that believer.
Because I am committed to scientific principles, I know that only the physical realm has been mathematically proved to be the basis of objective reality. In other words, only the physical actually objectively exists. Everything else we can think of is merely an abstraction created by the neurological processes within our own living brains. If God were to actually exist, He would have to do so within the physical realm. If this were the case, God's existence would be as obvious as sunlight, or as radiowaves, or as sensible heat, or as whatever other form of electromagnetic energy is absorbed and/or emitted by His body. Only things which are part of the physical realm can be truly said to exist. If God were actually part of the physical, we would already have easily detected His existence, long ago. The obvious fact that there is no evidence to support God's physical existence, effectively proves He does not actually exist. Having spent more than five decades vigorously resisting countless attempts by religious zealots to brainwash me, nothing short of a genuine physical manifestation could ever convince me God is anything but the daydreams of the truly deluded.
2007-12-26 08:01:30 · answer #2 · answered by Diogenes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Very good question.
(For once. In this area of Answers)
Scientific evidence of GOD...which seems a bit unlikely right on the face of it. If science found evidence of GOD, formulated a theory and demonstrated the usefulness and predictive power of that theory, then GOD wouldn't be supernatural anymore...he would be a natural phenomenon.
It seems highly unlikely that science would formulate a theory in such a way that GOD should be obeyed...inconsistent with the predictive power of science...
That is, if GOD exists, then science will one day find him and classify him into the catalog of the natural universe. But science would not ipso facto validate religion.
Without doing a complete sci-fi geek-out, I would point to the world of science fiction and Stargate SG1 the TV show to illustrate my point. The original bad guys (Go'uald) are aliens pretending to be gods -- debunked by "science" as an alien race using technology simple cultures didn't understand. The final bad guys (Ori) are higher beings demanding obedience because of their power -- debunked by science as neither all powerful nor all knowing, but very nonetheless extraordinarily powerful. Science joins the philosophical and political leadership to oppose the gods in terms of human rights.
2007-12-26 08:03:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When people have their minds set on something, just about nothing short of (with the god exists issue, for example) having god appear to them will change their minds. I'm not saying atheists are wrong, nor am I saying christians are right. All I am saying is that it is very difficult to persuade anyone of anything, especially if they have the contrary stuck in their mind.
2007-12-26 07:32:36 · answer #4 · answered by φοίνικας 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I have reasonable expectations:
He must provide measurable evidence that I can use to not only prove his existence but understand his will with.
If God has determined that the results of being misled or non belief are eternal torture, then he is responsible to provide an unquestionable choice for salvation. Reliance on faith cannot be good enough, because all religions and myth relies on faith for belief. So it is too easy for mankind to adopt the wrong faith based belief, because it cannot be measured or conclusively proven as false.
The bible cannot be used as a reference because after all, other religions have biblical like text that contradicts it.
If God is all powerful and loving, then he is morally obligated to unquestionably reveal himself to all mankind. Using 'free will' as an excuse for his inaction is specious.
2007-12-26 07:32:29 · answer #5 · answered by ɹɐǝɟsuɐs Blessed Cheese Maker 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Do not fret, all the "atheists" in this section ALREADY BELIEVE.....There are no REAL atheists here and if you try to expose them for being fence sitters in front of there friends here they get very upset (they still do not realize there friends are fence sitters also) NO REAL atheist like I used to be would ever come to a site like this with soooooooo much religion. They are really seeking God but still not ready to be seen in a church so they come here and try hard to look "atheist" while they learn about Jesus.
2007-12-26 07:34:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Which God? Last I heard religion first evolved as polytheistic and pantheistic. Monotheism didn't come until Zoroastrianism, shortly followed by Judaism. As for organized religions, their texts have been destroyed by modern knowledge, take away all that knowledge we have gained, my logical sense, and I'd still have my moral sense. The Gods of most cultures made thousands of years ago reflect it, they are barbaric deities whom I could never in my right mind subscribe to.
2007-12-26 07:33:05 · answer #7 · answered by Jett 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
If god exists he is not the shallow, limited, simplistic, jealous, narrow minded bigot that is written about in your bible.
The one who kills children.
The one who doesn't allow women to speak in church
The one who delights is the smell of burnt sacrifices
The one who tests his faithful by allowing them to kill their sons
The one who approves of sending a man's daughter to an angry mob (to be raped and killed), in order to protect a visitor in your house that the mob is after (and not a good man)
The one who kills all the people in the world by flooding (including the children)
The one who approves of killing your children for disobedience
Yeah, if there is a god, he ain't that one!
If there is a god he would be much more happy with someone that used the gift of intelligence and reason to explore the natural world and do good by his fellow man, just because he/she understood it was the best way to be.
If there is a god, he would be much more delighted with those of us that are honest, decent and good - just for the mere sake of being good, and not for fear of eternity in hell.
If there is a god, he is not the petty god that gives a s**t if you believe in him and worship him - is that the only way he can have friends??
2007-12-26 07:48:41 · answer #8 · answered by Twist 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Why are u so hell bent on converting atheists? Im a christian, but I dont see the point of forcing ur beliefs on to others who clearly have their own beliefs and are managing well with them. We believe in God and they dont - who is to say we are more correct than them.
Let everyone be - More people have lost their lives in the name of christianity than in the name of not believing in God.
2007-12-26 07:35:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I'd believe in god if god's prophets built an altar, and then prayed to god to send down fire to consume the altar, and it really happened. Of course I'd have to put a few controls on the situation to keep them from cheating, but that Biblical (1 Kings 18) test would do it for me.
Any takers? Any Christian who comes here insisting that we atheists are "fools" for not believing is welcome to contact me to set up that Biblical test of god's existence.
I won't even insist on slaughtering you if your god fails the test, though that's what the Bible proudly proclaims was done to the prophets of Baal, who failed it.
2007-12-26 07:33:47 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
I think I've answered this before, but a demonstration of faith by gathering hundreds of Christians together and having them, say, jump off a bridge, would be a good start.
If you're not prepared to try this, even if only to save one soul, I'd say your faith is pretty weak to start with.
2007-12-26 07:32:31 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋