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Question Posed – An interesting site I thought some people might want to check out; please do not raise havoc if you do not agree. Thank You!
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Does God Exist – The Big Questions
Does God exist? An answer to this fundamental question is a prerequisite for answering the other big questions of life: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Do we serve a purpose? Do we have any intrinsic value? What happens after we die? The question of the existence of God is fundamental.
Does God Exist – A Philosophical Issue
Before we ask the question “Does God exist?” we first have to deal with our philosophical predispositions. If, for example, I am already dedicated to the philosophical idea that nothing can exist outside of the natural realm (i.e. there can be no supernatural God), no amount of evidence could convince me otherwise. Asking the question “does God exist?” would be pointless. My answer would be “No, He doesn’t,” regardless of whether God truly exists or not. The question would be impossible to answer from an evidential standpoint simply because anything which God might have done (that is, any supernatural act which might serve as evidence for His existence) would have to be explained away in terms of natural causes, not because we know what those natural causes could possibly be, but simply because a supernatural God is not allowed to exist!
Dr. Richard Lewontin, the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University, put it like this: “It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door” (Richard Lewontin, “Billions and Billions of Demons,” New York Review of Books, January 9, 1997, p. 28).
If, on the other hand, I were neutral, and didn’t already have an “a priori adherence” to a particular worldview (be it naturalistic or otherwise), the question “does God really exist?” wouldn’t be pointless at all. Rather, it would be the first step in an objective and meaningful search for ultimate truth. Our willingness to ask the question with an open mind is fundamental to our ability to discover the truth behind the answer. So first of all, before you even ask the question, decide whether or not you’re really willing to accept the answer.
Does God Exist – Things to Consider
Once you’re ready to ask the question, “does God exist?” here are a few observations to consider as you begin your search for an objective answer:
* Discoveries in astronomy have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the universe did, in fact, have a beginning. There was a single moment of creation.
* Advances in molecular biology have revealed vast amounts of information encoded in each and every living cell, and molecular biologists have discovered thousands upon thousands of exquisitely designed machines at the molecular level. Information requires intelligence and design requires a designer.
* Biochemists and mathematicians have calculated the odds against life arising from non-life naturally via unintelligent processes. The odds are astronomical. In fact, scientists aren’t even sure if life could have evolved naturally via unintelligent processes. If life did not arise by chance, how did it arise?
* The universe is ordered by natural laws. Where did these laws come from and what purpose do they serve?
* Philosophers agree that a transcendent Law Giver is the only plausible explanation for an objective moral standard. So, ask yourself if you believe in right and wrong and then ask yourself why. Who gave you your conscience? Why does it exist?
* People of every race, creed, color, and culture, both men and women, young and old, wise and foolish, from the educated to the ignorant, claim to have personally experienced something of the supernatural. So what are we supposed to do with these prodigious accounts of divine healing, prophetic revelation, answered prayer, and other miraculous phenomena? Ignorance and imagination may have played a part to be sure, but is there something more?
If your curiosity has been piqued and you desire to look into this matter further, we recommend that you consider the world’s assortment of so-called Holy Books. If God does exist, has He revealed Himself? And if He has revealed Himself, surely He exists…
Source: http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/does-g…
20 Comments so far
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This was very interesting, thanks for sharing
why did they invent horse blinkers?
because horses cant be brainwashed
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Anything is possible. But, God, at least the malevolent nut-job described in most religions, not very likely at all.
So, argument from ignorance, prime mover, personal incredulity, and “because people experience supernatural phenomena”?
Highly doubtful.
edit: Are you kidding me? Irreducible complexity? If I had a nickel for every time that stupid BS has been debunked…
To answer your question: It is impossible to know whether God(s) exist. I just assume they don’t, the same way you assume invisible pink unicorns don’t exist.
Interesting how you picked that from that “astronomy” site.
But it is still mostly lies, meant to deceive the gullible.
You’re invited to attend church with me this morning and I’m sure you see in the lives of over 3,000 in our immediate area alone, He does!http://www.smithtowngospeltabernacle.org…
.___. toooooooooo loooong
For a believer no need of such a long explanation ,for a Non Believer it nevers.
For me EXISTS no doubt
is christianity a philosophy now.
well at least it would be more credible as one.
God does not exist till he reveals himself to the seekers.
No. Thanks for asking.
No.
No. Do you think that the pink unicorn exists ?
I will admit that the odds for abiogenesis on our earth was astronomical, BUT you have to remember how many planets that there could be in our 45 million light-year wide universe. Chances are, abiogenesis is possible SOMEWHERE in the universe and our earth is an example.
Also, to answer another argument, most scientists agree that the Universe had a beginning. You’re only helping out nontheists by supporting that.
Yes he does exist, as an allmighty spirit .
Physically He cannot be found, and spiritually we have to seek His Kingdom first, then find his Son, thereafter he reveals Himself in and through His Son.
The big bang – Did He cause it to come about ? I think yes.
The answer to Godliness is faith, and the answers to everything else is logic.
we can feel the physical problems
like eating,cold,warm,..
we understand the enviroment by seeing that one of the known ray
we can thinking by the our minds ( where from this minds?)
our thinking about God like water in Bottle
like a fish living in lake and dont see the sea
I Believe the God Exits And I love
I see tha God In Nature , Sky and In My Beautifull daughter Eyes
thaks
The simple answer to your question is ABSOLUTELY.
Just as the answer to your question is simple, so is the response to your copy and paste rantings afterward. God does not need to prove himself to man. Man must prove himself to God.
Furthermore, God doesn’t need our help to convince people of his existence. He merely asks for our obedience. He will reveal himself to those he chooses and those who are not chosen, will remain lost and undone. Many are called, but few are chosen. God searches the heart of every man. The heart of a true believer and seeker of truth shines like a bright light in the darkness. These are the ones God chooses to reveal himself to. God is no respecter of persons. He doesn’t need anything to make himself complete. He loves us and wants us to love him. If we choose not to search for him and seek him with all our hearts, then he will not be found of us. This is man’s lose, not God’s. I believe that he wants us all to know him. Many will choose not to believe and that is the consequence of Free Will. Yes, there are consequences as well as benefits to freedom, because just as you have the freedom to choose the right path, you too have the freedom to choose the wrong path.
Sadly you are mixing facts with conjecture. Allow me to point them out:
“If, for example, I am already dedicated to the philosophical idea that nothing can exist outside of the natural realm (i.e. there can be no supernatural God), no amount of evidence could convince me otherwise.”
Problems with semantics. If the supernatural exists then it must be incorporated into a natural understanding of the universe, even if that thing happens to be a god. If the supernatural does not interact with nature to produce evidence for its existence – then NONE of us should give credence to any claim about the supernatural (all religion, all beliefs) and the supernatural is irrelevant. In short, if you cannot establish that it exists then for all intensive purposes for the human species we cannot assume that it does.
“Information requires intelligence and design requires a designer.”
Fake. Watchmaker’s argument. Debunked by Richard Dawkin’s “The Blind Watchmaker.”
“Philosophers agree that a transcendent Law Giver is the only plausible explanation for an objective moral standard. ”
I think you are trying to manipulate words here. Most philosophers do not say that the only source of morals is from a “transcendent Law Giver.” I think most philosophers understand morals to be rather subjective with no single objective standard reigning supreme. I think the author of your article is trying to suggest that atheists and non-believers lack morals because they don’t believe in any god.
“So what are we supposed to do with these prodigious accounts of divine healing, prophetic revelation, answered prayer, and other miraculous phenomena?”
They’re obviously products of being human. The placebo effect is well-documented. Since you can measure “healing” one can do studies on the effectiveness of prayer with that “naturalistic” science you believe to be a source of dogma. And guess what? No evidence prayer heals anyone or anything. Again problems with terms. If there is any impact of the so-called supernatural in nature then it can be measured by studies of nature. Duh.