Why an atheist can never know God

I had a debate with a Christian that went on for several days, after a few days of debating I decided to bow out of the debate because for some reason he and I could not come to agreement as to the difference between reason and faith. No matter what I said he insisted that scientific knowledge was based on faith because the non scientist had to believe what was  being told to him without having researched the evidence himself.

Today I was mulling over this problem and came to the conclusion that it is all based on two kinds of evidence,namely: objective and subjective evidence.
According to the business dictionary objective evidence is defined as:

Information based on facts that can be proved through analysis, measurement, observation, and other such means of research.

Subjective evidence is defined as:

Based on (or related to) attitudes, beliefs, or opinions, instead of on verifiable evidence or phenomenon. Contrasts with objective.

It is because of this that in my view science and faith will always be at odds for each other. A scientist or any thinker demands objective evidence. One example of objective evidence is that the Earth is an oblate spheroid (round with slightly flattened poles, and a bulging equator). This is a known fact which holds true whether you believe it or not. An example of subjective evidence which in reality is no evidence at all is that God exists. This is true only to those that choose to believe it by faith therefore faith is a subjective principle.

God did what?

One of the arguments I find most appalling in all of Christendom, is the old god did it argument. Basing themselves on ignorance as to how life began; Christians like to surmise that since science does not have the answer in its entirety, then it must be that God did it. This argument is also called the god of the gaps theory because it is supposed to fill in the gaps in our current scientific knowledge.

But I personally call this as I see it, and to me it's nothing more than burying your head in the sand and giving up your reasoning and logic skills for an easy way out to those things that are so complex. Recently I debated a Christian who claims to be a former atheist till about 4 years ago. And he boldly stated that the answer to all of life is obviously God. His position being that there had to be a prime mover in all of this and evolution or even the big bang theory were not logical enough to make any sense, so............ God did it!

This is Christian reasoning at its best and quite frankly in my opinion it is embarrassing to call this knowledge, and compare it with knowledge based on scientific analysis and inquiry as opposed to faith. Faith is the ultimate equalizer because faith does not require an explanation nor a reason it just believes and accepts what is claimed as truth.

There is no logical reason to believe in God

Many theists like to classify us atheists as unhappy people with no purpose in life; when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. I believe that everything you need to be happy in this life is already present within you and you don't need a god to give your life purpose. I have been an atheist for the past 15 years and I actually feel better than when I was a practicing Christian.

Many theists including myself when I was one, speak of the liberation one feels when they commit their life to Christ and apply his laws and precepts to their lives. But the moment I denounced my beliefs in Christianity I actually felt like a great weight had been pulled off of my shoulders. I admit I was an extreme Pentecostal evangelist who took the bible literally and believed every single word that was written between its covers. But as such I was always worried about my standing with God, I always wondered if I was living up to his expectations.

I worried about death and hell constantly and wondered when he would come to rescue us evil sinners from ourselves. Life without God these past 15 years has been incredibly fulfilling, I now have control over my life and I live for me and what makes me happy. What most people don't realize is that when you commit your life to Christ you are no longer living for you but for Christ. You turn over your will to his will hence the line in the Lords prayer: 'Thy will be done'.

Life is so much more meaningful when you live it for you, and you take full advantage of all the things life has to offer in the here and now. Instead of wasting your life on some pipe dream of perfection and bliss in the hereafter, you should be making your own little slice of paradise on Earth doing what makes you happy. You don't need a God to figure that out.

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God and philosophy

One of the things that I find most frustrating when debating about religious issues, is trying to argue about religion from a philosophical perspective. I think that doing so is nothing more than an exercise in futility and leads to circular reasoning to no end. In my opinion, if you are going to argue about the existence of the biblical God then you must first define what God is and attempt to prove the possibility of his existence. Arguing about his attributes for instance, makes no sense at all since all you are doing is arguing not from known facts but rather from a theoretical basis.

 I have been involved in debates on online forums with theists who in an attempt to make their arguments for God coherent try to use philosophy as a means to an end. But when you analyze the content matter of their arguments you find that they are mostly baseless. One field of study which I loathe above all others is that of apologetics, simply because they try to make their faith rational when in fact religious belief is far from rational.

I have seen arguments about the attributes of the biblical God that go so far as to seem absurd. Some try to state that God exists outside of time and that time did not begin until he created the universe. Others say he exists in time and space as we know it and is eternal etc. etc. These arguments are mere window dressing and are a waste of time and energy to refute since they are all based on speculation. No one on the face of this Earth Christian or atheist can define what God or what is his nature since that information is not available. In these arguments they then turn to the game of semantics and try to define every word used from different perspectives that have absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter.