Sunday, April 18, 2021

There simply is no God!

    I love to watch debates online about religion and atheism. But it never ceases to amaze me that we (atheists) allow theists to start from a presupposition that they have yet to prove. In reasoning it is always stated that the one making the positive claim bears the burden of proving his/her case. Theists always start from the presupposition that their god exists. But they are never challenged to first prove that he does. 

    I have been an atheist for about 21 years and have read a prolific lists of books and viewed many debates and have yet found one argument for the existence of God that was anywhere close to valid evidence for what it claims to support. I dare say that all arguments for the existence of God rely entirely on flawed arguments and flimsy evidence that doesn't even fit the claim. 

    One example is the so called watch in the sand argument. It basically states that if you are walking along the beach and come across a watch in the sand you can see that it was obviously not natural but made. theists take this analogy further and apply it to the world and its apparent design which if that was the case, definitely requires a designer therefore God exists! There are so many problems with this argument that I don't even know where to begin. First of all we know that a watch was manufactured by man and on its own it was manufactured for a purpose; to keep track of time. If I found a watch in the sand I would simply assume that someone lost it. 

    Next, how could you compare an inorganic manmade object to what I like to call the living universe? We may not know the exact details about how organic matter came to be, but we don't just assume that it was the result of one of the many myths man has created for himself to explain those things in the world that he does not have an adequate explanation for. Theists look for design in the universe and the world and they seem to find it. But the fact of the matter is that if you are going to accept that there are things in that world that are designed then how are you to account for all the random things that exists? How are you to explain that all living organisms rely on other living organisms for their very survival? 

    The so called evil in the world in all of its categories such as natural disasters, birth defects, child deaths, etc. all count as evidence against the existence of a personal and loving creator. What purpose is there in a good loving couple not being able to have children? Or its opposite of a drug abuser or mentally ill woman having children she later ends up murdering? Where is God in all this? Missing in action. 

    Using a god of the gaps argument for all those things that we can't currently explain does not a logical argument make. I am fine with not knowing. The beauty of science and learning is the enormous feeling of discovery. The challenge of finding rational explanations or solutions to some of the universes most perplexing and complex mysteries. Saying God did it is nothing more than a cop out in my opinion. If God did it then you must explain who or what god is and where did it come from. If you can't do that then you have your work cut out for you. I will be writing more on these issues and would love to hear what you think.

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