(January 18, 2015 at 6:46 pm)bob96 Wrote: IF God exists, then it is possible that He created the energy from nothing. By definition, God can do this. It is outside the realm of science, and of our understanding. It is the realm of faith - believing without evidence.
Here's the thing: skeptics believe that faith as you've defined it is a bad ideal.
(January 18, 2015 at 6:46 pm)bob96 Wrote: IF God does not exist, then this energy could not have come from nowhere.
Your conclusion doesn't follow from your premise. I don't know where energy came from, but at least some physicists think 'nowhere' has not been eliminated as a possibility and 'somewhere' is a strong contender.
(January 18, 2015 at 6:46 pm)bob96 Wrote: To believe that this energy did come from nothing requires faith - believing without evidence.
There's evidence referred to in the post to which you are responding. Virtual particles begin to exist, apparently from nowhere. It may not be conclusive evidence, but it's evidence. And we needn't believe it, only assign it a probability given the knowledge we have, or just toss it in the 'not known yet' bin.
(January 18, 2015 at 6:46 pm)bob96 Wrote: Logically, it would require greater faith to believe that something came from nothing, than to believe that someone created the something - despite there being no empirical evidence for either.
Logically? What are the odds of something coming from nothing, that you can declare it the less likely option? What property does nothing have that prevents it from ever becoming something? There are infinite ways to be something and only one way to be nothing...sounds like a delicate balance, might not be stable. And the someone you refer to...how did that entity get there? Not to mention the virtual particles popping out of nowhere is indicative of nothing not being as little as it's cracked up to be.
Here's a thought: quantum foam may have the property of not being able to not exist, and would thus be eternal. Or not, I'm just a layman, and I don't think anyone has figured this stuff out for sure.
(January 18, 2015 at 6:46 pm)bob96 Wrote: Therefore, atheists have more faith than theists - in this respect.
That's what a lot of theists seem to think, but it doesn't strike me as a very accurate assesment of my position.
I'm not anti-Christian. I'm anti-stupid.