Debate: God Exists

[pocaracas]

Again, late to the party...
Anyway, given that mankind has evolved from other apes and then from mammals, it should be safe to admit that once upon a time the concept of God or gods didn't exist in any mind on this Earth.
At some point in pre-history that concept appeared in human minds.
How?
What was the first concept of God like?
How?!

This first "how"is important. If there is a god, then that god likely presented itself... If so, then it should be able to present itself to everyone else... That it doesn't presents a challenge to the initial premise.
If it doesn't exist, then it was invented by human imagination... Need I say more?

[Mister Agenda]

Define what a god is.

The Necessary Being. That than which nothing greater can be conceived. He whose existence is identical to His essence. The Ground of Being. Etc., etc... God has been pretty well defined across multiple religious traditions  so it's a bit dodgy to say you don't know what god is being discussed.

It's a bit dodgy not to go with an omnipotent personal being that created the universe according to its design, isn't it? You seem to be putting in some extras specific to your particular theology. Unless your God isn't that God, of course.

[LostLocke]

Define what a god is.

The Necessary Being. That than which nothing greater can be conceived.

Something greater can always be conceived.
List every property that your specific god/idea of god has, and I will mention one thing that is missing, and therefore makes "your" god not the Necessary Being.

[I_am_not_mafia]

We can define what a table is, or a human, or a planet. We know what it's made out of. We know where it came from or how it came about. We know what it isn't. We know what it can and cannot do. Even if we can't explain how something came about, we can still define something by the real world properties that it has. We can observe these properties and record them objectively.

You can't say answer anything like this about a god. This is because the concept of a god is necessarily intangible. Because once you define what a god is in real terms, and more importantly what it isn't, it ceases to become a god.

No one can say what a god is because the very concept relies on being undefined and open to interpretation.

Theists therefore don't exactly even know what they believe in.

[Drich]

That I didn't recognise it as a joke indicates the level of humour it displayed.

I myself am a very funny person.

No one likes a laugh more than I do.
Except my wife.......and some of her friends...thinking about most people like a laugh more than I do....



Not really I'm a scream.

If a douche bag fails to get a joke, does it mean the joke is without humor?

No of course not. douche bags fail to get really good jokes all the time, as they are most often occupied in building themselves up. So busy infact they often see intentional attempts at self deprecating humor, as an unintentional error no matter how ridiculous the mistake would have been in order for them to be right.

Butt (pun) that's ok because it just underscores the level of douche baggery one must be set to endure to bring the gospel to the 'unwashed masses.'
maybe I should all my jokes

[downbeatplumb]

That I didn't recognise it as a joke indicates the level of humour it displayed.

I myself am a very funny person.

No one likes a laugh more than I do.
Except my wife.......and some of her friends...thinking about most people like a laugh more than I do....



Not really I'm a scream.

If a douche bag fails to get a joke, does it mean the joke is without humor?

No of course not. douche bags fail to get really good jokes all the time, as they are most often occupied in building themselves up. So busy infact they often see intentional attempts at self deprecating humor, as an unintentional error no matter how ridiculous the mistake would have been in order for them to be right.

Butt (pun) that's ok because it just underscores the level of douche baggery one must be set to endure to bring the gospel to the 'unwashed masses.'  
maybe I should all my jokes

So if I don't find one of your jokes funny its my fault.
I see at least you are consistent.
If your arguments don't convince me it's my fault.
If the news isn't to your liking its fake news.
You are trump and I claim my £5

[Nay_Sayer]

Which God are you talking about ?

Zeus or Thor ?

FSM.  The only true god.
It should have been obvious.

[Neo-Scholastic]

The Necessary Being. That than which nothing greater can be conceived.

Something greater can always be conceived.
List every property that your specific god/idea of god has, and I will mention one thing that is missing, and therefore makes "your" god not the Necessary Being.

Property 1: Fully in Act

We can define what a table is, or a human, or a planet....we can still define something by the real world properties that it has...You can't say answer anything like this about a god.

There is some truth to what you say. The patristic fathers were very clear that positive attributes describe finitude therefore all that can truly be said of God, who is without limit, is what He is not.

[Cyberman]

The Necessary Being. That than which nothing greater can be conceived.

Something greater can always be conceived.
List every property that your specific god/idea of god has, and I will mention one thing that is missing, and therefore makes "your" god not the Necessary Being.

No, don't walk into the trap. Something greater than The Necessary Being automatically becomes The Necessary Being, thus defeating the argument by default. Slippery bastard, this TNB.

[LostLocke]

No, don't walk into the trap. Something greater than The Necessary Being automatically becomes The Necessary Being, thus defeating the argument by default. Slippery bastard, this TNB.

Thanks for the warning. I'm not devious, so I never would have seen that trap coming.