RE: Shia Islamic Argument for the existence of God
March 13, 2016 at 4:47 pm
(This post was last modified: March 13, 2016 at 4:59 pm by FebruaryOfReason.)
Maybe I have misunderstood the subtleties of this argument, but;
How did God manage for the several billion years before we affirmed his existence by denying it? Was he independently rendered extant by some other mechanism than our denial of his existence, and just used our denial as a sort of back up when it became available?
Presumably the opposite doesn't apply? I.e. If we believe in him, that proves he exists?
And also,
The existence of a mechanism of conscious denial does not in itself affirm anything remotely relating to the various Abrahamic conceptions of God, which all envisage a combination of a highly vindictive micro-manager (grow a beard, don't eat pork or shellfish, don't wear mixed fabrics, etc) and an absentee landlord, who allows the death of millions in plagues and natural disasters, whilst rewarding cheating, adulterous, drunken sports stars with undeserved riches.
How does it follow that because I am sentient enough to recognise the flaws in the idea of God the Creator, that my sentience affirms His existence? I can recognise the flaws in the idea of Ganesh the Elephant God too. Does it follow from that that He exists?
The problem here is that we can all talk forever about things that we think are right.
But unless we have any means of checking we are right, how can we know?
How did God manage for the several billion years before we affirmed his existence by denying it? Was he independently rendered extant by some other mechanism than our denial of his existence, and just used our denial as a sort of back up when it became available?
Presumably the opposite doesn't apply? I.e. If we believe in him, that proves he exists?
And also,
The existence of a mechanism of conscious denial does not in itself affirm anything remotely relating to the various Abrahamic conceptions of God, which all envisage a combination of a highly vindictive micro-manager (grow a beard, don't eat pork or shellfish, don't wear mixed fabrics, etc) and an absentee landlord, who allows the death of millions in plagues and natural disasters, whilst rewarding cheating, adulterous, drunken sports stars with undeserved riches.
How does it follow that because I am sentient enough to recognise the flaws in the idea of God the Creator, that my sentience affirms His existence? I can recognise the flaws in the idea of Ganesh the Elephant God too. Does it follow from that that He exists?
The problem here is that we can all talk forever about things that we think are right.
But unless we have any means of checking we are right, how can we know?
I must not be nasty. I must not be nasty. I must not be nasty. I must not be nasty. I must not be nasty. I must not be nasty. I must not be nasty. I must not be nasty.
