RE: I am a theist, what do you think of my proof for God existing?
October 24, 2016 at 4:43 pm
(This post was last modified: October 24, 2016 at 4:49 pm by Simon Moon.)
(October 24, 2016 at 5:27 am)Mariosep Wrote: This is my proof for God existing.
1. Formulate the information of the concept of God, thus:
"God in concept is first and foremost the creator and operator of the universe and man and everything with a beginning."
Flaw: affirming the consequent.
Your first premise is also the conclusion you are trying to prove.
Quote:2. Look for instances of causation in reality outside of concepts in our mind.
3. We find countless examples of causation in reality outside of concepts in our mind.
Flaw: this is the fallacy of composition I mentioned in my previous post.
Premise 1: A is part of B
Premise 2: A has property X
Conclusion: Therefore, B has property X.
As I'm sure you can see, the above syllogism is false.
Quote:4. From the countless instances of causation in reality, we infer to the existence of a first and ultimate cause.
This does not follow from premises 1,2,3 due to previously mentioned fallacies.
It also looks like there is a hidden fallacy of equivocation. Which is probably more egregious than the fallacy of composition.
The things we observe that you are referring to as 'countless instances of causation', are all instances of existing matter and energy, being acted on by natural forces. Ex material, as it were.
The universe according to you, is not previously existing matter and energy being acted on by your god. He is creating (causing the universe to come into existence) ex nihilo.
Quote:5. We find that the first and ultimate cause of all instances of causation in reality corresponds to our information on the concept of God, namely, the creator and operator of the universe and man and everything with a beginning.
This is a non sequitur. None of what you claim to be the attributes of your universe creator follows from any of your premises.
Quote:6. Conclusion: God exists in concept as first and foremost the creator and operator of the universe and man and everything with a beginning.
Does not follow from your syllogism. Every premise is flawed.
Modus ponens is broken.
Quote:What do you think about my proof for the existence of God?
Not much.
But that is besides the point. There is not a single logical argument for the existence of a god, that has the ability to prove that god actually exists. The best they can do is prove that it is not logically impossible. But in order for that to be true, the argument would have to be both valid and sound. Yours is not.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
