(November 20, 2021 at 10:52 pm)Neo-Scholastic Wrote:(November 20, 2021 at 7:26 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote: I think theism is a rational position. I am swayed by John Hick, who in an essay lays out a rational basis for theism. That basis? Direct experience. If I have direct experience that William Johnson exists (I see him every day at work, for example), then I don't need to pay any heed to skeptics about William Johnson.
The thing about that is, it only applies to mystics. If someone hasn't had direct experience of God, they have no rational basis.
I have never been to Russia but I trust the testimony of those who have been there.
Russia is a country. There is a certain group of humans who live there. They speak russian. They write in russian. They write in the cyrillic character set.
You can interact with the people there via the internet. You can find webpages about it.
It is a land mass and land masses are made of atoms/molecules.
Atoms/molecules are not shy. They don’t play hide and seek.
And of course, it is easy to buy a plane ticket and go to Russia.
There are many countries with various cultures. We all have experience with this.
Are you having difficulty in accepting that Russia is real?
I have not encountered a large group of people who think that we have all been lied to and that Russia does not exist.
Claiming that Russia exists is not an extraordinary claim.
Gods are extraordinary claim.
Where are they? Can anyone buy a plane ticket and just go visit them? Any photos?
Why do different cultures have different gods?
Why is it that some people claim (jews) that the gods of other cultures do not exist?
Why are there so many religions and so many gods?
Why isn’t there a consensus as to which sect is the true religion?
How did you determine that the god you believe in is real? What is your religion?
Are you perhaps the equivalent of a flat earther? You think that there is obvious info that your religion is true and that everyone else is hiding it?
