I know this is a topic that gets discussed over and over again, but I just wanted to share my view on it and why I refuse to show God doesn't exist.
The way I see it it's kind of like a number line:
Now to explain how this works, let's think of an apple. It's a tangible object that we can all observe, therefore on the scale it gains x positive points. Now let's expand this and consider a handful of different fruits. They are all like the apple and therefore add to the 'real' side. Now do this with all that we know to be real and we are left with the 'real' side representing roughly what we think to be reality.
Now, when it comes to religion, let's see what we can conclude. Let's take Heracles, Son of Zeus and try and add him to the 'real' side. Well, what do you know, we have all just agreed on a whim that it's a myth and therefore doesn't amount to a positive quantity, therefore adding to the 'not-real' side. Ok, well let's grab the next mythology and chuck it there as well, along with flying hippos, 3 headed kangaroos and lunar vegetation. It turns out the 'not-real' side isn't bounded i.e. is infinite (unlike the 'real' side) which means we could go on and on about what isn't real.
My issue then with providing evidence that no god exists is that that isn't what the universe is concerned about--non existence. In actual reality what's happening is that the theist is coming up to me and proposing a brand of god that could plausibly exist with various different attributes and characteristics and trying to add it to the 'real' side. What the atheist will then do is dismantle the claims and show it's 'negative value' which means that particular idea is not real and goes into the infinite list of other things/ideas/beliefs that aren't real/don't reflect reality.
In a nutshell, god stories started at the origin (0 value) and tried to add positive value but when we all agree it's man-made fiction it flips to the negative side. There's no need for me to do anything different from this model, unless you, the theist, want to prove to me the non-existence of a planet-sized fly orbiting the nearest star from us. Only then will I realise that's actually possible and will move on to do the same for 'GOD'.
The way I see it it's kind of like a number line:
<----------not-real---------(-ve)|0|(+ve)----------real--------->
Now to explain how this works, let's think of an apple. It's a tangible object that we can all observe, therefore on the scale it gains x positive points. Now let's expand this and consider a handful of different fruits. They are all like the apple and therefore add to the 'real' side. Now do this with all that we know to be real and we are left with the 'real' side representing roughly what we think to be reality.
Now, when it comes to religion, let's see what we can conclude. Let's take Heracles, Son of Zeus and try and add him to the 'real' side. Well, what do you know, we have all just agreed on a whim that it's a myth and therefore doesn't amount to a positive quantity, therefore adding to the 'not-real' side. Ok, well let's grab the next mythology and chuck it there as well, along with flying hippos, 3 headed kangaroos and lunar vegetation. It turns out the 'not-real' side isn't bounded i.e. is infinite (unlike the 'real' side) which means we could go on and on about what isn't real.
My issue then with providing evidence that no god exists is that that isn't what the universe is concerned about--non existence. In actual reality what's happening is that the theist is coming up to me and proposing a brand of god that could plausibly exist with various different attributes and characteristics and trying to add it to the 'real' side. What the atheist will then do is dismantle the claims and show it's 'negative value' which means that particular idea is not real and goes into the infinite list of other things/ideas/beliefs that aren't real/don't reflect reality.
In a nutshell, god stories started at the origin (0 value) and tried to add positive value but when we all agree it's man-made fiction it flips to the negative side. There's no need for me to do anything different from this model, unless you, the theist, want to prove to me the non-existence of a planet-sized fly orbiting the nearest star from us. Only then will I realise that's actually possible and will move on to do the same for 'GOD'.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" ~ Aristotle
