Hare Krishna

[Akincana Krishna dasa]

Welcome aboard!

It's good to have theists of different stripes here.

I always enjoy the atheist/theist debate, because I think it tests the boundaries of what we can know and imagine.

Very few atheists claim to know, with absolute certainty, that a god does not exist.

If anyone is up for a debate, I think I could give you a better run for your money than most Christians.

I'll bet that's true.

It would be great if you started a thread with whatever evidence, reasoned argument and valid logic that you think justifies belief in a god.

Basically I'm here to learn, expand my mind, and blow some of yours.

Sounds like a much better way to introduce yourself than the vast majority of theists that come here.

It's interesting that atheists can't prove God doesn't exist. Nor can they conclusively describe the origin of life and the universe in purely materialistic terms. I still can't figure out how the universe can come from nothing, for example, although I know there may be some smart arguments out there that try to make that case.

There are also obvious limitations on the theist side of this debate. Certainly direct experiential evidence of God isn't immediately available, at least to most people. And all the classic arguments for God's existence (like ontological, teleological, cosmological) have their classic refutations, which is a problem for sure.

As for my own take on evidence, argument and valid logic for justifying belief in God, it's a work in progress, definitely. I'll want to organize my thoughts before putting them out there to be shredded by an atheists forum. I do believe in God very deeply, and have committed my life very seriously to trying to worship God. I think I'm here, partially, to retrace my philosophical steps to getting where I am.

Thanks, everyone, for being cool and welcoming me here.