RE: For non-Christians: What would it take?
June 13, 2013 at 3:45 pm
(This post was last modified: June 13, 2013 at 3:48 pm by Zarith.)
The short answer is, in order for me to believe, it would have to be more plausible that God exists and created man, than that man created God. Looking at the current situation, the latter interpretation looks vastly more likely.
It would be easier to convince me of a God that was either held hostage, or insane, or a sociopath, than it would be to convince me of the omni-everything sort of god. Also, a good low bar to clear would be some sort of entity that actually responds directly to communication attempts, and does so in a way that makes it unlikely that many different people are all simply suffering from a common delusion. This doesn't seem like much to ask.
Ultimately though, this kind of question is like asking, "What it would it take for me to believe the movie Avatar depicts events that actually happened?" In both cases, the story has all the earmarks of a work of fiction, and man's fingerprints all over its creation. One just happens to be more recent than the other.
EDIT: Also, I think it's useful to flip the question around, and ask if you were God, how would you go about convincing people of your existence?
It would be easier to convince me of a God that was either held hostage, or insane, or a sociopath, than it would be to convince me of the omni-everything sort of god. Also, a good low bar to clear would be some sort of entity that actually responds directly to communication attempts, and does so in a way that makes it unlikely that many different people are all simply suffering from a common delusion. This doesn't seem like much to ask.
Ultimately though, this kind of question is like asking, "What it would it take for me to believe the movie Avatar depicts events that actually happened?" In both cases, the story has all the earmarks of a work of fiction, and man's fingerprints all over its creation. One just happens to be more recent than the other.
EDIT: Also, I think it's useful to flip the question around, and ask if you were God, how would you go about convincing people of your existence?
