(August 10, 2013 at 4:12 am)FallentoReason Wrote:Theo Zacharias Wrote:1) There is no evidence that God does not exist
You weren't born a theist, so naturally you presumably reasoned yourself into believing God exists. This is the only way your question makes any sense, unless you didn't reason yourself into theism in the first place.
Care to guide us through your thought processes?
Yes, I agree that I wasn't born a theist.
As I mentioned before there is another reason other than there is no evidence that God does not exist, i.e. belief in God brings an overall positive effect to me.
Let me start with a simple thing. Although I wasn't born a theist, I was born in a theistic environment. The people in my environment can tolerate difference in theism (e.g. difference in belief in God as long as it does not disturb other people) but cannot tolerate atheism. Yes, I agree that this is a wrong view. But this is the reality in my environment. If I don't believe in God publicly, it will most likely bring an overall negative effect to me and to my family. If I secretly don't believe in God, I will have to lie in many circumstances. So, at least for me, believing in God brings an overall positive effect to me. I don't know whether God exists or not because there is no evidence either way as far as I know. So why not choose a side that brings an overall positive effect to me?
(August 10, 2013 at 4:15 am)Maelstrom Wrote:(August 10, 2013 at 4:05 am)Theo Zacharias Wrote: 1) There is no evidence that God does not exist
That would be considered shifting the burden of proof, which incidentally lies upon you to prove that a god does in fact exist.
The burden of proof is debatable. In my opinion, the burden of proof lies on both theist who claim to know that God exists and to atheist who claim to know that God does not exist.
I don't claim that I know God exists. In fact, I don't know that God exists or not.
(August 10, 2013 at 4:15 am)Maelstrom Wrote:(August 10, 2013 at 4:05 am)Theo Zacharias Wrote: 2) Belief in God brings an overall positive effect to me
Serial killers feel an overall positive effect from murdering their victims. That does not mean the feeling is morally positive.
I don't think I will feel an overall positive effect by being a serial killers so your argument does not apply, at least not to me.
(August 10, 2013 at 4:15 am)Maelstrom Wrote: Also, just because someone garners an overall positive feeling from something for which there is no evidence to support its existence does not mean that something automatically exists. Humans tend to be emotional beings who seem to love attributing good feelings as proof of something, when it is nothing more than an illogical emotional appeal.
I agree that my second reason does not entail God exists. I have to repeat that I'm not claiming that I know God exists. If someone asks me whether I know God exists, I will answer "I don't know".
My second reason is the reason *for me* to believe God exists even though I don't know that God exists.
