RE: The Idea of a God Is Not So Crazy
April 20, 2014 at 7:51 pm
(This post was last modified: April 20, 2014 at 8:03 pm by Metalogos.)
Dear Whateverist,
You may be right in saying that you know of no atheistic manual or argument that tries to account for the existence or the nature of the cosmos or for existence itself. Yes, it does seem that many atheist are satisfied in letting the theists do all the heavy lifting and smugly deriding their efforts to explain and understand the universe by pointing out all the holes in their arguments and theologies. It is a lazy occupation methinks. Why don't you sweat with me a bit and try to argue a position that claims no Prime Mover is necessary for explaining the existence of the universe? In other words, tell me why I should abandon Aristotle's seminal argument which attempts to deal with the fundamental question of the existence of the universe. You do know that Aristotle regarded Thales extremely highly and that Thales was one of the first people to attempt to explain the world and the cosmos without relying on mythology, do you not? We are in august company thinking alongside these great minds of the past. Let us not dismiss them out of hubris due to our lucky position in time that gives us a higher vantage point from which to gaze back on their mighty efforts. Better to put yourself in their shoes and work from there to argue against their non-religious theistic position.
You may be right in saying that you know of no atheistic manual or argument that tries to account for the existence or the nature of the cosmos or for existence itself. Yes, it does seem that many atheist are satisfied in letting the theists do all the heavy lifting and smugly deriding their efforts to explain and understand the universe by pointing out all the holes in their arguments and theologies. It is a lazy occupation methinks. Why don't you sweat with me a bit and try to argue a position that claims no Prime Mover is necessary for explaining the existence of the universe? In other words, tell me why I should abandon Aristotle's seminal argument which attempts to deal with the fundamental question of the existence of the universe. You do know that Aristotle regarded Thales extremely highly and that Thales was one of the first people to attempt to explain the world and the cosmos without relying on mythology, do you not? We are in august company thinking alongside these great minds of the past. Let us not dismiss them out of hubris due to our lucky position in time that gives us a higher vantage point from which to gaze back on their mighty efforts. Better to put yourself in their shoes and work from there to argue against their non-religious theistic position.
