(November 17, 2014 at 3:44 pm)DeistPaladin Wrote: Then perhaps I should modify my analogy.Again, you're changing the conditions from that of the OP. The OP said nothing about convincing anti-theists.
You are betrothed to a woman who is real but you've never met before and no one you know has either. This begins to look more like the arranged marriages we sometimes see in some cultures. Perhaps your mother and father have put this arranged marriage together for you and her but have told you nothing about this woman. You don't know her name, what she looks like, what her interests are, what her education is, etc.
You need to prepare for your life together. You begin buying her dresses though you don't know her physical size. You decorate your bedroom that you'll share though you have no idea what her tastes in decor are. You write her a love poem, addressing her by name though you're not sure that this is her name. How embarrassed will you and she be when your thoughtful love poem that you read at your wedding addresses her as "Heather" and it turns out her name is "Donna"?
This analogy attempts to underscore the problems of picking one religion over another. Let's assume you know:
1. God created the universe.
2. God is still alive.
3. God is aware of us.
4. God desires to be worshiped.
5. There is an afterlife.
6. This afterlife involves a judgment day of some sort.
7. All the information about all of the above assumptions are properly understood by at least one religion on this earth.
All of these are separate assumptions. God might have created the universe and has since expired. Or maybe, God still exists but couldn't care less about us or preserving our consciousness after we die. But even assuming all of these things, your work is still ahead of you. Why Jesus and not Allah? I'm sure you have an answer, one which will be as unconvincing to me as a Muslims mirror question of why Allah and not Jesus.
In the marriage analogy, suppose you had been through one or more nasty divorces. There may be no way for me to convince you that my choice of fiance is reasonable...but that wasn't the issue.