Evidence God Exists: Part II

[AngelThMan]

The central figure in Christianity was poor and died violently. So it's amazing to me that atheists use negative things found in this world as a sign there's no God.

...What we are saying is that the horrors (such as the laundry list I provided for you) clearly demonstrate that a deity who is "all-powerful", "all-loving" and "all-knowing" does not exist. There may be a god out there somewhere. But if there is, he obviously doesn't give a damn about humans. To believe in this deity, you must believe in a contradiction...

I don't believe it is a contradiction. Humans have thrived as a species. Victims to those horrors you have mentioned are a minority, and we don't know why God allowed them to fall victim. If we were struggling as a species as a result of these horrors, then you might have a point. You've got to look at the big picture.

Despite these horrors, God does love his people. It has been written that he made us in his image, which includes feelings and emotions. If we look at ourselves, we can perhaps get a clue as to how God thinks. We love our children, yet we can get angry at them and punish them. My point here is that the horrors we see in this world do not contradict a loving deity.

God did create, or allowed to develop, certain plants, berries and animals that are harmful to us.

...Would you stock your kitchen with all manner of poisonous things and then tell your kid to go get something to eat?

Most people don't go out into the wild and pick berries and mushrooms to eat. They rely on experts or people who can safely provide them those foods or seeds to plant. That's because God provided us with intelligence and discernment. Accidents do happen, but we can't always tell why. Though I assure you there is always a reason.

But he's got his reasons,

Ah, yes.... the "he's got his reasons" platitude! It explains something when you have no logical explanation!

Can you explain exactly how a smart phone, with all its complex technology, works? Probably not. Yet the inventors of the smart phone can. That's because they understand the intricacies and nuances of the technology in a way that you can't. Life and the makings of this earth as a whole are way more complex than anything man can invent. Only the inventor of the world can understand its nuances and intricacies. Science is just trying to catch up.

which are probably too complex for any human to really provide answers for.

"Too complex"? We can send a space craft to the far reaches of the solar system. We have mapped the human genome. We have harnessed nuclear energy...

Child's play compared to solving the mysteries of the world.

But I'll give you some possible scenarios.

And here comes the rationalizing...

I'm not saying they're the actual answers, because only God knows.

Objection, Your Honor! The witness is speculating!

I did say they were possible scenarios, so of course it's speculation. I was giving you some possible reasons as to why the things that you pointed out are the way they are. It's like if someone went missing, and a relative coming up with a million reasons why the person could only be dead. And somebody else giving alternate scenarios as to where that person could be, to illustrate the possibility that the missing person is still alive.

Then why didn't "God" choose to provide us with immunity to nature's poisons?

Can't really say. I'm not God. Though a possible reason is that nature's poisons are meant to be one of the many tools God has when he needs to punish us. Just a speculation, but a possible answer.

You can look at things that from our standpoint are either positive or negative, and comment on them individually. But looking at the big picture, we can see that a perfect balance has been maintained that has allowed life to thrive for millions of years. That's really what needs to be examined.

Yes, because life wouldn't have been able to thrive without poison berries, plants, mushrooms and snakes.

Here you missed the point entirely. Perhaps poison berries, plants, mushrooms and snakes are pieces of a machine, each doing their thing to help our world thrive.

I suppose a "possible scenario" is that an alien named "Ted" created all the poisonous plants and animals in a lab on his spaceship. He did this because the "poisons" do not harm his species and they actually taste good! Then his spaceship veered off course, got hit by a large gust of solar wind and he crashed on Earth. In the crash, all the poisonous plants and critters were scattered. They then reproduced and thrived in their new home (because there was nothing that could eat them). "Ted" eventually contacted Intergalactic Towing and was picked up.

And this scenario is just as likely as any of yours.

No alien would be named 'Ted.' But seriously, if all these people told you that a guy named Harry built a well, why would you then believe that a goat named Chuck built it instead?