(August 30, 2010 at 4:44 pm)Captain Scarlet Wrote: But where is this external objective source of truth, morals etc. There is no point being an objective source of anything if you remain hidden. And any god of any theism you wish to name remains hidden.Take a look around you. There is an entire world out there. It is objective and external.
Hidden God what now?
Quote:Even if there was an objective source radiating this out into the universe via whatever mechanisms you wish to posit, how do you know it's a god let alone your god?
What do you mean 'your god'? I do hope you're not assuming things about my beliefs. Then again, I'm almost certain you are.
How do I know? Well, certain experiences have lead me to believe that there is an external force/intelligence/moral guide acting upon this universe in such a way as to benefit humanity as much as possible. These are charactertistics usually attributed to a god.
If it isn't a god, then tell me, what do you think it is?
Quote:Then there is the spirit. Everything we know about the human anatomy since the advent of modern medical science is that there is no immaterial us. We are our physical beings, take away our brains and we stop being us.
There is no way of proving through material means that there is an immaterial us, so anatomical stdies have no baring whatsoever here. Do you realize how complex and intricate the brain's design is? It is far more vast than we could ever hope to fully comprehend, and no amount of research could explain all of why the brain does what it does.
Besides this, the body is usually considered a mere shell for the spirit, so suggesting that,(granted a spirit does exist) once the body dies, the spirit moves on, is not at all unreasonable. You just have to consider the characteristics of a spirit.
Quote:In each case you have baseless assertions,No I do not. In each case, I have assertions based on the experience of myself and countless others. Sound, rational people who are not in any way deluded throughout their daily life. Except, according to you, when it comes to God.
Quote:but in each case there is evidence leading to a more satisfying and simpler conclusions.Such as?
Quote:The evidence supports atheism being true or at least more likely.Not the way I see it.
Quote:Theism is a very remote and abstract answer to these problems.
See above.