(February 21, 2021 at 7:13 pm)snowtracks Wrote: Scenario: If a physical entity with the appearance of personhood were to materialize on the White House lawn and while saying “I’m God” (loud enough that it was recorded) levitated a foot above the ground, would that constitute proof that God is not hidden?
It doesn't prove that it's God. It could be some alien with advanced technology and a lot of knowledge of our earthly customs. Guaranteed, a huge number, if not a majority, of believers worldwide would be skeptical of, or reject outright, any such claim.
Or, it could be a god, and just not yours, or any other worshiped here.
The ultimate truth of faith is that there really can't be an ultimate truth to it. There is, necessarily, a level (and it's different for everyone) where any alleged evidence of some god being, especially the invisible, silent ones who only communicate to people who are already predisposed to accept such a premise in the first place, cannot be shared with anyone else and subject to any kind of objective examination, on any level. It's something you believe, and to you, it is undeniable truth, a fact like any other we can all accept, but this is one you accept because either (a) you really just haven't thought about it that much and accept it as fact without dispute thanks to whatever assortment of factors drives people to act that way, or (b), because you have thought a lot about it, have weighed your experiences with other people's claims and the evidence as you understand and accept it, and have arrived at the conclusion that a creator god exists and has a hotline right into your brain because you opened your heart to him and did the things in the book more or less correctly.
But, this belief does not exist outside of your own head, it's unique to you. Another believer may have arrived at, essentially, the same conclusions, but for different reasons, by way of different experiences and evidence, and as the result of their own upbringing and social programming. Their entire concept of belief, for all its similarities with yours, will be influenced by completely personal factors. And, there's no way to truly know who's correct, or if either of you are correct. Your belief is, at the very core, an assumption you are making that cannot reliably be substantiated by anyone else, only approximated.
