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Evidence and causes for doubt
March 7, 2016 at 12:18 pm
Sometimes theists ask us, "what evidence would you require in order to believe in the existence of God?" It's a good question. Or, maybe it's just a fun question, but either way I like it. I don't suppose I could ever trust any type of personal revelation, because I would have no way of differentiating between a neurobiological mental experience and a "divine" one. I kind of enjoy the idea of scientists proposing some kind of descriptive model of God that eventually graduates into the "theory of God," just like any other scientific discovery. That would be wild. But then, this feels silly to me when I think about it, because if god were discoverable through empirical means, then he'd be a natural phenomenon instead of a supernatural phenomenon. In other words, he would exist, and therefore not be "god." ?.
But, I took the question seriously, and answered it sincerely. So, now I want to ask the theists to ask themselves: what evidence, if any, could rattle your faith, and what would the nature of the evidence have to be? Are you open to the idea that some day there might exist enough scientific evidence to cause doubt in you as an individual? Or, are your beliefs not ever affected by science? If they aren't, could any type of personal experience ever cause you to doubt?
To be clear, I'm not being a wise-ass. Maybe it's a stupid question, but I am genuinely curious. Thanks! ?
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”
Wiser words were never spoken.
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RE: Evidence and causes for doubt
March 7, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Fucked is a mind that can't even conceive of a hypothetical scenario.
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Evidence and causes for doubt
March 7, 2016 at 1:13 pm
Wow...both of those are terrifying.
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”
Wiser words were never spoken.
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Evidence and causes for doubt
March 7, 2016 at 1:14 pm
(March 7, 2016 at 1:06 pm)robvalue Wrote: Fucked is a mind that can't even conceive of a hypothetical scenario.
Yeah, and the worst part is 147 people "liked" his response!
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”
Wiser words were never spoken.
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RE: Evidence and causes for doubt
March 7, 2016 at 1:16 pm
God has been made too big for his britches. It would be impossible to prove that a being was omniscient or omnipotent.
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RE: Evidence and causes for doubt
March 7, 2016 at 1:23 pm
Especially that fuck-up of a god.
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RE: Evidence and causes for doubt
March 7, 2016 at 4:40 pm
(March 7, 2016 at 1:14 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote: (March 7, 2016 at 1:06 pm)robvalue Wrote: Fucked is a mind that can't even conceive of a hypothetical scenario.
Yeah, and the worst part is 147 people "liked" his response!
And I'm sure the bulk of the replies he received were "Amen!"
Bunch of fucking lemmings....
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"
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RE: Evidence and causes for doubt
March 7, 2016 at 4:54 pm
William Lane Craig -
"The way in which I know Christianity is true is first and foremost on the basis of the witness of the Holy Spirit in my heart. And this gives me a self-authenticating means of knowing Christianity is true wholly apart from the evidence. And therefore, even if in some historically contingent circumstances the evidence that I have available to me should turn against Christianity, I do not think that this controverts the witness of the Holy Spirit"
Talk about confirmation bias!
Not to mention, an intellectually dishonest debater.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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