By WizenedSage --
When I say that I see no evidence of a god, I am saying that the world looks to me exactly as I would expect it to look, if there were no god.
Image by Dylan Hartmann via FlickrIf there were no god, I would expect to see great waste of life, as there would be nothing sacred about it.
If there were no god, I would expect to see many animal species which must kill others in order to live.
If there were no god, I would expect to see many animals having thousands of offspring at a time, so that a few will live to maturity – like fish.
If there were no god, I would expect to see millions of sperm released at a time, and wasted, when only one, or none, will succeed.
If there were no god, I would expect to see hundreds of thousands of people being wiped out at a stroke by natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes – regardless of their religious beliefs.
If there were no god, I would expect to see millions of people dying in wars, as combatants and non-combatants, and wars lasting for many years despite literally billions of prayers for them to end quickly.
If there were no god, I would expect to see much injustice in the world, such as wrongful imprisonment and the genocide of Jews and other ethnic groups or tribes (in December a Florida man, who had been imprisoned for 35 years for rape, was found innocent after DNA testing).
If there were no god, I would expect to see many people succeeding largely because they are physically attractive, not because they are wise or good or the most talented.
If there were no god, I would expect to see many beautiful things in the world like babies, sunsets, and waterfalls, alongside many ugly things, like flesh-eating bacteria, cancer, and hideous birth defects.
If there were no god, I would expect to see scientific studies by prestigious institutions showing no positive benefit of prayer (http://web.med.harvard.edu/sites/RELEASES/html/3_31STEP.html).
If there were no god, I would expect to see people NOT praying for things that neither nature nor chance can accomplish, like re-growth of a severed limb or flying by flapping the arms.
If there were no god - then all gods must be man-made - and I would expect to see people believing in many different and contradictory gods, yet often feeling their god’s presence deeply (“knowing in the heart”).
At the end of the day, it seems that if there were no god, then the world would look exactly as it does look. Now some believers tell me it requires faith to “know” god. But isn’t this just telling me that I have to believe… in order to believe? Does this really make sense to anyone? If there really is a god, then shouldn’t there be something in this physical world, at least one little thing, that would unambiguously prove that fact?
I have been looking for that one thing for over 60 years and I have not found it. Some believers would tell me that I need to keep turning over more rocks, that I just haven’t looked under the right one yet. I suggest that this is a lot like looking for dragons; there is much about the world to indicate there are no dragons and, at some point, I would be a gullible old fool to keep looking. Similarly, as I have demonstrated above, there is much about the world to indicate that there is no god, and, at some point, I would be a gullible old fool to keep looking.
I find it strange, yet fascinating, that a believer can call me a fool, yet it is he who thinks he has found the meaning of life in a book filled with such nonsense as giants, dragons, satyrs, unicorns, a talking snake, a magical fruit tree, and 900 year-old men. Could there even be a better illustration of the word, “gullible?”
When I say that I see no evidence of a god, I am saying that the world looks to me exactly as I would expect it to look, if there were no god.
Image by Dylan Hartmann via FlickrIf there were no god, I would expect to see many animal species which must kill others in order to live.
If there were no god, I would expect to see many animals having thousands of offspring at a time, so that a few will live to maturity – like fish.
If there were no god, I would expect to see millions of sperm released at a time, and wasted, when only one, or none, will succeed.
If there were no god, I would expect to see hundreds of thousands of people being wiped out at a stroke by natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes – regardless of their religious beliefs.
If there were no god, I would expect to see millions of people dying in wars, as combatants and non-combatants, and wars lasting for many years despite literally billions of prayers for them to end quickly.
If there were no god, I would expect to see much injustice in the world, such as wrongful imprisonment and the genocide of Jews and other ethnic groups or tribes (in December a Florida man, who had been imprisoned for 35 years for rape, was found innocent after DNA testing).
If there were no god, I would expect to see many people succeeding largely because they are physically attractive, not because they are wise or good or the most talented.
If there were no god, I would expect to see many beautiful things in the world like babies, sunsets, and waterfalls, alongside many ugly things, like flesh-eating bacteria, cancer, and hideous birth defects.
If there were no god, I would expect to see scientific studies by prestigious institutions showing no positive benefit of prayer (http://web.med.harvard.edu/sites/RELEASES/html/3_31STEP.html).
If there were no god, I would expect to see people NOT praying for things that neither nature nor chance can accomplish, like re-growth of a severed limb or flying by flapping the arms.
If there were no god - then all gods must be man-made - and I would expect to see people believing in many different and contradictory gods, yet often feeling their god’s presence deeply (“knowing in the heart”).
At the end of the day, it seems that if there were no god, then the world would look exactly as it does look. Now some believers tell me it requires faith to “know” god. But isn’t this just telling me that I have to believe… in order to believe? Does this really make sense to anyone? If there really is a god, then shouldn’t there be something in this physical world, at least one little thing, that would unambiguously prove that fact?
I have been looking for that one thing for over 60 years and I have not found it. Some believers would tell me that I need to keep turning over more rocks, that I just haven’t looked under the right one yet. I suggest that this is a lot like looking for dragons; there is much about the world to indicate there are no dragons and, at some point, I would be a gullible old fool to keep looking. Similarly, as I have demonstrated above, there is much about the world to indicate that there is no god, and, at some point, I would be a gullible old fool to keep looking.
I find it strange, yet fascinating, that a believer can call me a fool, yet it is he who thinks he has found the meaning of life in a book filled with such nonsense as giants, dragons, satyrs, unicorns, a talking snake, a magical fruit tree, and 900 year-old men. Could there even be a better illustration of the word, “gullible?”
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