Quote:
Originally Posted by TorqueDog
Rathji is right when he says that the lack of evidence for a god does not make the case that a concept is demonstrably false. However, this doesn't automatically give the concept any credibility. If a claim is made without evidence, it can be rejected as just as swiftly as it was made with the exact same amount of evidence.
But I did say demonstrably false. Given that the only "evidence" there is for the Judeo-Christian God Yahweh is the Bible and 'divine revelation' (he said, choking back a laugh), then we have to evaluate the claim on what we're given.
For starters, many of the qualities that we're told to believe about Yahweh are incompatible with each other:
- A being that is perfect would have no need for worship.
- A perfectly moral being would not impose immoral punishments.
- A perfectly just god cannot be a merciful god, as mercy is the suspension of justice.
- A benevolent being would not impose such atrocious and depraved punishments upon people, such as:
-- Original sin, which punishes an entire species for the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
-- The killing of children for the crimes of their parents.
-- Slaughtering an entire village when David takes a census at Yahweh's request
- Any references made to Yahweh 'testing' the faith of the believer - an omniscient being would already know the outcome and as such would have no need for such an exercise.
Nevermind the other ridiculous claims made in these holy texts. On that basis, the claim of this particular god's existence is demonstrably false.
I approach different god concepts differently, based upon how they're defined. There are other god concepts that, while I cannot claim them to be demonstrably false, I can dismiss as unknowable on the basis that we have no way to verify the existence of such a being. But again, having no evidence against a claim doesn't require anyone to accept that claim - dismissing the claim or reserving your acceptance of said claim is the appropriate response when presented with no evidence for it.
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Love it! Have argued many of the same points myself to others. And it all goes back to this idea of an omnipotent being being the problem. Which is a problem even in itself. Going to Homer's version of the much used riddle... 'Could an all powerful God microwave a burrito so hot even he himself could not eat it?'
Is omnipotence even possible?
Oh, you also forgot... A perfect or merciful being would not be such a jealous being as demonstrated by the first commandment. 'I am a jealous God, thou shalt not have any Gods beside me.'