Evidence that God does not exist

God does not exist.

I don't have all the knowledge in the universe, so how could I know? Nothing is absolutely certain outside the realm of logic and mathematics, and nothing can ever be "proven" in the natural world. Our brains could be fed sensory illusions in a sadistic laboratory, and we would never be able to prove otherwise. However, we make conclusions about the universe based on high probabilites ranging from almost 0% to almost 100% (never exactly 0% or exactly 100%). We know with very reasonable certainty that the Sun is a large fiery ball of gas, not an illusion, because of the observations made of it. We can conclude with reasonable certainty that Santa's eight flying reindeer as described in popular myth do not exist, because of our understanding of society's myth and our observations of the physical world. Likewise, I can know with very reasonable certainty that God does not exist.

Let me start with a definition of God. God is a very powerful spiritual supernatural entity who is the obejct of worship in monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Islam. I would say God is magic. You may not like the word "magic" to describe God since it has the connotations of illusionist art and fantasy fiction, but "magic" without the connotations is defined as, "Of, relating to, or invoking the supernatural" (American Heritage Dictionary of English). Besides God, here are some other things that are thought to be supernatural (magic):

ESP
Psychics
Palmreading
Reincarnation
Ghosts
Curses
Charms
Santa Claus
Fairies
Sorcery
Karma
Chi
Spirits

People believe in supernaturalism for various reasons, but largely because of religion. If you are a Christian, then you probably believe in God because it is a part of the religion. You might say that you are not part of a religion, but "religion" is defined as, "a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship" (American Heritage Dictionary of English). If you go to a church, worship God at this church, adhere to a moral system associated with this church, listen to some guy teach about the way God is, and you believe it, then you are part of a religion.

People believe the doctrines of religions because the doctrines promise to fulfill our fantasies. Most of us, largely out of our nature, desire these things that the monotheistic religions promise:

1) Eternal life of happiness
2) Transcendent importance to our lives
3) A powerful trustworthy father figure
4) A perfect guide to living
5) Universal morality and enforced justice
6) Simple answers to tough important questions

And people generally believe what they want to be true. People believe in God NOT because it is a reasonable thing to believe, with some exceptions.

Though supernatural explanations to natural phenomena were always a bad idea generally, there was a time when reasonable people explained things with God because they had no available alternatives. But that time is largely gone. The naturalistic philosophy of science has gone so far in making sense of the universe that there is very little any need for extraordinary explanations such as God. To express this idea, I wrote a poem published here.

Christians and Muslims have told me that they know God exists because there is no other explanation for the grandeur of the laws of physics and the apparent design of life. I could go into detail about how nature does not require "intelligent design," but for the sake of saving time, I'll resort to an argument from authority. Physicists and biologists are far more likely than the rest of the population to disbelieve in the existence of God (source). Explaining nature with God is called, "the God-of-the-gaps argument," because the explanation of God fills in the gaps in our knowledge.

Many people believe in God because of some sort of spiritual experience. In fact, that is a part of many reasons why people believe in supernaturalism. Along with the stories of Christians, I heard a story from a new-ager who said that he had an out-of-body experience. He floated out of his body, flew out of his house, and explored the landscape. I hear those stories, and most of them seem to be emotional, wishful, delusional, etc. Normally, such stories are the experiences of individuals, and they can't be recorded, tested, or otherwise verified. People will explain their odd experiences with supernaturalism because they want it to be genuine, and they don't realize that their brains are prone to illusions and delusions.

A lot of Christians tell me that they know God exists because the Bible says so, and the Bible is a trustworthy book. That is part true. I will grant that it has a lot of good history. But it also has what reasonable people can agree to be bad history, bad science, bad morals, bad logic, and contradictions. We should not trust it any more than any other religious holy book.

Let me give you an example. Jesus prophecied very explicitly that he would make his second coming in the lifetime of his listeners, and that time would be the end of the world. This would be a failed prophecy, and so Christian apologists are forced to explain it. Faults in the Bible can be explained in a large number of ways, the same you can explain faults with the Koran or the Star Trek series. Many Christians, of course, say that you shouldn't take the Bible literally, and others (in the conservative part of the religion) say that "generation" actually means "race," and that the coming of the kingdom of God actually refers to the resurrection. A different explanation was given to the early Christians by their leaders shortly after the generation of Jesus had passed, as seen in 2 Peter 3:3-8.
Time had to take on a meaningless definition in order for Jesus' prophecy to no longer appear false.

I am not saying that troubles like that in the Bible are good evidence that God does not exist. It is just that the Bible is not proper evidence for God. We are left with no evidence for God's existence and pretty good evidence against it.

Atheism has almost nothing to offer anyone. I don't have any grandiose promise to make if you abandon your religion. I don't have a moral system that will help you live your life. I don't have simple answers to everything. All I am giving you is what is very probably the truth, and legitimate reasons to believe it.

ApostateAbe, clever name

You do realise don't you that your argument only applies to one view of God, the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, YHWH.

This is where you go wrong;

Let me start with a definition of God. God is a very powerful spiritual supernatural entity who is the object of worship in monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Islam.

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It's simply not true. Wicca and other pagan religions, Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism and my own path - modern Gnosticism, hold beliefs in Deity not constricted by the 'evidence' you use to disprove God.

Abrahamic monotheism does not hold the monopoly on God.

I do agree with most of the 'evidence' you give. However, i would think it unwise for you to assume that just because the Abrahamic version of God is, for you, unlikely to exist, that it means all views of God are therefore equally unlikely.

Great post ApostateAbe, very good points.

Halcyon said:

You do realise don't you that your argument only applies to one view of God, the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, YHWH.

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Yep, and he only dealt with religious beliefs in the supernatural. He never discusses the worship of the gods as nature, nor does he deal with superstition as a valid form of religious belief.

I agree with you, ApostateAbe, when refuring to the judeo-christian god (it was a bit long winded, though, I did skim a bit). But in my case, my 'god' is nature, and there is plenty of evidence nature exists. You have to remember, as was mentioned, there are many different versions of 'god' (or the goddess, as I prefer), I use it more as a metaphor, really.

I somehow missed the "Evidence that God does not exist", perhaps because you've presented none.

You do realise don't you that your argument only applies to one view of God, the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, YHWH.

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I don't know what he intended, but usually when testing something scientifically, you need to define what is being tested (so everyone knows EXACTLY what is being tested, so people don't have misconceptions), and testing something as broad as every different version of gods that mankind came up with would be impossible. So perhaps what he was trying to do was state that the Judeo-Christian god doesn't exist. One could test one version of god, then the next and so on. One can't test all gods at once because their "powers" vary. As much as I agree with the poster's belief that the Judeo-Christian god does not exist, I have to agree with Duet. No real decent evidence was presented, just an unfulfilled Bible prophecy and a mention of the god-of-the-gaps argument.

My eyes tend to cross when I see quote riddled texts.

I find people usually use quotes to prove what they are not saying.

The Human Soul is a Proof that God Exists

One interesting field of medical research today is research being done on Near-Death Experiences (NDE)s.

The Lancet, which is the most prestigious medical journal in the UK, in December 2001 published the research results of experiments done in Holland in a number of hospitals on patients who were in critical conditions, in intensive care units. The researchers found that more than 10% of the sample studied experienced what is known as NDE.

Here is a brief description, if of interest:

http://www.mikepettigrew.com/afterlife/html/dutch_study.html

A second study has been taking place in the UK, by researchers at Southampton University.

This initial research is proving that human beings are more than just a physical body, that we have an additional "component" (the soul).

Where does the sould come from?

Where does it go?

I somehow missed the "Evidence that God does not exist", perhaps because you've presented none.

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I have to agree. I saw no so called "evidence."

I assume by 'evidence' he/she is assuming that it is evident from lack of evidence. :jiggy:

Evidence ? LOL, evidence of a non-exsitant God would be hard to find.

S

I would also point out that chi is not seen as supernatural. That is all I care to point out at this present time.

Master Vigil said:

I would also point out that chi is not seen as supernatural. That is all I care to point out at this present time.

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I would have to disagree. Chi isn't something I consider natural.

The soul comes from the Goddess and God and will return to them (or to the Ultimate Mystery) upon the death of the body.

Lady Moon said:

The soul comes from the Goddess and God and will return to them (or to the Ultimate Mystery) upon the death of the body.

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Oh yeah :woohoo: Do the worms and maggots go with the "soul"? Dead is dead or ain't ya heard

Fade said:

I would have to disagree. Chi isn't something I consider natural.

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Do you consider energy natural? That is all chi is, energy. The chinese just devised exercises so that we can optimize and use that energy to better our health, spirituality, and better defend ourselves. It isn't supernatural, no more than the electrical current surging throughy our computer is supernatural.

Think Bright said:

Oh yeah :woohoo: Do the worms and maggots go with the "soul"? Dead is dead or ain't ya heard

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Obviously, the body gets recycled in Nature, but the soul moves on to it's next incarnation, or stays with the Ultimate Mystery. It's beyond me why you can't see that! Dead is dead for the body alone.

Lady Moon said:

Obviously, the body gets recycled in Nature, but the soul moves on to it's next incarnation, or stays with the Ultimate Mystery. It's beyond me why you can't see that! Dead is dead for the body alone.

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There ain't no soul cept in music. Maybe your soul is just cause ya ain't Bright.

Master Vigil said:

Do you consider energy natural? That is all chi is, energy. The chinese just devised exercises so that we can optimize and use that energy to better our health, spirituality, and better defend ourselves. It isn't supernatural, no more than the electrical current surging throughy our computer is supernatural.

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Mmm I don't think the parent topic was refering to Chi in that way. I think it was refering to the whole 'Crouching Tiger' popular concept of chi.