Poll: what if proof of no God?

[Eddi]

I have a thought experiment:

Imagine you are somehow secretly in control of the whole world

Then imagine that it comes to your attention that some highly intelligent person has come up with conclusive proof that God does not exist

Any Theist who reads it will be compelled to become an Atheist and stop believing in God, it is that compelling

You have four options:

1. Surpress it - nobody will ever know
2. Allow it to spread on its own - it will eventually become known to all people (do nothing)
3. Loudly publicise it - everyone will know by the following day's evening
4. Initiate a controlled campaign of soft disclosure - it will be released very gradually

Which do you do and why?

I will post my response in a following post

 

[ChristineM]

I'd allow it to spread on its own.

Even then there are some who will deny the proof and continue with their long held personal beliefs.

 

[Eddi]

I chose "Initiate a controlled campaign of soft disclosure"

Because if there were no God then I would still highly value the truth

However, such news would destroy many peoples lives and damage society as we know it

Imagine all the people who only behave "good" because of reward and punishment from a deity!

There would be no reason for many tens of millions of people not to behave ethically, as they will have always obeyed holy scriptures as opposed to thinking for themselves.......

Also, many people only feel sane and secure because of the idea there is a deity who cares about them

Hence I would release news of the proof gradually in a way that respects truth and causes least disruption

In small bits from multiple sources, over a long period of time

I would contact various religious leaders and try to get them onboard

I would also suppress news coverage of it but would allow it to be available in certain corners of the internet (perhaps such as RF!)

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I have a thought experiment:

Imagine you are somehow secretly in control of the whole world

Then imagine that it comes to your attention that some highly intelligent person has come up with conclusive proof that God does not exist

Any Theist who reads it will be compelled to become an Atheist and stop believing in God, it is that compelling

You have four options:

1. Surpress it - nobody will ever know
2. Allow it to spread on its own - it will eventually become known to all people (do nothing)
3. Loudly publicise it - everyone will know by the following day's evening
4. Initiate a controlled campaign of soft disclosure - it will be released very gradually

Which do you do and why?

I will post my response in a following post

I think it's already pretty clear that compelling arguments tend to have very little effect on most theists, IMO.

Even if you had an iron-clad proof that no gods exist, I think that the number of theists wouldn't change very much.

 

[Mock Turtle]

I think we should poll a good sample of the religious who do believe in a God first, given we/they might not like the results.

 

[Heyo]

I think it's already pretty clear that compelling arguments tend to have very little effect on most theists, IMO.

Even if you had an iron-clad proof that no gods exist, I think that the number of theists wouldn't change very much.

Yep. There are a number of proofs that certain gods can't logically exist. But you have to believe in logic to accept the proof. Theists usually don't value logic.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Failure to produce a god is pretty solid proof.

 

[dybmh]

I think it's already pretty clear that compelling arguments tend to have very little effect on most theists, IMO.

Even if you had an iron-clad proof that no gods exist, I think that the number of theists wouldn't change very much.

Yeah, bible critics are stubborn too. Especially if they used to be religious.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I have a thought experiment:

Imagine you are somehow secretly in control of the whole world

Then imagine that it comes to your attention that some highly intelligent person has come up with conclusive proof that God does not exist

Any Theist who reads it will be compelled to become an Atheist and stop believing in God, it is that compelling

You have four options:

1. Surpress it - nobody will ever know
2. Allow it to spread on its own - it will eventually become known to all people (do nothing)
3. Loudly publicise it - everyone will know by the following day's evening
4. Initiate a controlled campaign of soft disclosure - it will be released very gradually

Which do you do and why?

I will post my response in a following post

You cannot prove a negative. It is just as impossible to prove there is no god as to prove there are no unicorns.

 

[LuisDantas]

The scenario proposed is arguably the real world one. The groups that have any real interest in asking whether a god exists and answering in the positive are roughly the same ones that have learned to avoid dealing with the relevant evidence in any meaningful way.

So it is "do nothing" for me. I am a militant atheist of a sort, but evidence is just not relevant at this point of human culture.

 

[George-ananda]

Problem is you need a specific definition of God before you can disprove it. Therin will keep it debated forever.

 

[Valjean]

Nobody reasoned themselves into theism, and the true believers are unlikely to reason themselves out. When belief is based on faith, facts and reason usually have little impact.

 

[F1fan]

How do you prove the non-existence of something not known to exist?

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Nobody reasoned themselves into theism, and the true believers are unlikely to reason themselves out. When belief is based on faith, facts and reason usually have little impact.

Of course most theists have been raised to believe in theism. That said, the root of the belief is simply experiencing the Divine as unified rather than fragmented. You can argue that this "sense" is imagined if you want. Nevertheless, a LOT of people look at the awesomeness of nature and see a Creator behind it.

There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

 

[dybmh]

How do you prove the non-existence of something not known to exist?

From falsehood, everything! It's logic, it's logical. Because it's not known to exist, it MUST be true. Not only does it not exist, it definitely MUST exist. Ask anyone! I'm being sarcastic. This is what I'm arguing about in the philosophy forum. Anyway, this is the bovine excrement that is being promoted as "logic" by some very smart atheists. They are claiming that anything is true about an "empty-set".

 

[Heyo]

You cannot prove a negative. It is just as impossible to prove there is no god as to prove there are no unicorns.

Want me to prove there is no rational number equal to the diagonal of a square with side length 1?

 

[fantome profane]

I would make a documentary.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I think it's already pretty clear that compelling arguments tend to have very little effect on most theists, IMO.

Even if you had an iron-clad proof that no gods exist, I think that the number of theists wouldn't change very much.

Just as well for all those atheists who would otherwise have to find something else to deny the existence of..

 

[SalixIncendium]

Even in light of "proof," people will continue to believe what they will. Flat earthers are a glaring example of this.

I do nothing. I allow people to accept or reject said "proof" on their own as they encounter it. I'll be around to answer questions or help anyone trying to understand.

 

[Valjean]

Of course most theists have been raised to believe in theism. That said, the root of the belief is simply experiencing the Divine as unified rather than fragmented. You can argue that this "sense" is imagined if you want. Nevertheless, a LOT of people look at the awesomeness of nature and see a Creator behind it.

A lot of people argue from incredulity, and don't understand either the mechanisms responsible for nature's awesomness, or how we know about them. They chalk it all up to divine magic

There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

True, but much can be understood with the proper use of facts, reason and logic.