is the fact that no god/god ever communicates with us evidence that no god/god exists?
i think it is very strong evidence that no personal god/god exits, especially a benevolent god who wants humans to know him him/her/it, to obey him/her/it, and/or to love him/her/it.
since no god/god communicates to us (including those who sincerely want communication with the/a god/god), wouldn't it be sensible for those who pray to what they believe is the/a god/god to cease all efforts to communicate to a god/god?
But I do care if other people believe a personal god (or other spirit) exists, for such beliefs hinder the progress of human society.
you have probably heard all kinds of excuses why god doesn’t communicates with his creation or why he doesn’t intervene.. some examples.. no one can see god because he is a spirit.. but we can hear god---yet he chooses not to talk to humanity.. god only communicates with certain people.
moses, samuel, abraham, etc.
but there are many people today who also claim that god spoke to them yet we ignore them but believe god spoke to people who lived thousands of years ago and we can’t really verify if that was so.
Anthony Flew has an interesting conversion account. It was the discovery of DNA's double helix which led him to believe in an intelligence behind the creation of life. The creator communicated to him through his creation.
Anthony Flew
His name may not be familiar, but Flew was one of the most significant atheist thinkers of the pre-Dawkins era. He was a prominent critic of religion, suggesting that atheism should be the default position until evidence for God could be produced; that the burden of proof should be on the faiths, not on the faithless. He carried these beliefs late into life, even signing 2003's Third Humanist Manifesto. However, just a year later, he announced that he had dramatically changed his philosophical allegiance.
Flew hadn't converted to the Christian faith, but he had embraced deism – the belief in God. So convinced was he, that in 2007 he published his final book, There is a God: How the world's most notorious atheist changed his mind. It has been discredited by atheists ever since who claim that Flew's change of position was due to his declining mental health, and that the book was mainly the work of his co-writer. However, before his death in 2010, Flew lucidly and specifically addressed this in one of his final articles, itself a rebuttal of Dawkin's references to him in The God Delusion.
https://www.christiantoday.com/article/five-atheists-who-lost-faith-in-atheism/61784.htm
you have probably heard all kinds of excuses why god doesn’t communicates with his creation or why he doesn’t intervene.. some examples.. no one can see god because he is a spirit.. but we can hear god---yet he chooses not to talk to humanity.. god only communicates with certain people.
moses, samuel, abraham, etc.
but there are many people today who also claim that god spoke to them yet we ignore them but believe god spoke to people who lived thousands of years ago and we can’t really verify if that was so.
Why doesn't god convince a sceptic for once? Why does he only manifest himself to "true believers"? The clue is in the "believers" part.
To be fair he did have a chat with Paul on his way to Damascus.
is the fact that no god/god ever communicates with us evidence that no god/god exists?
i think it is very strong evidence that no personal god/god exits, especially a benevolent god who wants humans to know him him/her/it, to obey him/her/it, and/or to love him/her/it.
since no god/god communicates to us (including those who sincerely want communication with the/a god/god), wouldn't it be sensible for those who pray to what they believe is the/a god/god to cease all efforts to communicate to a god/god?
I think that Schellenberg's idea of the meaning the word "God" with a capital "G" is one which has the core characteristics of what Christian theologians consider the Christian God to have. Philosophers in their writings about whether or not God exists seem to be fixated on that kind God, and give very little consideration to the idea of a God who is not all-knowing or or not all-powerful or one who is evil. They also seem to give no consideration to the idea that polytheistic types of gods might exist.
I agree that this is how most philosophers depict God. The reasons for which are independent of anything the bible has to say about God. The bible just happens to describe God in similar terms.
Still all you can claim is because you haven't been personally convinced of God's love for mankind, despite the christian claim that he died for mankind, you don't believe he exists. It is not that there isn't any evidence, it is more that the evidence people use doesn't convince you.
These guys below would argue that the defeat and withdrawal, of the mightiest military force on planet earth, from their holy land, is evidence of God communicating his support for their Jihad.
If God is all powerful, all knowing and all evil it would solve your problem of why he seems to be a crummy communicator and thankfully so. However, It would leave you with a different set of problems, which is why many philosophers don't characterise God as evil, as you pointed out.
this is happening in western australian indigenous communities .... quote: "some american-based preachers are distributing emails and videos warning that covid-19 vaccines are evil and the work of satan, and the notion has infected some christian communities in the west australian outback.. veteran aboriginal health worker kathy watson said people spreading false information about the covid-19 vaccination and its links to the devil were "mad".".
see more at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-06/anti-vacc-church-speaks-out-against-misinformation/100430208.
Why do people ignore politics? It has been estimated that more people died because of Communism and Fascism than because of religious wars
This is just an example of evil people doing evil things
But if you want a good man to do something evil, it helps to use some sort of religious persuasion.
this is happening in western australian indigenous communities .... quote: "some american-based preachers are distributing emails and videos warning that covid-19 vaccines are evil and the work of satan, and the notion has infected some christian communities in the west australian outback.. veteran aboriginal health worker kathy watson said people spreading false information about the covid-19 vaccination and its links to the devil were "mad".".
see more at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-06/anti-vacc-church-speaks-out-against-misinformation/100430208.
“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.”
― Steven Weinberg
well this is almost funny to me at this point.
i've been out since i was 19 and i'm now 65. i have uber jw cousins that of course now shun me big time.
funny how when my uber jw started declining in health all of a sudden they "needed" me and i had to help with her care blah blah after being shunned for years.. my mom passed away a couple of years ago and i sent out the death/memorial announcements to her friends far and near.
I wish karma existed. Sadly, I see no evidence of it.
Cheer up punkofnice. Karma is alive and well.
is the fact that no god/god ever communicates with us evidence that no god/god exists?
i think it is very strong evidence that no personal god/god exits, especially a benevolent god who wants humans to know him him/her/it, to obey him/her/it, and/or to love him/her/it.
since no god/god communicates to us (including those who sincerely want communication with the/a god/god), wouldn't it be sensible for those who pray to what they believe is the/a god/god to cease all efforts to communicate to a god/god?
6. If no perfectly loving God exists, then God does not exist.
This premise just indicates that Schellenberg's personal idea or definition of what a perfectly loving God must be, doesn't exist. It doesn't logically follow that God does not exist, as there are other definitions or ideas of what a loving God is.
Some philosophers conclude that God may exist but can't be all loving, all powerful and all knowing. He can only ever be two of the three. So you could have a God who is all powerful and all knowing but doesn't care to know you. Others claim he must be unlimited in order for the concept to have any real explanatory power.
Any attempt at providing evidence for the existence of God, depends upon getting the right definition of who or what God is, correct first.
you have probably heard all kinds of excuses why god doesn’t communicates with his creation or why he doesn’t intervene.. some examples.. no one can see god because he is a spirit.. but we can hear god---yet he chooses not to talk to humanity.. god only communicates with certain people.
moses, samuel, abraham, etc.
but there are many people today who also claim that god spoke to them yet we ignore them but believe god spoke to people who lived thousands of years ago and we can’t really verify if that was so.
Just because people create these emotions in a state of consciousness, still doesn't prove they are having a real spiritual experience or actually connecting to these gods.It doesn't disprove it either. You just don't believe them, which is fine. Thomas communicated directly with someone who claimed a divine connection and also didn't believe it, until he received more evidence.
you have probably heard all kinds of excuses why god doesn’t communicates with his creation or why he doesn’t intervene.. some examples.. no one can see god because he is a spirit.. but we can hear god---yet he chooses not to talk to humanity.. god only communicates with certain people.
moses, samuel, abraham, etc.
but there are many people today who also claim that god spoke to them yet we ignore them but believe god spoke to people who lived thousands of years ago and we can’t really verify if that was so.
Since gods were inherently imagined by man, the answer to why those gods don't answer or intervene in are lives is because the gods are really us.
Harvey,
You are an Enlightened person. Well said!
Truth be said, all Harvey has stated is that in his opinion we have become the very figment of our imagination. It is another way of claiming we are made in the image of the gods we imagined existed. If this is true then every time we intervene to help someone out it is similar to God intervening through us.
