Favorite arguments!

[The Nihilist]

I know we're mostly atheists here, but what's your favorite argument for the existence of God? Don't tell us why it's wrong, either, it'll be like a puzzle! I'll post mine later.

Also, don't post anything wherein you secretly define atheism as the belief that no one believes in God. It's way too soon and won't be funny.

 

[TheDreadedAtheist]

I know we're mostly atheists here, but what's your favorite argument for the existence of God? Don't tell us why it's wrong, either, it'll be like a puzzle! I'll post mine later.

Also, don't post anything wherein you secretly define atheism as the belief that no one believes in God. It's way too soon and won't be funny.

"What came before the Big Bang?"

 

[LoveForWisdom]

"What came before the Big Bang?"

I don't believe in the Big Bang.

what came before the White Hole is a better question.

 

[uberd00b]

On a lighter note, an argument i have been on the receiving end of;

It is aerodynamically impossible for bees to fly,

God keeps all the bees in the air,

therefore God exists.

 

[fuzzyh]

Wait, can Christian theists join here?

My favorite argument is

1. The number 1 exists immaterially, eternally, immutably
2. The number 1 exists in a mind
3. Therefore the number 1 exists in an immaterial, eternal, immutable mind

That we know is God.

 

[Tynan]

The point is no one could have a true belief in God for Atheism to be true.

People believe gods exist.

We call this group of people theists.

There are also people who think gods do not exist.

We call this group atheists.

But since Atheists consider the truth of God.....

Atheists are people who do not believe that gods exist.

They do not 'consider the truth of god' because they do not think there is such a thing as god.

it follows that Atheism is not truly real.

'It follows' is generally something you would put on the end of a chain of sound logic.

 

[Tynan]

.....what's your favorite argument for the existence of God?....

"For it is written"

 

[Tormac]

1) "There is really no such thing as an atheist. Deep in their heart all atheists are just mad at God, but really they do think that he is real. They are just trying to ignore him, like a four year old will ignore people who make him made. Since everyone has to believe in God, he is real."

2) “There is really no such thing as an atheist. Deep in their heart atheists know that God is real, they just don’t want him to be real so they are not accountable to any higher authority. Being accountable to a higher authority makes them feel guilty because of their sinful lifestyle. This guilt is no fun when the atheists get together to crush unbaptized babies for Satan with stacks of Britannica Encyclopedias, smoke weed, rob banks, and try to invent new sciences that will spread the lies of secular humanist materialism. But even the staunchest atheist secular humanist materialist knows that God is real in his heart, therefore he is real.”

3)”Evolution is false, therefore creationism is true. Since creationism is true, and everyone knows that the only creation story that is not a wacky myth is the one from the bible, Christianity is real. We know that evolution is false because genetics proves that Lamarckism is false, therefore evolution cannot be real. Even Darwin renounced his theory, and since Christian creation is the only alternative answer that makes sense, it is real!”

(My apologies to Christians that take apologetics more seriously than most. I know that these sound goofy, but are paraphrased versions of real arguments that have been tried out on me.)

 

[TheDreadedAtheist]

1) "There is really no such thing as an atheist. Deep in their heart all atheists are just mad at God, but really they do think that he is real. They are just trying to ignore him, like a four year old will ignore people who make him made. Since everyone has to believe in God, he is real."

2) “There is really no such thing as an atheist. Deep in their heart atheists know that God is real, they just don’t want him to be real so they are not accountable to any higher authority. Being accountable to a higher authority makes them feel guilty because of their sinful lifestyle. This guilt is no fun when the atheists get together to crush unbaptized babies for Satan with stacks of Britannica Encyclopedias, smoke weed, rob banks, and try to invent new sciences that will spread the lies of secular humanist materialism. But even the staunchest atheist secular humanist materialist knows that God is real in his heart, therefore he is real.”

3)”Evolution is false, therefore creationism is true. Since creationism is true, and everyone knows that the only creation story that is not a wacky myth is the one from the bible, Christianity is real. We know that evolution is false because genetics proves that Lamarckism is false, therefore evolution cannot be real. Even Darwin renounced his theory, and since Christian creation is the only alternative answer that makes sense, it is real!”

(My apologies to Christians that take apologetics more seriously than most. I know that these sound goofy, but are paraphrased versions of real arguments that have been tried out on me.)

nm

 

[Squeejie]

"... well my pastor/dad/mom says..."

actually that is my favorite argument for anything religious

 

[fuzzyh]

"... well my pastor/dad/mom says..."

actually that is my favorite argument for anything religious

If I convince my youth group to NEVER EVER EVER use that argument, in the loosest sense of the word. I'm already ahead. Nothing like having the blind lead the blind in this case. Unless of course, my pastor/dad/mom happens to be a philosopher, mathematician or scientist the argument has little credit, and even those others are debateable.

 

[Stinker]

One of my favorite arguments for the existence of God comes from the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

In Book II the 1st chapter in Mere Christianity he says his argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. Then he wondered how he got the idea of just and unjust? He says he realized that a person does not call a line crooked unless he/she has some idea of a straight line. He wondered what he was comparing the universe with when he called it unjust. He wondered that if the whole show was bad from A to Z, so to speak, why did he, who was supposed to be part of the show, find himself in such violent reaction against it? He says that a man feels wet when he falls in the water because man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet.

Then he says he could have given up his idea of justice by saying that it was just a private idea of his. But if he did that, his argument against God collapsed too- for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please his private fancy.

 

[EverlastingMan]

Unmoved mover. And lets hear your argument Recovering.

 

[The Nihilist]

So, you're walking along, and you see a bunch of rocks. They're arranged to spell out, I dunno, Birmingham. "What an odd occurance, that these rocks should randomly spell out Birmingham," you say to yourself. And you walk a little further, and, lo and behold, you stumble upon Birmingham! The rocks were not a random occurence at all, but arranged intentionally, so as to give information about the outside world!
Similarly, our senses give us information about the outside, world, and so they must be arranged intentionally. On the otherside, our dreams do not, and so must occur randomly. Only God could have intentionally arranged our organs in such a manner. Therefore, God exists.

 

[The Nihilist]

One of my favorite arguments for the existence of God comes from the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

In Book II the 1st chapter in Mere Christianity he says his argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. Then he wondered how he got the idea of just and unjust? He says he realized that a person does not call a line crooked unless he/she has some idea of a straight line. He wondered what he was comparing the universe with when he called it unjust. He wondered that if the whole show was bad from A to Z, so to speak, why did he, who was supposed to be part of the show, find himself in such violent reaction against it? He says that a man feels wet when he falls in the water because man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet.

Then he says he could have given up his idea of justice by saying that it was just a private idea of his. But if he did that, his argument against God collapsed too- for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please his private fancy.

I'm going to give the rest of you a chance to critique this before I do it tonight. I see two major problems at first glance, the smaller of which is reasoning by analogy. Two points for anyone who can guess the other one.
Also, C.S. Lewis is a chump, and anything anyone has ever learned from him is almost certainly wrong.

 

[EverlastingMan]

Fiddlesticks. Lewis was very intelligent, but he was primarily a literary sort of chap and so saw the world often through those lenses. Anyway, RP's favorite is really quite funny.

 

[The Nihilist]

Fiddlesticks. Lewis was very intelligent, but he was primarily a literary sort of chap and so saw the world often through those lenses. Anyway, RP's favorite is really quite funny.

My problem with him is that he's a writer who tries to fit into a theologian's hat. You remember the really annoying stoner kids who just saw the matrix for the first time, and spent a lot of time thinking about it and talking about how deep they were, and the whole time you were just thinking they were stupid? That's what C.S. Lewis is like to those of us who know that NeoPlatonism is passe. Why oh why didn't he read Kierkegaard instead?

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

I'm quite fond of Descartes' argument for the existence of God, because it's so complicated.

I quite like another ontological argument, whereby there are an infinite number of possible universes and in one God, the perfect Being, exists. In order to be perfect He must exist in all possible universes, therefore He exists in ours.

My current favourite, however is this:

Any positive integer (m) / zero = infinity

[multiplying both sides by zero]

m = zero x infinity

Therefore a positive but limited thing (creation) can be produced out of zero (nothing) by infinity (God).



peace

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

(Did someone call for an annoying stoner? )

That's what C.S. Lewis is like to those of us who know that NeoPlatonism is passe.

I've got the image of some rich Californian girl a la OC..."The world of Forms is soooo last season".

peace

 

[EverlastingMan]

My problem with him is that he's a writer who tries to fit into a theologian's hat. You remember the really annoying stoner kids who just saw the matrix for the first time, and spent a lot of time thinking about it and talking about how deep they were, and the whole time you were just thinking they were stupid? That's what C.S. Lewis is like to those of us who know that NeoPlatonism is passe. Why oh why didn't he read Kierkegaard instead?

Well he does say in just about every major work he publishes that he isn't a theologian.