Dawkinsrocks
Well-Known Member
Well it is pretty clear that you can get weak minded humans to believe in anything isn't it?
You only have to look at Scientology to see how true this is
And many Christians agree that Scientology is utterly bonkers
What they don't see is that their own belief system is just as barmy
So why do people flock so willingly to these ludicrous myths?
Well it is clear that many struggle with the idea that death is the end after which you will never see your loved ones again. The fact that this thought may be uncomfortable is not evidence of god's existence though is it?
Then there is the struggle to understand where we or the universe came from. The fact is we don't know. But that is not evidence of God's existence
Then there is the bible. A book full of lies, inconsistencies, fables and fiction which has to be reinterpreted all the time as science debunks more and more of it. If it is so fallible it can hardly be the word of a perfect god can it?
Then there is all the sophistry eg the ontological argument. But if the idea of god is too perfect for man to have created how come everything god creates is so imperfect? I mean, he made a world full of disease and catastrophe and Americans so he can't be perfect
Then there is the claim of personal experience. A totally unverifiable claim that in other spheres of life would be called madness. So this is not evidence of anything other than the state of mind of the claimant
In the normal world we are happy to say that if there is no evidence of x existing then x does not exist and there is no onus on the claimant to prove that x does not exist
For x substitute fairies or elves and Christians will agree
But if you substitute god for x that principle flies out of the window and they cling like a drowning man to a straw to the fact that you cannot prove a negative
So why do people believe in god?
For the same reason people believe in Scientology, or Allah or Pan
Because they are very weak minded
You only have to look at Scientology to see how true this is
And many Christians agree that Scientology is utterly bonkers
What they don't see is that their own belief system is just as barmy
So why do people flock so willingly to these ludicrous myths?
Well it is clear that many struggle with the idea that death is the end after which you will never see your loved ones again. The fact that this thought may be uncomfortable is not evidence of god's existence though is it?
Then there is the struggle to understand where we or the universe came from. The fact is we don't know. But that is not evidence of God's existence
Then there is the bible. A book full of lies, inconsistencies, fables and fiction which has to be reinterpreted all the time as science debunks more and more of it. If it is so fallible it can hardly be the word of a perfect god can it?
Then there is all the sophistry eg the ontological argument. But if the idea of god is too perfect for man to have created how come everything god creates is so imperfect? I mean, he made a world full of disease and catastrophe and Americans so he can't be perfect
Then there is the claim of personal experience. A totally unverifiable claim that in other spheres of life would be called madness. So this is not evidence of anything other than the state of mind of the claimant
In the normal world we are happy to say that if there is no evidence of x existing then x does not exist and there is no onus on the claimant to prove that x does not exist
For x substitute fairies or elves and Christians will agree
But if you substitute god for x that principle flies out of the window and they cling like a drowning man to a straw to the fact that you cannot prove a negative
So why do people believe in god?
For the same reason people believe in Scientology, or Allah or Pan
Because they are very weak minded