what would be an actually good reason to believe in a god.

[Mike Cl]

You can learn a lot from handles...  Seriously, you can learn a lot by just observing.

So true.

[Cavebear]

It is difficult for me to imagine something that doesn't apparently exist.  But wouldn't creating immediate perfection be a part?  I mean, why mess around with playing games with the toys?  Would a deity do what deities do according to religions?

[Blackleaf]

It is difficult for me to imagine something that doesn't apparently exist.  But wouldn't creating immediate perfection be a part?  I mean, why mess around with playing games with the toys?  Would a deity do what deities do according to religions?

That's the thing. What determines what a god's desires are? For humans, we have brains with electrical signals and the release of neurotransmitters, and these together form a person's personality, preferences, and moral compass. It's even been proven that we make our decisions several seconds before we're aware that we've made them. New experiences cause new connections to form, which further develop our personalities. So then, our personalities don't come out of nowhere. For example, a man will want sex because of testosterone activity in the brain increasing the sex drive, and that came into being because it increased a man's chances of procreating.

But do gods have that? Do they have electrochemical communications in brains that form their personalities and determine their decisions? What's the difference between a perfectly good god and a perfectly evil one, or even a completely chaotic (unpredictable) god? Why should a god have any interest in us, our universe, or anything?

[Cavebear]

That's the thing. What determines what a god's desires are? For humans, we have brains with electrical signals and the release of neurotransmitters, and these together form a person's personality, preferences, and moral compass. It's even been proven that we make our decisions several seconds before we're aware that we've made them. New experiences cause new connections to form, which further develop our personalities. So then, our personalities don't come out of nowhere. For example, a man will want sex because of testosterone activity in the brain increasing the sex drive, and that came into being because it increased a man's chances of procreating.

But do gods have that? Do they have electrochemical communications in brains that form their personalities and determine their decisions? What's the difference between a perfectly good god and a perfectly evil one, or even a completely chaotic (unpredictable) god? Why should a god have any interest in us, our universe, or anything?

Deity eq

[Cavebear]

That's the thing. What determines what a god's desires are? For humans, we have brains with electrical signals and the release of neurotransmitters, and these together form a person's personality, preferences, and moral compass. It's even been proven that we make our decisions several seconds before we're aware that we've made them. New experiences cause new connections to form, which further develop our personalities. So then, our personalities don't come out of nowhere. For example, a man will want sex because of testosterone activity in the brain increasing the sex drive, and that came into being because it increased a man's chances of procreating.

But do gods have that? Do they have electrochemical communications in brains that form their personalities and determine their decisions? What's the difference between a perfectly good god and a perfectly evil one, or even a completely chaotic (unpredictable) god? Why should a god have any interest in us, our universe, or anything?

Deity = Borg Perfection?

[Unbeliever]

This is fight club, and you didn't bring any boxing gloves.

Hey, don't talk about fight club - that's the first rule!

[Baruch]

You can learn a lot from handles...  Seriously, you can learn a lot by just observing.

Confucius say ... eyes and ears open, mouth shut

[Baruch]

It is difficult for me to imagine something that doesn't apparently exist.  But wouldn't creating immediate perfection be a part?  I mean, why mess around with playing games with the toys?  Would a deity do what deities do according to religions?

Excellent question.  According to one school of Hinduism, all reality is Brahma having wet dreams.

[Baruch]

Deity = Borg Perfection?

Deity = Commander Data ... he made quick work of the Borg queen.  Failure to survive isn't perfection.

[Cavebear]

Deity = Commander Data ... he made quick work of the Borg queen.  Failure to survive isn't perfection.

Actually, a really good question would not have an obvious answer...

[Godis]

The best reason to believe in God is that you can if you want and you'll want even more if you can't.

[FinalSomnia]

The best reason to believe in God is that you can if you want and you'll want even more if you can't.

[Mike Cl]

The best reason to believe in God is that you can if you want and you'll want even more if you can't.

Another theist of the intelligent sort............not.  God is a fiction, godis.

[SGOS]

The best reason to believe in God is that you can if you want and you'll want even more if you can't.

It sounds to me that you are under peer pressure.

[Godis]

Ask any college philosophy professor and they will tell you there is no way to prove or disprove the existence of God, and that includes reasoning about the Problem of Evil.  That's the dilemma.  However, I asked my philosophy of religion teacher this:  If there is no way to either prove or disprove the existence of God, then is the limitation of us to be able to do so proof that God must be directing it to be that way?  In other words, you're never as smart as you think you are.