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

[Blackleaf]

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.

So the lack of evidence of God is evidence that God is hiding himself? What grade did you make in this philosophy class? It sounds like you didn't learn much.

[Baruch]

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

Social conformity happens on many levels, including religion.  However resistance to conformity comes from cussedness ;-)

[Baruch]

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.

That was clever repartee on your part, but not a philosophy.  Often atheists, not theists, are intensely interesting in proof of things.  And there is no good proof for or against G-d ... but it is a decent "Okham's Razon" that there is no G-d.  Some people here never were religious, not even as children.  Others were religious but fell out of it as they matured.  Some of us are still religious.  Only two things link all these test cases ... sociology and psychology.  Proof doesn't pertain to those disciplines, they are descriptive.

[Mike Cl]

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.

In your case I don't know how you can think you were ever smart.  You sound pretty gullible to me. 

Using your analogy, then it can never be proven that Bugs Bunny is real or not.  Or the Tooth Fairy--is she not real?  How does one prove it?????

I would suggest that since there is not one shred of evidence that god exists that that fact alone would prove god does not exist.

[Unbeliever]

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

No one here will tell you that you can't believe in God, or anything else you'd like to believe in. We just don't see any reason for ourselves to believe in it just because you do. We don't choose not to believe, we simple can not believe -  just as you can't believe in Vishnu, or Thor, or the Great JuJu on the mountain.

[Unbeliever]

So the lack of evidence of God is evidence that God is hiding himself? What grade did you make in this philosophy class? It sounds like you didn't learn much.

Also didn't tell us what the professor's answer was to the question...I wonder why...

[SGOS]

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. 

We are not that smart, but why would a god that wants to be loved and worshiped hide from people?  Does this make any sense?  Is he trying to weed out the autistic or those with Asperger's, or is he not interested in people who have brains that think logically?  "Send those people to an eternal fire.  They're not gullible enough for me."

This is where Christian apologetics comes in.  Since a god cannot be understood, we make stuff up to claim understanding of what we can't understand.  Round and round we go, building a house of cards built on explaining god's desires, needs, and personality characteristics, when we've already stated that he is too far above us to understand.  We pretend to understand him even though we say he's too complicated to understand.

Whether a god exists or not, there are mountains of nonsense made up by man to account for the absurdities we feel we have to apologize for.  An odd thing to build a life on.

[Unbeliever]

In other words, you're never as smart as you think you are. 

But I bet you're as smart as you think you are...

[Hijiri Byakuren]

So the lack of evidence of God is evidence that God is hiding himself? What grade did you make in this philosophy class? It sounds like you didn't learn much.

We lack evidence of the Men In Black. This proves that the M.I.B. is altering our memories and making us forget all encounters with them.

[Baruch]

We lack evidence of the Men In Black. This proves that the M.I.B. is altering our memories and making us forget all encounters with them.

M.I.B = Father Guido Sarducci?

[Cavebear]

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.

The real problem with deities is that they are unnecessary middle-men.  No added value.  Like the car sales guy...

[Unbeliever]

M.I.B = Father Guido Sarducci?

Yeah, this guy, for those who don't know of him:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2x3zFiqiBQ

[Baruch]

I had two dolls as a toddler ... Thumper the rabbit, and Caspar the ghost.  My mother still has them.  Caspar had this awesome AI ... you pulled the ring on the string, and he said random things from his list of things to say.  That is how your autonomous trucks, cars, boats and planes are going to work out too.

[fencerider]

I had two dolls as a toddler ... Thumper the rabbit, and Caspar the ghost.  My mother still has them.  Caspar had this awesome AI ... you pulled the ring on the string, and he said random things from his list of things to say.  That is how your autonomous trucks, cars, boats and planes are going to work out too.

Are you implying that we live in one branch of a multiverse created by random statements by god?

Christian apologetics: the art of apologizing for Christianity and/or bending the truth to verify the Christian narrative

So the lack of evidence of God is evidence that God is hiding himself?

well... ya!!! thats been the storyline for a long time. Where's yur faith?

[Sorginak]

Universally accepted evidence of stated deity's existence is the only reason to believe in that god's existence.