Does God exist?

List Universe opened up comments on the question, Does God exist?  As you might imagine, much of what came out was fruitless haranguing, but it did provide a very useful list of links provided by unbelievers and believers as to why they do or don't believe.  Good for us apologists to consider and study.

• Apatheism
• Big List of Gods
• God is a concept, by which we mesure our pain
• God is imaginary
• Iron Chariots, the counter-apologetics wiki
• St. Thomas Aquinas' Five Ways
• Why won't God heal Amputees?
  
• YouTube videos
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....playnext=1
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....mp;index=1
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....mp;index=2

Comments

[jurisnaturalist]

I believe God exists, but I don’t think you should.
Unless you want to of course, but I don’t know why you would want to do that.
Belief in God requires assumption of all sorts of responsibilities. For example, it becomes your full and exclusive responsibility to care for the least of these. You must stop behaving as if there is no God, and adopt some set of concrete morals, perhaps develop a systematic ethic, which cannot be internally inconsistent. You become liable for an entire array of laws and commandments which may or may not be knowable, and if known may or may not be impossible to keep.

Of course, most people who say they believe in God don’t even acknowledge these responsibilities, and hardly ever meet them. Then they make up some sort of lame excuse like, “I’m not perfect, just forgiven.” Well, what good does believing in God do you then? What good does your belief in God do for me?

No. I believe in God, but I don’t think you should. Not unless you are ready and willing to accept the responsibilities such belief entails. Otherwise, just keep your belief to yourself and do us all a favor.
Nathanael Snow
ndsnow@gmail.com

[seeker]

That's an interesting polemic, with which I agree, but what you forgot is, you not only get *responsibilities* that have *almost nothing* to do with your salvation (and everything to do with eternal reward), you get *privileges*, which include:
- assurance of forgiveness
- deep, permanent, agape love
- assurance of guidance and care
- assurance that evil can be turned to good in your life
- an integrated worldview that is complete and congruent with reality
- a worldwide community of others who love God
- a life of purpose and meaning that is part of a larger plan for good (though other world views might offer that too)
- power that transforms you into a better person

I'm sure I left things out, but you get the idea. I like your approach though, it's challenging, esp. to our "what's in it for me" approach to truth.

[jurisnaturalist]

seeker,
Thanks.
I just don't see why anyone would consider the things on your list worthwhile benefits of the responsibilities on my list. The only explanation I can offer is that they have had a personal encounter with God, calling them.
Absent that personal encounter, I suspect that most professions of belief are motivated by the desire to protect an illegitimate privilege involving the exercise of some degree of power.
Nathanael Snow

[seeker]

Absent that personal encounter, I suspect that most professions of belief are motivated by the desire to protect an illegitimate privilege involving the exercise of some degree of power.

Well, my own experience was solely motivated by a desire not to miss God's plan for my life, and God's love, based on the passages in Matt 7. I had no idea of responsibility, nothing. But I did encounter God, and WAS changed on the inside.

[Benjamin9]

unless the universe is some sort of cosmic accident, along with life and all the innumerable variables contained there in, i would have too say yes.

and if i am wrong, in the end i loose nothing. if i am correct, my faith is vindicated and what is more important, as a believer in the resurrection hope, i can carry on my God's assigned duties.