Perhaps a better question or two would be:
Does God exist? If so, what is His nature?
If you decide He doesn't exist -- you're done and no further analysis is needed, right?
Perhaps the better question is this one: Why do we even bother to consider the question of God's existence?
We ask ourselves the Big Question only because we have the power to articulate rationally and are conscious of our existence. The combination of these two faculties has caused us to question causality, i.e., why are we here and who put us here?
The superstitious since time immemorial have attributed godliness to trees, the Sun, the Moon, etc., and are presently fixated on Buddha, Allah, Jesus, and a host of other deities. At the root of all these religions, however, is the Big Question of why we are here. Each religion answers it differently, but naturally there is no proof that any are correct. Anyone who believes in any religion's causality formula should believe in the Tooth Fairy.
Those of us who see the quest for the answer to causality as being an essentially impossible enterprise are caught between a rock and a hard place because religious faith is utterly impossible to accept as a valid answer--faith is incapable of proving anything. At the end of the day, religions are subtle superstitions carrying the explanatory power of a block of cement. The less bloody ones of course serve as useful socializing tools to keep our more aggressive instincts in check. We are presently witnessing what the more bloody ones can achieve in degrading culture and civilization.
Mark Twain does a fantastic job of punching holes into faith. If you are interested, you might wish to read his Letters from the Earth for a fun and wise poke into all things religious. Your post suggests to me that the book is right up your alley.
On the other hand, science has proven equally incapable of telling us anything about causality--but it is getting there. Unlike religions, science is making stready progress.
My view: Look hard enough into the Big How of things and there is a chance you might understand the Big Why.
C2@don'taskmeIjustlivehere.com |
