Tuesday, January 3, 2017

God

HIs there an objective evidence for God's existence?
18 ANSWERS
Joe Smith
Joe Smith, I like to think that I think, but perhaps I only think that I think that I think

David Chidakel hits the nail on the head. I just want to echo what he has written and expand a small bit.

What drives a lot of people away from philosophy is the ultimate realization that nothing can be proved absolutely and objectively. Descartes is right - cogito ergo sum is as far as objective proof goes. And even that serves as proof only to oneself. It is useless for me to argue that to someone else.

This realization is what has steadily pulled people away from religion for the last few centuries. It is the philosophical groundwork for moral and philosophical relativism.

The problem with this realization is that it is completely unutilitarial. If no one believed murder was wrong because of their relativist views, the world would be a terrible place. Terrible.

It is therefore in the best interest of the vast majority of humanity to have some mutual belief system. And that's why we create social contracts. We trust each other enough to say: “Okay listen. I'll not kill you if you'll not kill me, all right?” Of course this is only most useful for the majority of humanity, and only most of the time, but I digress. (I don't like secular ethics. I think it is theoretical nonsense and is practically and philosophically empty and dangerous. Different conversation.)

Some choose to place their faith in humanity, as described above. Others put their faith in some spiritual thing or things. Some call that G-d.

But ultimately, none of these faiths is more objectively demonstrable than the others. Unfortunately this is not a popular idea. People are scared to admit that their beliefs are subjective — no matter how atheistic they are, I've found. We like certainty. Doubt is uncomfortable.

Schopenhauer would attribute this to our own vanity. I think there are spiritual reasons this is so, and not just because we are full of ourselves. But of course, my views are subjective and will therefore be immediately dismissed by materialists. So I shall not go there.

So is there objective proof for G-d’s existence? Nah. Don't think so. Because that would require objective insight and understanding of reality, which we cannot claim to possess.

But if you inspect your beliefs / assumptions / faith carefully enough, you'll realize it's no bigger a leap than is atheism and faith in humanity. Philosophically, at the end of the day, all beliefs are precariously presumptuous. Choose wisely.

Ronald Kimmons
Ronald Kimmons, more Christian than you think.

No comments:

Post a Comment