Can You Rationalize Your Belief in God?
- Thread starter XxtraMannish
- Start date
I don't think the issue is of a "truth" that is decided, but rather of one that is discovered. I am really not sure what your argument here is anyway. I don't think you're going to have much success with this argument. The government can decide to teach something that is not true. Okay, and what is your point?
so...
according to your statement here.
If you jump off the tallest bulding in your city. And land on your head and quit breathing....and half of your body is gone.
I am going to tell people you "died". Your 3 friends are gonna say "no, he just quit breathing". So are you dead or not?
my point is...you can do this to anything. All your doign is manipulating the defintion of things.
according to your statement here.
If you jump off the tallest bulding in your city. And land on your head and quit breathing....and half of your body is gone.
I am going to tell people you "died". Your 3 friends are gonna say "no, he just quit breathing". So are you dead or not?
my point is...you can do this to anything. All your doign is manipulating the defintion of things.
Thanks for being the only one to tackle the subject...but I don't see how these things can prove that God does not exist. Obviously your conception of God is one who intervenes with people, and is an all loving, all knowing God. But imagine that God doesn't love his people, or imagine that God doesn't intervene, and then these things really make no sense. Or imagine, as I said before, that God is not a conscious being, but more of a "life force" or "energy" rather than a person.
If you were to say to me "how do you know that God exists" and my answer was:
Life
Peace
Happiness
Joy
Compassion
Community
You'd tell me it was a copout and I offered no real reasoning.
Not to mention that people who believe in the type of God you're talking about (a compassionate, loving God) often also believe in some sort of Devil or Evil.
The fact that evil exists does not negate the possibility that God exists.
If you were to say to me "how do you know that God exists" and my answer was:
Life
Peace
Happiness
Joy
Compassion
Community
You'd tell me it was a copout and I offered no real reasoning.
Not to mention that people who believe in the type of God you're talking about (a compassionate, loving God) often also believe in some sort of Devil or Evil.
The fact that evil exists does not negate the possibility that God exists.
I agree that at least one axiom must be accepted in order to pursue any "truth", but your example of the government deciding that 2 + 2 = 5 is terrible because it assumes that such a thing is decided. No one decided that 2 + 2 = 4. That is a logical deduction. The application of this logic is practical in such a universe. The faith is that such a universe is itself practical.
People also have faith that the words they speak are the ones they intend to speak. Perhaps there is a casper inside you making you say things against your intent. How do I know? I have faith that these are your words. So at the core of everything there is some axiom of faith, but you haven't reached that axiom with your example of the government deciding a mathematic equation.
People also have faith that the words they speak are the ones they intend to speak. Perhaps there is a casper inside you making you say things against your intent. How do I know? I have faith that these are your words. So at the core of everything there is some axiom of faith, but you haven't reached that axiom with your example of the government deciding a mathematic equation.
But somebody did decide that 2+2=4, they are just words that we have given meaning to, just like the currency (paper) that we have given meaning to. If you want to exchange your money from the US in europe you can give them four dollars and it would equal 5 dollars in european money. so in that senario 2+2=5 and it is because that is what the goverment has said it is.
If you're going to minimize everything into some phantasmagoria then you will have to include God. Thus your reasoning is self-defeating. You are attempting to show faith as reality but in doing so you are negating everything, then conveniently for your argument you are saying God does exist. I don't disagree with your conclusion about God and faith, but your reasoning is your fatal flaw.
Its not that I'm saying things are like that, but it is possible that our perception of reality is not really reality. Think about it how can it be reality if when you die you are no longer part of it? something real always exist but when you die what we preceive to be real will not coexist with us any more. do you get what Im tryin to say?
*smacks forehead*
No. You are talking about two completely different things: logic and currency exchange. On top of that, your reasoning is semantics. Someone decided that the character '2' or the word 'two' will refer to that particular mathematical concept. We can change the character to 'K' and the word to 'buv', if it conveys the same mathematical concept then what difference does it make. Yes, someone decided how we represent these concepts, but the concepts themselves were never decided. Do you know what semantics means?
Semantics (n.)
1. The study or science of meaning in language forms.
2. The study of the relationships between various signs and symbols and what they represent.
No. You are talking about two completely different things: logic and currency exchange. On top of that, your reasoning is semantics. Someone decided that the character '2' or the word 'two' will refer to that particular mathematical concept. We can change the character to 'K' and the word to 'buv', if it conveys the same mathematical concept then what difference does it make. Yes, someone decided how we represent these concepts, but the concepts themselves were never decided. Do you know what semantics means?
Semantics (n.)
1. The study or science of meaning in language forms.
2. The study of the relationships between various signs and symbols and what they represent.
Again you are not getting the point he was trying to make. When you were asked why you thought god didnt exist, you named a whole bunch of horrible things. Now he is saying a whole bunch of things in life that are good. His point was that just because there is evil (devil) in this world doesn't mean there is no good (god).
I agree, but your reasoning isn't going to help your position. They say, "how do you know God is real?" and you reply, "well, how do you know anything is real? You don't. Therefore God exists." This is foolish. They can simply come back and say, "okay, then unicorns exist". Your reasoning isn't rationalizing the existence of God. Instead you are just negating what we perceive as existence. All concepts are based on our perception of reality. So if you negate our perception of reality as possibly be false, then you consequently negate the concept of God. Because you are conscious and question the fleeting nature of things, you have come to this concept of God. Just try to stay on that track instead of going down the path of complete negation. That will lead you nowhere (obviously).
I agree that reality should be held at a higher standard. The basis of what we consider reality should be eternal and unchanging. This relative material world of sense-interaction can only logically be a by-product of the eternal reality.
Yes. You make a valid point here. But your complete negation of everything isn't going to validate or rationalize the existence of God.
I agree that reality should be held at a higher standard. The basis of what we consider reality should be eternal and unchanging. This relative material world of sense-interaction can only logically be a by-product of the eternal reality.
Yes. You make a valid point here. But your complete negation of everything isn't going to validate or rationalize the existence of God.