ButtUgly: Main_blogentry_040803

God must exist

There are over 300 reasons why! For example:

TRANSCENDENTAL ARGUMENT

God exists.
If God exists, then if reason exists then God exists.
Reason exists.
Therefore, God exists.

MODAL ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT

God exists.
God, existing, is either necessary or unnecessary.
God is not unnecessary, therefore God must be necessary.
Therefore, God exists.

MORAL ARGUMENT (I)

Person X, a well-known atheist, was morally inferior to the rest of us.
Therefore, God exists.

Link through Tom Coates, who has a very good article about why he is an atheist:

I explained that while Christianity seemed transhistorical and transcendent - that originally it was just one of many different cult practices that exploded in a region at a certain time in history. And that none of these things made it untrue as such - but that they certainly challenged the monolithic image of Christianity as a pure beam of message from God - and that anyone who was going to seriously consider dedicating their life to a religious practice should probably do some bloody research beforehand...

It raises a question though: why does one have to justify being an atheist, but those that believe in God usually never have to justify their belief? Perhaps it is because there is no rationalization for faith? Or is it just because not believing is not the norm?

OK, I've had my share of things that could be called "religious experiences" so that I know that they are really hard to approach rationally, and that it is difficult to explain them to people who have not had them. I know it's also easy to get into this "holier than thou" -attitude: "You don't know what I've experienced, and I've seen so much better stuff that you simply must be wrong." But it is not so. It is a misinterpretation. Believing in God does not make one a better person. It may do that, and all those people who found God in prison, or otherwise reformed their life because of that: "Good for you!" But really, what you say and do has more relevance than what you think or believe in.

An old Zen story:

: Student asks master: "What is enlightenment?"

: Master says: "First, mountains and lakes are mountains and lakes. When you try to understand, mountains and lakes are not mountains and lakes. And once you achieve enlightenment, the mountains are mountains, and the lakes are lakes.

Sorry about the rambling. Difficult subject, Monday, first coffee break of the months of drudgery of work.