A green table behind a door is physically possible. A whale drinking tea and talking to a geranium while both orbit Mars is not physically possible.
We use belief in the first instance because both absence and presence are possible.
"I believe there is a table behind the door"
"I believe there is not a green table behind the door"
are both acceptable statements.
We use knowledge in the second case because our knowledge of the physical universe is that it is impossible.
"I know there is no whale drinking tea and talking to a geranium while orbiting Mars"
It would be absurd to say "I don't know if there is a whale drinking tea and talking to a geranium while orbiting Mars, so I can only say that I think / I believe there is no whale drinking...."
It would be absurd to say "I don't know if there is a whale drinking tea and talking to a geranium while orbiting Mars, so I can only say that I think / I believe there is no whale drinking...."
God is physically impossible. This is not a metaphysical or philosophical trick. It's a statement of fact.
We know that the Jewish-Christian-Muslim God cannot exist because omnipotence, omniscience and infinite compassion cancel each other out.
The only other possibility is a God that started the universe working and then sat back to see how it turned out. If such a God exists - and there are very strong arguments* that suggest it doesn't exist - then that form of supernatural consciousness is so remote from our own lives as to have no meaning or relevance. And the whole point of God is that he/she/it is relevant to humanity. If God is not relevant, God is not God.
We know that the Jewish-Christian-Muslim God cannot exist because omnipotence, omniscience and infinite compassion cancel each other out.
The only other possibility is a God that started the universe working and then sat back to see how it turned out. If such a God exists - and there are very strong arguments* that suggest it doesn't exist - then that form of supernatural consciousness is so remote from our own lives as to have no meaning or relevance. And the whole point of God is that he/she/it is relevant to humanity. If God is not relevant, God is not God.
God - a supernatural consciousness that created the universe and is interested in / involved in human lives cannot exist. And because God cannot exist, God does not exist. And that makes the statement "I know God doesn't exist" the only description possible by a rational individual.
Non-believers who say "I don't know if God exists" or "I don't believe God exists" or "I believe God doesn't exist" are simply refusing to take the discussion to its logical conclusion.
Non-believers who say "I don't know if God exists" or "I don't believe God exists" or "I believe God doesn't exist" are simply refusing to take the discussion to its logical conclusion.
Martin
* I'd say that the arguments = proof that the non-involved supernatural consciousness doesn't exist, but it would make this post too long.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment