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Drayab · 12-25-2004, 08:13 PM

God is something that is undetectable by any experiement and more or less ruled out of science from the beginning. Science is a natural study and God is supernatural by definition. Therefore, I think that faith in God's existence is irrational. At the very least the initial 'leap of faith' has to be an irrational move.

Well, a lot of value is placed on rationality in our society, so why would people do something irrational? I think people do it (often subconciously) because it gives them purpose and because it makes the world seem less cold.

I don't think it's very unlike how I convince myself that I have free will. I have a gut feeling that I have free will, and life seems kind of pointless without it. So, I tell myself, 'I can stop worrying about free will and just believe that I've got it.' Afterall, everybody knows what a quagmire it is to get free will out of a natural perspective on the world, but let's not go there in this thread. Suffice it to say that when I think about it, I have a hard time convincing myself in a rational way that I have free will.

So why have faith? Have faith if life sucks without it. I'm sure that's not what a lot of people who want to hear a 'case for faith' would like to hear, but that's my answer. People are looking for a concrete, rational reason to have faith, but I think that's asking for something inherently impossible. I think a lot of people have spent time trying to think God into existence, but they are usually just playing word games. Besides, just because you can make a logical argument for something's existence doesn't mean it actually exists. You can't think something into existence. If you want to prove something exists, you've got to detect it, and in God's case it has been ruled out from the beginning. Whatever new experiements we do, we will always describe the data with a theory that does not include God.

Have faith if it makes your life better. Perhaps God will reward your devotion when you're dead. Then again maybe he won't. Even if he doesn't then at least you did everything you could to make this life as good as it can be. I guess my argument is kind of like Pascal's wager.

12-25-2004, 08:13 PM	#52 (permalink)
Drayab Upright Location: Chapel Hill, NC	God is something that is undetectable by any experiement and more or less ruled out of science from the beginning. Science is a natural study and God is supernatural by definition. Therefore, I think that faith in God's existence is irrational. At the very least the initial 'leap of faith' has to be an irrational move. Well, a lot of value is placed on rationality in our society, so why would people do something irrational? I think people do it (often subconciously) because it gives them purpose and because it makes the world seem less cold. I don't think it's very unlike how I convince myself that I have free will. I have a gut feeling that I have free will, and life seems kind of pointless without it. So, I tell myself, 'I can stop worrying about free will and just believe that I've got it.' Afterall, everybody knows what a quagmire it is to get free will out of a natural perspective on the world, but let's not go there in this thread. Suffice it to say that when I think about it, I have a hard time convincing myself in a rational way that I have free will. So why have faith? Have faith if life sucks without it. I'm sure that's not what a lot of people who want to hear a 'case for faith' would like to hear, but that's my answer. People are looking for a concrete, rational reason to have faith, but I think that's asking for something inherently impossible. I think a lot of people have spent time trying to think God into existence, but they are usually just playing word games. Besides, just because you can make a logical argument for something's existence doesn't mean it actually exists. You can't think something into existence. If you want to prove something exists, you've got to detect it, and in God's case it has been ruled out from the beginning. Whatever new experiements we do, we will always describe the data with a theory that does not include God. Have faith if it makes your life better. Perhaps God will reward your devotion when you're dead. Then again maybe he won't. Even if he doesn't then at least you did everything you could to make this life as good as it can be. I guess my argument is kind of like Pascal's wager.