On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky <acesLucky@netscape.net>
wrote:
- Refer: <YwqYg.3799$ef2.201@fed1read09>

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be interesting
(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

(As an aside, Marilyn vos Savant [who claims not to answer publicly on
questions of religion or god but did venture this one] answered by
stating, "because so many people believe in one.")

Without being dishonest, what would be your best argument in support of
a god?

There is no "best argument" at all, if one is to be honest.
For there cannot be, where there is zero evidence for, and a ton of
evidence against.

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky <acesLucky@netscape.net>
wrote:

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be interesting
(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

(As an aside, Marilyn vos Savant [who claims not to answer publicly on
questions of religion or god but did venture this one] answered by
stating, "because so many people believe in one.")

I knew there was a reason I was never impressed with her.

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky <acesLucky@netscape.net>
wrote:

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be interesting
(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

(As an aside, Marilyn vos Savant [who claims not to answer publicly on
questions of religion or god but did venture this one] answered by
stating, "because so many people believe in one.")

I knew there was a reason I was never impressed with her.

Without being dishonest, what would be your best argument in support of
a god?

AcesLucky

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky <acesLucky@netscape.net>
wrote:

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be interesting
(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

I really can't think of one that doesn't immediately crumble when the
light of reason is applied to it.

(As an aside, Marilyn vos Savant [who claims not to answer publicly on
questions of religion or god but did venture this one] answered by
stating, "because so many people believe in one.")

Marilyn should know better: this is a straightforward logical fallacy
of Argumentum Ad Numerum/Argumentum Ad Populum. Shame on her.

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky <acesLucky@netscape.net>
wrote:

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be interesting
(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

I really can't think of one that doesn't immediately crumble when the
light of reason is applied to it.

(As an aside, Marilyn vos Savant [who claims not to answer publicly on
questions of religion or god but did venture this one] answered by
stating, "because so many people believe in one.")

Marilyn should know better: this is a straightforward logical fallacy
of Argumentum Ad Numerum/Argumentum Ad Populum. Shame on her.

Without being dishonest, what would be your best argument in support of
a god?

Without being dishonest, what would be your best argument in support
of unicorns?
--

"O Sybilli, si ergo
Fortibus es in ero
O Nobili! Themis trux
Sivat sinem? Causen Dux"

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky <acesLucky@netscape.net>
wrote:

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be

(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

Not our problem. What would be your best argument in favour of the
Great Arkleseizure?

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky wrote in message
<YwqYg.3799$ef2.201@fed1read09>:

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be interesting
(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

(As an aside, Marilyn vos Savant [who claims not to answer publicly on
questions of religion or god but did venture this one] answered by
stating, "because so many people believe in one.")

And since that's an argument with obvious flaws, it's quite
illuminating that's the best she could come up with.

Without being dishonest, what would be your best argument in support of
a god?

Tricky.

Offhand I can't think of anything that would convince me of the
existence of a God. But on the other hand, God is traditionally held
to be omniscient, and so presumably if there is a God, (S)He knows
precisely what would convince me of its existence. It seems peculiar
then that if this hypothetical God is also omnipotent, all-loving (as
is traditionally held) and there is a downside to not believing, that
it doesn't provide me with this compelling proof or evidence. In fact
it seems so peculiar that it suggests to me that the fact of my
atheism is proof of atheism at least with respect to omniscient,
omnipotent and all-loving Gods...!

That said, and having thought about it a bit while writing the above,
I think the thing that I'd find quite suggestive of the existence of a
God would be if the supposed revelations of this God were accessible
to anyone independent of historical and cultural context, and
understood in the same way independent of historical and cultural
context.

Then again, if earth were more like Discworld, it would certainly be
hard to maintain a coherent atheism...


--
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
attrib: Pauline Réage. Cine To DVD? http://www.video2cd.co.uk

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky wrote:

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be interesting
(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

(As an aside, Marilyn vos Savant [who claims not to answer publicly on
questions of religion or god but did venture this one] answered by
stating, "because so many people believe in one.")

Without being dishonest, what would be your best argument in support of a
god?

The second case is a bit easier: there currently are no good
arguments in support of a god.

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:16:40 -0700, AcesLucky wrote:

This is an honest question to which an honest reply would be interesting
(to me).

What would be your best argument in "support" of a god?

(As an aside, Marilyn vos Savant [who claims not to answer publicly on
questions of religion or god but did venture this one] answered by
stating, "because so many people believe in one.")

Without being dishonest, what would be your best argument in support of a
god?

AcesLucky

Are you asking, "If a god were to exist, what evidence would you expect to
see?" Or, are you asking, "Of the existing evidence, what is the most
compelling or hardest to refute?"

In the first case, I would expect a very simple demonstration of something
that clearly violated a well established law of physics. For example, a
bowl of water freezing at one end and boiling in another. Or water
flowing uphill. In each case, the demonstration of a 'miracle' would be
tentative, as there is always the possibility that we are seeing a natural
phenomenon that we do not understand. Any sufficiently advanced
technology is indistinguishable from magic. Any sufficiently advanced
being is indistinguishable from a god.

The second case is a bit easier: there currently are no good arguments in
support of a god. While it is true that we do not know how the Universe
came to be in its current state, or what it was like before the Big Bang,
and we do not know how the first living cells formed, there is no reason
to attribute such things to magic. Explaining one mystery by substituting
another is no explanation.

The argument that "so many people believe in one" is vacuous. People are
easily fooled. That is why science is so important. If most people were
very careful in their thinking, and drew conclusions only from logically
valid inference from well tested data, it would have more weight. But, we
live in a world where most people believe they can talk to the dead,
divine the future by various means, and predict someone's personality
based on the position of the stars when they were born.