Does God Exist? And if s/he does then what would they look like? Since the beginnings of human history, our race has turned to their gods and goddesses for the answers to their natural world. About 3000 years ago the Ancient Greeks were no different, what many consider to be the most intellectual and civilized people of ancient times were quick to look to their deities for answers to natural questions. When the ancient peoples of Greece heard thunder they attributed it to the god Thor. A society that based their being on logic and civilization believed thunder itself was a result of Thor casting down judgment for blasphemy.
So I ask this simple question, why is Thor no longer worshiped? Scientists today still are not sure what causes the sound of thunder to be produced. In fact it was Greece’s own Aristotle in third century BCE who claimed thunder was the result of clouds colliding with each other. Since Aristotle there have been many more theories, some believed thunder came from the sound of steam exploding while the water molecules around the lighting bolt were heated almost instantaneously. Still today scientists are in disagreement over which theory holds the most truth.
Thunder’s gap in human understanding that was once held by a god of sorts, is now filled with scientific research and theory. Sure it’s only a theory; however a theory based on scientific evidence. Do you know any modern day Christians who would argue that there is NOT a scientific answer to the ‘question’ of thunder? I don’t think so. Even to them, the scientific data is enough to falsify the god Thor. So then why is it modern day Christians are willing to accept the scientific data used to produce ‘unbelief’ in Thor, but cringe at improbability of the events of the Bible, and even the existence of the biblical god himself.
Christians will admit they are atheistic when considering the existence of Thor, Zeus, Jupiter, Romulus, Horus, Re, Osiris, Poseidon, etc, so what stops them from applying the same thought process to the Biblical God they worship. Or as Richard Dawkins so poetically put it, "We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further."
It has been my experience that Christians are not only willing to hold onto their own beliefs in the wake of evidence to the contrary, but on top of that they require the impossible when defending their own beliefs. If I were to tell you that I have an invisible pink elephant living in my backyard, would you simply believe me and go out back and start talking to ‘Pinky’. No of course not, now the simple question, is it my job to prove that Pinky exists, or your job to prove that he doesn’t. The burden of proof cannot lie in the process of falsification. In fact in the case of Pinky, I think we can all agree that the burden of proof lies with me, it would be my job to prove the existence of the invisible pink elephant, for it would be impossible for you to prove that ‘pinky’ didn’t exist.
However, this same logic fails many of the Christians I have had this conversation with. Many of them ask me to prove that God does not exist. And while there is very little evidence to prove the existence of God, they stand by their beliefs asking for us atheists to do the impossible. Every truly logical atheist in the world can tell you that there no way to be 100% sure that there is no God, of course I say that with the exact same conviction that I can say there is no way to prove 100% that is there is not an invisible pink elephant living in my backyard.
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