Carl Sagan's atheism in "Cosmos"

[VociMike]

I haven’t seen “Cosmos” since I was a teenager, but an episode just happens to be on the Science Channel and I just heard good old Carl argue that rather than saying that the origin of God is an unanswerable question, why not save a step and just say that the origin of the universe is an unanswerable question. Rather than say that God always existed, why not save a step and conclude that the universe always existed.

Those are fair questions that we must be able to answer. My absolute shortest answer to them would be that, between the two choices (unexplainable God or unexplainable universe), “God” explains everything else, whereas “universe” explains nothing else.

 

[DeFide]

VociMike:

I haven’t seen “Cosmos” since I was a teenager, but an episode just happens to be on the Science Channel and I just heard good old Carl argue that rather than saying that the origin of God is an unanswerable question, why not save a step and just say that the origin of the universe is an unanswerable question. Rather than say that God always existed, why not save a step and conclude that the universe always existed.

Those are fair questions that we must be able to answer. My absolute shortest answer to them would be that, between the two choices (unexplainable God or unexplainable universe), “God” explains everything else, whereas “universe” explains nothing else.

Yes, and I’d add this:

peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm#6

Especially as it gets to the reply to the 3rd question.

and this:
peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm#3

But yours is much shorter.