Major Arguments for the Existence of God

[CHRISTINE77]

It is a similar issue to STT’s question about truth. These problems usually lead to God. Where else?

IF they are seeking the truth, (which I have my doubts). If you seek the truth you will find God. If you are trying to fit nonsense into your theory, you will not find anything near the truth.

 

[STT]

And who packed the information?

It is a part of natural process. I think a God who is omnipotent can create Human in one instance. It is strange that God chose this strange way of creating Human being. Anyway, that is not my point and it is off topic.

 

[Vera_Ljuba]

Even if some being answered all of those questions, you don’t think every staunch atheist would insist it was some highly advanced extra-terrestrial?

And why not believe that?

If you can present a highly advanced extra-terrestrial, I will take it into consideration. But no one - except God - could ever know the details of my internal thoughts, or the conversations I conducted with my deceased friends and relatives.

However, your questions made me curious: “what would YOU accept as a definitive proof that God is communicating with you?”.

 

[Vera_Ljuba]

God is with you always. Whether you choose to recognize Him is up to you. Please don’t think it is all up to you. While everything is fun and love and caring - you may think “Who needs God?” but believe me, you need Him. He is pure love and cares deeply for you and your soul.

I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but I wonder: “what makes you an authority to make utterances about what I need?” Isn’t that way above your “pay grade”? And as I said many times before: “if God cares about me, why does he hide above the clouds, and why doesn’t he answer my humble questions?”

 

[goout]

I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but I wonder: “what makes you an authority to make utterances about what I need?” Isn’t that way above your “pay grade”? And as I said many times before: “if God cares about me, why does he hide above the clouds, and why doesn’t he answer my humble questions?”

The whole point of the Christian God is that God does not hide, he reveals himself fully by sharing everything human including death, and he is the answer to all questions.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

However, your questions made me curious: “what would YOU accept as a definitive proof that God is communicating with you?”.

The fact that my life has been made meaningful with God and meaningless without God.

Also the fact that when I turned away from God my life turned bad.

When I turned back to God it was definitely better.

I have concluded this was not mere coincidence, but a reaching out between me and God.

 

[tonyrey]

Nope, it never happened. Not even when I still believed in God.

My life is not “cold” at all. Love, caring, fun fills it up to the brim - and that is how I like it. If God would really wish to be part of it, I am ready to accommodate him. Too bad that he does not seem to want it.

Where does our capacity for love come from?

 

[tonyrey]

IF they are seeking the truth, (which I have my doubts). If you seek the truth you will find God. If you are trying to fit nonsense into your theory, you will not find anything near the truth.

I don’t think non-believers are necessarily insincere. There is so much propaganda about evolution they think God is redundant.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

The fact that my life has been made meaningful with God and meaningless without God.

Also the fact that when I turned away from God my life turned bad.

When I turned back to God it was definitely better.

I have concluded this was not mere coincidence, but a reaching out between me and God.

I agree. It is a two way street. We reach out to God and Go catches our hands. If you turn away from God, He will still be there, but where are you? In darkness.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but I wonder: “what makes you an authority to make utterances about what I need?” Isn’t that way above your “pay grade”? And as I said many times before: “if God cares about me, why does he hide above the clouds, and why doesn’t he answer my humble questions?”

I’m no authority, I just know that everyone needs God. Your questions seem far from humble. More like demands!!!

 

[Glassjester]

However, your questions made me curious: “what would YOU accept as a definitive proof that God is communicating with you?”.

Communicating directly to me? I don’t know.
I suppose if I had a religious vision, or if an angel appeared to me.
I’d probably believe it was genuine. I haven’t hallucinated before, so I wouldn’t suspect that as the cause.

But the question wasn’t about what you’d accept as proof of God communicating directly to you, but rather what would you accept as proof of God.

As for that, I would accept the existence of the universe as proof of a transcendent, eternal, all-powerful creative entity.

I would accept a man rising from the dead as proof of God’s personal love for mankind and plan for our salvation.

 

[Vera_Ljuba]

I’m no authority, I just know that everyone needs God. Your questions seem far from humble. More like demands!!!

So you know that everyone needs God. I guess this is real conversation stopper. And BTW you cannot know what my questions used to be when I still hoped to get an answer from God.

 

[Vera_Ljuba]

Communicating directly to me? I don’t know.
I suppose if I had a religious vision, or if an angel appeared to me.
I’d probably believe it was genuine. I haven’t hallucinated before, so I wouldn’t suspect that as the cause.

Sounds fine. But, you see, when I made a similar answer, the other people jumped on my “donkey” and demanded some further answers about advanced extra-terrestrials. When I asked about a good evocation spell to grab a demon and force it to manifest itself, I received no valuable answer. After all the existence of some sulfur-smelling creature, with a forked penis (as confessed by many “witches” after having been tortured by some … inquisitors) would be an interesting evidence for Christianity.

But the question wasn’t about what you’d accept as proof of God communicating directly to you, but rather what would you accept as proof of God.

I already answered this many times. Something that only God could know or do. Things that not even the most advanced extra-terrestrials could know. Not that there is any evidence that there are any extra-terrestrials in the first place.

As for that, I would accept the existence of the universe as proof of a transcendent, eternal, all-powerful creative entity.

I would accept a man rising from the dead as proof of God’s personal love for mankind and plan for our salvation.

Obviously our standards are different.

 

[Tomdstone]

what would you accept as proof of God…

An atheist once said that he would believe in divine miracles if someone regrew a limb after praying. For example, suppose a person loses his entire arm or his entire leg in war, and returns home. He and his family then pray that his arm and leg be restored. The atheist said that if that occurred, he would believe that it was a divine miracle, and evidence of God.

 

[goout]

An atheist once said that he would believe in divine miracles if someone regrew a limb after praying.
…

Could we not expect this atheist to observe the obvious irony?
While asking for someone to grow a limb, he fails to look in the mirror and observe that he “is”. His own body answers the request for a miracle.

The mirror reveals his own arms and legs, none of which he made himself, none of which he willed into existence.

And yet he asks for evidence of miracles.
Does that make any sense?

 

[Glassjester]

An atheist once said that he would believe in divine miracles if someone regrew a limb after praying. For example, suppose a person loses his entire arm or his entire leg in war, and returns home. He and his family then pray that his arm and leg be restored. The atheist said that if that occurred, he would believe that it was a divine miracle, and evidence of God.

What about a blind man, seeing? Or a paralytic walking?

Wouldn’t an atheist just deny the claims of the man with the regenerated limb?
Wouldn’t he call it hearsay, or a hoax?

 

[neophyte]

Stephen hawking and Brian Greene have said nice things about the cyclical universe theory advanced by Princeton Professor Paul Steinhardt. Interested readers can see for themselves how he has answered all of the objections against it.Please see:
Endless Universe: Beyond The Big Bang by Paul J. Steinhardt
physics.princeton.edu/~steinh/vaasrev.pdf
physics.princeton.edu/~steinh/dm2004.pdf
edge.org/conversation/paul_steinhardt-the-cyclic-universe-paul-steinhardt
youtube.com/watch?v=cEijLstRLg8

It’s not possible for a cyclic universe to exist from the infinite past, because if it did then we would now be at the end of an infinite series of actual events. But by definition it is not possible to reach the end of an infinite series. Therefore, at some point the universe had a beginning.

 

[goout]

What about a blind man, seeing? Or a paralytic walking?

Wouldn’t an atheist just deny the claims of the man with the regenerated limb?
Wouldn’t he call it hearsay, or a hoax?

Right.
Life is full of miracles.
And the cry is “document it for me.”

 

[Vera_Ljuba]

Could we not expect this atheist to observe the obvious irony?
While asking for someone to grow a limb, he fails to look in the mirror and observe that he “is”. His own body answers the request for a miracle.

The mirror reveals his own arms and legs, none of which he made himself, none of which he willed into existence.

And yet he asks for evidence of miracles.
Does that make any sense?

The problem is that you see “miracles” in the most mundane, everyday events.

If you look into a mirror, and see your own reflection, that is NOT a miracle. If you look into a mirror and see your long deceased relative, whose motions would not reflect your own motions, that would be a miracle.

If someone’s amputated limb would regrow spontaneously, that would be amazing, but it would not be a “miracle”. It could be due to an insofar unknown natural force. If, however, ALL the sick people in a hospital would get healed, AFTER your prayer that WOULD be a miracle.

A miracle is something that “cannot happen spontaneously in the real world”, but it DOES happen after a intercessory prayer.

 

[Tomdstone]

What about a blind man, seeing? Or a paralytic walking?

Wouldn’t an atheist just deny the claims of the man with the regenerated limb?
Wouldn’t he call it hearsay, or a hoax?

He would not agree that a blind man seeing or a paralytic walking would constitute a miracle. That is just his opinion on it. Sorry, but he would not accept that. Also, no he would not accept hearsay or unsubstantiated gossip. If he had acceptable evidence that the man had lost his arms and legs and then he and his family prayed for divine intervention and his arms and legs grew back, he would accept that as proof of divine miraculous intervention.