| The Case for God
By Bruce Mazet Theism is optimistic because it rests on the hope that God exists, that there is a deeper purpose in life, that one can become spiritually fulfilled with a profound love which transcends the boundaries of space and time, and that consciousness does not end with the death of the body. After one has practiced theism for a few years, atheism seems pessimistic because it degrades one down to the level of a mere thing, a soulless lump of matter. The absence of a sublime, spiritual purpose condemns the universe and oneself to an empty, meaningless absurdity. Yet atheism persists because it is impossible for theists to prove that God exists. On the other hand, it is impossible for atheists to prove that God does not exist. Skepticism lies between these two extremes. Skeptics do not affirm theism or atheism. Skeptics withhold judgement and suspend belief because they estimate that there is insufficient evidence on both sides. However, without a leap of faith atheists and skeptics cannot participate in the happiness that results from faithful trust in a supreme being.
The psychological traits that motivate belief or unbelief, by themselves,
are not viable criteria for establishing the validity of either. For example,
theists could be said to be self righteous goody goodies who need a thumb
to suck and crutch to lean on, but atheists could be said to be too arrogant
to accept the possibility that a universal intelligence exists that is far
superior to their own and to whom atheists will be held accountable for their
actions. About theists, they are gullible, fantasy prone wishful thinkers.
About atheists, they are cynical, narrow minded, and insensitive. About theists,
they possess perceptive insight, wisdom, and intuition. About atheists and
skeptics, they possess acute powers of logical
reasoning, etc. In any case, if theists are in error, they have erred
on the side of optimism. [Science and mathematics both rest on uncertain foundations. Only through submission to God can we gain certain knowledge. On the other hand, Pascal like other Jansenists, rejects Montaigne's egoism and other aspects of his thought as well. Pascal goes on to propose his famous wager to show that it is reasonable to believe in God. Either God exists or he does not, and we cannot use reason to determine which alternative is true. However, both our present and our future lives may be affected by the alternative we choose. Since choosing to believe that God exists may lead to eternal life and happiness, and nothing is lost if we are wrong about the other choice, it is better to accept the theistic alternative.-Pascal ] Atheists often fault theists for assuming that God exists based on personal experience but in the absence of conclusive proof from logic. Yet atheists also believe in things that are impossible to prove, e.g. that one’s childhood memories are accurate, that other minds exist independently of one’s own (as opposed to being a solitary brain suspended in a vat of fluid that has been fed false information), and that the world is more than a thousand years old (as opposed to having received false geological data). All of these beliefs could be delusions because none of them can be proven conclusively with logical arguments. Since theists and atheists are unable to support these beliefs with evidence from logic, they rely on evidence from direct experience. Therefore, atheists, by their own actions, are forced to admit that evidence from direct experience is valid. And in doing so, they are forced to assume what they cannot prove. Therefore, theists are also justified in assuming what they cannot prove. But, whereas theists experience God and therefore believe in her, atheists neither experience nor believe. Also, atheists admit that the principles of psychology are valid, even though psychology cannot be scientifically verified or falsified.
Psychology is known only through personal experience and the testimony of
others. For example, there is no scientific proof that the subconscious mind
exists but everybody has one. We know this from personal experience. Although
we seldom remember them, we frequently experience
dreams during
sleep. Also, everyone has heard the
statement “let me sleep on it” by someone who has a decision to
make or a problem to solve. Upon awakening from a good night’s sleep
we are often surprised because suddenly we know exactly what to
do. The
subconscious mind worked out a solution. In addition, we experience image
recognition. For example, if you see an old friend after a long absence,
you can tell immediately whether he has gained or lost weight because you
can compare his present image against the image of that person as he was
long ago. His former image lies just below the threshold of one’s
consciousness. It is in the subconscious. Since theists are aware that something
exists for which there is no scientific proof because it is not accessible
to the five senses—namely the subconscious mind—they know that
it is likely that the individual soul and the infinite god also exist. In
addition, the judicial system of the world both civil and criminal are not
based on conclusive proof. Rather, they are based on a preponderance of evidence.
When arguments are evaluated in court cases juries are not required to seek
proof beyond all possible doubt, only
beyond a reasonable
doubt. Neither psychological beliefs nor jury verdicts can be supported
by conclusive proof. The most that can be hoped for concerning any psychological
or philosophical position, jury verdict, or spiritual belief is that it has
a high probability of being true. [Not true- in mathematics some things are proved in principle BEYOND all shadow of a doubt - such things include the infinitude of prime numbers - and as an example - consider the Mutilated Chess Board.-LB] Furthermore, although scientific evidence can be used to weigh a proposition, verdict, or belief, none of these approaches to reality fall exclusively within the realm of science. Therefore, it is not legitimate to subject them exclusively to the exacting requirements of scientific standards of judgement. For these reasons, conclusive proof is not required to support one’s belief in God. Only logical possibilities within the boundaries of reason, experience, and common sense are required. Just as a snake is not poisoned by its own venom, God is not influenced by egotism. She gave egotism to embodied beings in order to temporarily separate their consciousness from her own, thus enabling embodied beings to achieve independent individuation without being slaves or puppets to God. Ergo, good and evil provide freedom of choice. It is the exercise of one’s independent judgement through the use of free will that forges individuality and strength of character. God is wholey good and perfect yet evil exists within the universe. This is not a logical inconsistency because God cannot guarantee that genuinely free creatures will always do good without depriving them of their freedom of choice. That evil exists simultaneously with a perfectly good, omnipresent god is not a self contradiction. Rather, it is a logically consistent paradox. The fact that God’s existence can neither be proven nor disproven provides one with complete freedom to believe or to disbelieve without coercion. God will not reveal herself in order to force belief or to satisfy idle curiosity: she is neither a tyrant nor a circus performer. However, there is no reason to believe nor evidence to support the idea that something can arise from nothing. The universe exists because God exists. [There is plenty of evidence to show that complexity spontaneously arises within the scheme of physical laws and that the process of development of the universe is a progressive collection of increase in complexity over time - this does not negate the thermodynamic laws of entropy because the notion of a "closed system" needs to be invoked- ie life can arise on this planet because of energy from the sun even though the universe as a whole is growing cold.Virtual particles in some sense "spontaneously arrive from nowhere" as viewed from someone outside a black hole. If one takes account of break downs in cause and effect in Quantum Physics,particles that may very well travel backwards in time,and the fact that the start of the universe may have been a singularity- there is every reason to suppose the universe came into being because it had no reason not to,and only simple linear causation-hungry minds who do not understand physics hold onto the idea that things cannot come into being without a prime mover. It is the inability of a limited mind that grasp at straws like supernatural beings through not being able to grasp concepts that are far more consistent with facts and much better at being able to explain what is actually "experienced" by an observer- or in science's case - ALL observers,regardless of what they believe. Ie the effect of gravity on the location of a star close to the sun will be seen regardless of whether you believe in God. Moreover,within mathematics things can be proven WITHOUT the need for subjective interpretation- the author admits this much.Note that in "The Day Time Began" Paul Davies (a scientist who believes in God) says "It is not an object surrounded by emptiness. It is the origin of space itself, infinitely compressed. Note that the speck does not sit there for an infinite duration. It appears instantaneously from nothing and immediately expands." ...I imagine a physicist knows what he is talking about. Bizarrely Aquinas had it that God made the universe from NOTHING - if theists tell us that something cannot come from nothing then God cannot perform this illogical miracle either - if they allow that God can do it - then they should accept it IS possible for something else more tangible real and logical to be able to do it.-LB]
Neither God nor the universe were caused to exist at any location in space or point in time. God and the universe are uncaused because they have always existed. There was never a place nor a time when God and the universe did not exist. Therefore, God and the universe are infinite in both space and time. [The evidence does not show this-LB] According to physics, life could not possibly exist in the universe without quantum parameters that are precisely fine tuned. There are many of these fine structure constants. If even a single one of these fundamental constants were altered to the smallest degree, all life in the entire universe would cease to exist. However, skeptics argue that intricate measurements in buildings seem to form precise patterns but that these patterns are meaningless because they are a coincidence. Therefore, a fine tuned universe is also a meaningless coincidence. To assert coincidence in buildings is correct. But the objection itself is not valid because whereas buildings can continue to exist if their measurements are changed, life could not exist if even one fundamental constant were changed. How many dead, lifeless universes would have to arise by random chance alone to result in only one precisely fine tuned universe that could support life? Physicists assert that there is no reason to believe that God created our universe because there are trillions multiplied by trillions of universes that all arose by chance. However, there is no evidence whatsoever that this infinite number of hypothetical universes exist, and according to the cosmologists who postulate these hypothetical universes, there is no means by which to obtain any such evidence. Consequently, I suggest that if it is acceptable to postulate the existence of hypothetical universes, then it is acceptable to postulate the existence of God. A fine tuning is the evidence of intelligent design. This is a silly argument- the postulation is a consequence of a theory which has other observational truth to back it up. The fine structure constants are not evidence of supernatural design - they are self-imposing- because if they were not as they are,we would not be here to see that they were so defined - and there would be no one to worry about the probability of other universes. The "other universes" in this case are not postulated REAL universes,as they might be in the "multi-verse" concept from Quantum Physics- but rather hypothetical other universes with other Fine Structure constants...the point being one does not need evidence for hypothetical universes.The argument against the anthropic/fine structure means intelligent design is contained in this document. -LB] Also, Occam’s Razor—the law of parsimony—rules out the many universes theory. Analogous to a mirror, God is the reflecting side while the universe is the dark side. God is an imminent being who participates in the universe and within the mind and spirit of embodied beings, human and nonhuman. Any biological or cybernetic organism that possesses conscious self awareness and the power of abstract reasoning is capable of becoming aware of the presence of God. Yet God is also a transcendent being who dwells far beyond the realm of mental and material phenomena. To be embodied is to be temporarily trapped on the dark side of the mirror, i.e., within the universe. This is the realm of paradoxes. In addition to the paradox cited previously about evil existing simultaneously with a good and perfect God, subatomic particles are a paradox. A subatomic particle possesses two opposing properties: It is both a continuous wave and an individual particle. Each and every electron and photon in the entire universe possesses this wave-particle dualism. Another paradox is that god is absolutely changeless but exhibits the appearance of change. This paradox is also reflected in nature. For example, a rock does not change its shape. Yet the subatomic particles that comprise the rock never stop moving. The electrons orbit the nucleons at six hundred miles per second, and the nucleons vibrate at about one third of the speed of light. Similarly, God is immutable but exhibits the appearance of change. Also, we live in a paradox between reality and perception. It is common knowledge in quantum physics that the atoms which comprise matter are 99.999% empty space. Yet we perceive matter to be hard and solid. The paradox of God’s omnipotence is that she does not have the power to do absolutely anything. [It is obvious to me that anyone who thinks God has a gender cannot have a brain capable of thinking logically - for gender is a function of a material being - and variously God is referred to as one or the other gender merely to keep the peace with women-folk,God as a spirit cannot be either of these genders in principle,and with no proof of God's gender (supposing God has one) we cannot use either gender as a reference,therefore until we know beyond a reasonable doubt...God cannot have a gender. But theists can never say anything about God with any certainty because they have no evidence of any such thing - only that God was supposed to have lived as a man in the form of Jesus Christ - in which case it could be argued he can be any gender when taking material form,so to God could be a bird or a mouse or an elephant or some creature we have never seen. The whole idea is fraught with logical inconsistencies and the sooner theists realise what rubbish they are talking, the better-LB] God cannot commit evil acts because she is morally perfect, i.e. omnibenevolent.[He/she commits the evil act of leaving a freewill world to suffer harm and injury-LB] She cannot hold false beliefs because she is omniscient.[He/She believes in her/his own existence...which is false-LB] Also, she cannot perform tasks that are logically impossible. [Why must God be subject to man's own ideas of what is logical...is logic so powerful? I guess even theists think that it is. A pity then that they cannot use it with greater proficiency-LB] For example, God cannot create a stone that is too heavy for her to lift because this is not a logically possible task. Rather, it is a false task. It is a self contradiction similar to being a married bachelor or a square circle. All of these concepts are merely concessions to individual creatures who are circumscribed by their intellect and confined by their senses to the dark side of the mirror. In reality, God is the ultimate in simplicity. Her attributes are not distinct from one another. The light side of the mirror consists of the radiance of singular, un differentiated Divine Being. Paradoxes do not exist there because multiplicity does not exist. There are no categories of separate, individual phenomena in that realm. It is solely comprised of pure being, infinite consciousness and unspeakable bliss. Since categories and distinctions exist on the dark side of the mirror but vanish on the reflecting side of the mirror, matter and individual minds exist but they are not real. The most objective and accurate methods used to describe the structure of the universe are math and physics. They are reliable because they exclude subjective and untrustworthy input from the bodily senses. The sensory experiences of the delightful fragrance of a flower, the sound of beautiful music and the stunning magnificence of a sunset, etc. do no have real or objective existence because they are not categories of scientifically valid descriptions. Rather, they are collective delusions. They exist but they are not real, not even within the space-time continuum. Physics and math equations alone are able to quantify the space-time continuum, not the senses. Yet knowledge derived from mathematical logic is faulty. Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem proves that all systems of mathematics contain unavoidable contradictions which cannot be resolved. Ergo, neither the senses nor the mind can discern the ultimate essence of the universe. [This is a fallacious and over-simplified argument- just because Gödels argument exists - does not render maths and logic faulty - anymore than Einstein rendered Newton faulty - it is a fact that Gödel's theorem is exploited by Roger Penrose to explain how the mind is more than a machine - it can hardly be used to point to the inadequacy of maths and physics.-LB] In other words, the space-time continuum must be transcended in order to be understood. Sequences of time and multiplicity within the universe are transcended into timeless singularity beyond it. From this vantage point, there is no infinite mirror and no universe. There is only the supreme being. In the meantime, I perceive this little body and that enormous universe because I am spiritually ignorant. Scientific proof of God’s existence by itself would not change anyone’s life. No one would experience the deep peace and the infinite joy of God merely as a result of the fact that the intellect had acquired another belief. All this shows is that any God's are possible - it does not mean the Christian God is the only available option - and in lieu of any proof to the contrary I can say I have had experience of an invisible Pink Elephant and the proof of his status is that the grey versions alive today are the spirit of it's being alive on Earth - this makes as much sense as the Christian God...many other people believe other things on other grounds - and someof them are mutually incompatible with Christianity - and ironically they argue between them using "reason" (supposedly) as to who is correct. The odds are they are all wrong. -LB] Similarly, one cannot see through walls of steel and concrete merely because physics has proven that those walls are 99.999% empty space. Extensive meditation is required to achieve spiritual consciousness. After one has experienced God, scientific proof is irrelevant. Similarly, I do not need scientific proof or personal testimonies that ice cream is delicious. I can taste it for myself. Immersion into God is an escape from reality in the same sense that college is an escape from high school. Without trust, no meaningful human relationships could form and no business arrangements could be made. The fuel of all socioeconomic systems is trust. There is no reason to believe nor evidence to support the idea that God would demand any less of us for herself. Ergo, an initial leap of faith that she exists and a commitment of trust in her is the first step on the long journey back to God. The fact that one can see and converse with the people whom one trusts does not eliminate the possibility that one will become the victim of emotional betrayals or theft. The fact that one cannot see God does not indicate that she does not exist or that she in her infinite wisdom and compassion cannot be trusted. The seen cannot always be trusted but the unseen is always trustworthy. The perception of matter as hard and solid, the awareness of our own egotism and our experiences of pain and pleasure are all delusions of embodied consciousness. Until one becomes awakened, enlightened, and steeped in the omnipresent bliss of God, one exists in the functional coma of a waking dream on the dark side of the mirror. Like imaginary faces in the clouds, the physical universe, pleasure and pain, good and evil exist but are not real. However, the laws of science, ethics and morality cannot be disobeyed merely because they are images in a dream. One is free to choose but one is not free from the consequences of those choices. Since God rewards goodness and punishes evil, life can be a happy dream or it can be a torturous nightmare. We love ourselves and our companions in spite of the fact that the existence of life itself cannot be verified by science or proven to exist with logic. Loving oneself and others is practiced as if the principles of science and logic did not exist. Practice faith in the same way, trust in god as if science and logic did not exist. However, in order to educate and discipline the mind, one must practice the principles of science and logic as if neither love nor faith existed. The author admits one has to put one's own subjective feelings aside in order to practice objective thinking,and yet statements that say life cannot be proven to exist with logic are said from feelings not from thought. If life is proven to exist on other planets,it will be because DNA or other such evidence is analysed logically and rationally,such as was the case with the "Mars fossil". As far as loving oneself and others goes,Christians are not really in a position to talk about this since EVE apparently fornicated with CAIN,her own son in order to start the human race,if we are to believe the bible.This is a farce of course.There is no actual evidence that any such person(s) existed or had sex with each other. The fossil record shows a evolved human beings.-LB] The application of logic to theism leads to the inescapable conclusion that the traditional religions of the world should be rejected.Occam's Razor rules out claims concerning the existence of minor gods, angels, demons, ghosts, and miracle men who display supernatural powers. All of these are fictional entities. Traditional religions were fabricated in order to gain money and the power to manipulate masses of people. Priests and followers of religious cults have been promoting superstitions and fraud for 50 centuries. The self deluded charlatans who fantasized that they heard the voice of God have, through the world’s religious scriptures, misled billions of people. God was no more responsible for the writing of those primitive scriptures than she was responsible for the fact that those who wrote them believed the earth to be flat. Because real gold (God) exists, counterfeit coins (religious deception) proliferate and have proliferated. As the giant orb of the sun is to a little smoldering trash can fire, God is to religion. Thus, logic and reason liberate the mind from having to conform to the narrow, rigid mind sets that were imposed by primitive religious fiction. However, freedom from superstition, by itself, cannot liberate one’s consciousness from the materialistic desires and attachments that confine one’s consciousness to the dark side of the mirror. Nor can the death of the body, by itself liberate the mind. If desires and attachments remain in the mind at the time of death then one must go to other realms of limited, conditioned existence. Pathological liars, thieves, psychopaths and murderers are imprisoned in a zone of terrible darkness and misery. The suffering in that zone is severe. Everyone else goes to the borderland between the light and dark sides of the mirror. Intense happiness prevails in the borderland but it is not the ultimate place of supreme bliss. That realm can only be experienced on the light side of the mirror to which each and every soul will eventually gravitate. Meditation is required to liberate the mind forever and to achieve spiritual fulfillment and supreme bliss. Every embodied soul ultimately has its roots on the reflecting side of the mirror. Far beyond embodiment and the chatter of the ego-driven mind lies our own true nature of undifferentiated divine being. But, because of our natural born spiritual ignorance, it is very difficult to experience this. Yet one eternal moment, one aeon of a second of the divine light and the ecstacy that it brings can change one’s perspective forever. God has woven pain and suffering into the fabric of the universe because pain prods one away from identifying with transitory material existence and towards the supreme being. Thus, sooner or later, everyone is compelled to outgrow the universal womb of darkness, duality, and instability, and are compelled to return home. In the meantime, it is fortunate that beauty and happiness have also been woven into the fabric of the universe. A precondition for being an independent and free creature is to possess free will. However, freedom of choice must include the ability and opportunity to do evil as well as good. Although it is logically possible for God to eliminate moral evil and natural catastrophes from the universe, it does not follow that she would do so. Moral evil results from having freedom of choice and making wrong choices. Although free will can be abused, the gift of free will is an absolute guarantee that one is not a mere slave or a mindless puppet of God. It is only through the use of free will that one can achieve moral integrity. It is preferable to possess free will and to occasionally suffer from having made wrong choices than it is to be without free will. If God eliminated moral evil and natural catastrophes, this would result in a greater evil: the loss of freedom which would destroy our independent individuation and it would subvert any motive to go beyond this universe into a far better life. The only way that natural catastrophes could be prevented would be for God to intervene to suspend the laws of nature throughout every inhabited world. But continuous, widespread divine intervention into the order of nature would make meaningful human choices of prevention or response either impossible or meaningless. This would subvert the purpose for which the universe exists. The universe is a schoolyard, a place in which to struggle, to overcome challenges and to solve problems. It is the ground upon which virtue, compassion and strength of character are built. Skeptics claim that if god were truly good, then she would not allow people to be killed by earthquakes and diseases. But history, psychology, and criminal statistics all reveal that human nature is corrupt. The goodness of God includes justice. Everyone is vulnerable to accidents and disease because random chance is woven into the fabric of the universe. God can intervene to suspend the laws of nature and random chance on an individual basis for those who have earned exceptional merit. Also, God can compensate those who are unjustly hurt by misfortune in a future existence. But those who experience the ecstacy of God understand that the physical body no more sustains the life of the soul than clothing sustains the life of the body. In point of fact, the physical brain severely limits the field of one’s consciousness. This is why God does not need one. God exercises providential care over her creation.Fortunate and unfortunate coincidences notwithstanding, God occasionally intervenes into the laws of nature to dispense rewards and punishments. She intervenes by creating a divine synchronism of events, i.e., a congruence of several ordinary occurrences at a crucial time. For example, an alcoholic who drives while intoxicated might be one second away from running over an innocent pedestrian. But the alcoholic has heart disease so he has a fatal heart attack which causes him to swerve the car away from the pedestrian prior to impact. We know that the supernatural intervention of God into nature is referred to as a miracle, but miracles are very rare and they are sometimes confusing. Theists occasionally witness a coincidence of random chance events and mistakenly attribute them to a miracle. But, if atheists witness a miracle they always attribute it to a lucky coincidence. For example, it is common knowledge that our first president, George Washington, was the guiding light during the most critical period in American history as well as in the history of world democracy. The uncanny wisdom that Washington displayed during his eight years as president was the first proof that America could survive as a democratic republic, that the U.S. Constitution was a viable document by which a former loose, factious, motley group of colonies could function as a unified nation, and that a democratic form of government could function to everyone’s advantage anywhere in the world. However, it is not common knowledge that prior to his presidency the survival of warrior George Washington was the result of a perpetual miracle. Washington spent four years fighting in the French and Indian Wars and eight years fighting in the Revolutionary War against the British Empire. During those 12 years of war dozens of officers were shot down and killed, numerous horses upon which Washington had been mounted were shot out from under him, and Washington’s clothing was often ripped apart from bullet holes. But Washington himself never received any bullet wounds. The fact that God’s power is subtle does not make it any less miraculous. Yet Washington was not a theist. Instead, he was a Deist. Whereas, a theist is one who believes in God based on subjective personal experiences, a Deist is one who believes in God based on the more objective evidence of reason and nature or, in today’s words, logic and science. Washington regularly prayed to a God whom he called “Providence.” However, atheists always falsely attribute Washington’s battlefield experiences to blind luck. On the other hand, a theist happily recovers from an illness he sometimes falsely attributes it to a miracle. But skeptics and atheists do not engage in this kind of superstitious wishful thinking. They are aware of the causal relationship between illness and the body’s immune system. And they know that 85 percent of all illnesses are self limiting. Like a stomach ache, they go away by themselves. Also, skeptics know that primitive religious superstition such as belief in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is fantasy and make believe. Physics has proven that the spacious emptiness of matter is real. It is not a fantasy. Matter itself is the fantasy. To prove that a spiritual realm exists is far beyond the range of science. But to deny that the divine being and her transcendental realm exists is fantasy and make believe. This hard core materialism is a delusion, although a persistent one. As a result of their attachments to the gross, physical body, it is natural for skeptics and atheists to assume that their present lives are fulfilling. It is as natural as a caterpillar enjoying the sleepy comfort of his dark little cocoon. But no soaring, sunbathing butterfly would ever want to be confined in one. It is good to think logically about God but it is better to meditate. An hour of deep meditation is worth more than a thousand logical syllogisms.
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