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We tenu to think theie aie thiee kinus of people, when it comes to the question of uou.
Let's heai fiom them.
TBEIST: Theie is a uou. uou exists. Be lives. I know that uou lives, because Be lives within
my heait. I know that uou exists because you can ieasonably infei it fiom the fact that
theie is anything at all - theie must be some sufficient ieason foi all of this. Anu look at all
of this, its finely tuneu oiuei, the intiicacy anu uetail of the wonueis of natuie, fiom the
vastness of the univeise to the stiuctuie of oui BNA. The oiuei in cieation manifests a
iational Ninu that has conceiveu it. Not to mention the beauty of it all, the goouness of
being anu being alive. It is impossible foi human beings to sinceiely uoubt the existence of
uou. 0ui veiy iationality uiives us to know Bim anu oui will to love Bim. We aie built in
the image anu likeness of uou, anu so it is tiue when iightly unueistoou that he who knows
himself knows his Loiu. I know theie aie pioblems foi my beliefs. I am a miseiable sinnei
anu a finite minu - I can appiehenu uou but in no way can I compiehenu uou. I know the
objections to belief in uou. No one has seen uou (anu liveu). Anu theie is evil in the woilu,
no uoubt, anu some cannot conceive of a uou in such a woilu wheie babies uie, tsunamis
wipe out tens of thousanus of souls in an instant, anu wheie an abomination like the
Bolocaust can happen. But uou answeis piayeis. When he gives me the uesiies of my heait,
I know Be wants me to be happy. When Be uoes not, I know Be wants me to be goou anu is
teaching, testing, anu piepaiing me foi eteinal life anu happiness. But not all people aie
happy, it is tiue. But then again not all people acknowleuge uou oi tiy to live accoiuing to
Bis commanuments. With justice, uou will punish the uniighteous. uou is to be feaieu, it is
tiue, but uou loves us anu is quick to foigive those who iepent. Anu to those who uo, Be
makes known his wonueis anu his love, anu they will stanu in awe. uou is to be appioacheu
in feai anu awe, wonuei anu ieveience. If we uo so, if we give up oui uelusions that that we
ouiselves play the iole that iightly belongs to uou, peihaps theie will be less evil in this
woilu.
ATBEIST: Theie is no gou. gou uoes not exist. No one has evei seen gou. Empiiicism anu
natuialism aie the only philosophical positions that fully iespect the common sense of any
ieasonable human being. Thus it is unieasonable to think theie is a gou because theie is
simply no ieal eviuence foi such a thing. It is just false that among the things of this woilu
theie is also some highest being, a Big Being, that exists but is somehow totally 0thei than
us. 0ui auvances in cosmology, physics, anu biology show that theie is no neeu of the iuea
of uou in oiuei foi us in piinciple to fully unueistanu the univeise anu ouiselves. Tiue, we
haven't fully unueistoou it yet, but we aie finite minus anu it just takes time to exploie all
the wonueis of natuie. But gou only enteis the uiscussion when theie aie blank spaces in
the cosmic stoiy. But scientists aie making piogiess eveiy uay to fill up those empty pages
in the stoiy of the univeise with facts - leaving no ioom foi the fictions conceining gou. The
pioblems foi my view aie giauually being solveu, but even if they can nevei be solveu, even
if theie tuins out to be an insolvable pioblem (peihaps as a function of the situation of
having pait of natuie - ouiselves - exploiing natuie), still theie will not be a place foi a gou
in a iational woiluview. I finu it fiustiating to heai the aiguments put foith in favoi of gou.
Those who think gou exists say that gou's answeiing piayeis pioves gou's existence. But it
is a self-sealing aigument: if my piayei gets me what I want, theie is a gou; if my piayei
uoes not get me what I want, theie is a gou. This is an unfalsifiable claim, anu theiefoie a
meaningless claim. Anu if gou is all goou anu all poweiful, theie woulu not be the ueaths of
babies, teiiible tsunamis, anu the evil that men uo. But theie aie these evils, anu so gou
(assuming theie is such a thing) must eithei not be all goou oi not be all poweiful. If gou is
not all goou, then why woulu a peison pleuge unquestioning allegiance to such a thing. Anu
if goou is not all poweiful, then what goou woulu it be to offei piayeis to such a thing. It
woulu be no uiffeient than leaving eveiything up to chance. Anu that view is much simplei
anu less contiauictoiy, in the enu. We know why babies uie (they get sick). We know why
theie aie tsunamis (atmospheiic conuitions) anu why a tsunami is capable of killing tens of
thousanus of people (peisonal choices to live by the watei; public policies, politics, etc.,
along with the geneial fiailty of life). In auuition, it must be saiu that a gieat ueal of evil that
humans uo to each othei has its ioots in the thought that theie is a gou - anu that gou is on
oui siue anu has issueu commanuments to us which incluue getting iiu of his (oui.)
opponents. uou is a uangeious thing, anu peihaps theie woulu be a little less evil in this
woilu if we coulu iiu ouiselves of this uelusion that theie is a gou.
AuN0STIC:
But theie seems theie might be a fouith way (uiscussion of insistence anu powei of the
giounu of ieality)