Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[Charlemagne]

This is not the same as another thread here with a similar title

I can see why atheists would regard so many gods as impossible . I also regard them as impossible. What I'd like to know is whether they regard the God of Abraham as equally impossible, since that God has proven to have considerably more historical staying power.

Your thoughts?

[LuckyR]

This is not the same as another thread here with a similar title

I can see why atheists would regard so many gods as impossible . I also regard them as impossible. What I'd like to know is whether they regard the God of Abraham as equally impossible, since that God has proven to have considerably more historical staying power.

Your thoughts?

The way that I interpret the word impossible is not merely that a thing is not real, but that it cannot be real in any and all possible circumstances. Thus it is not sufficient to prove something is not real to find it as impossible.

Thus for me, the Christian god is both not real and not impossible. Not unlike Santa, or magic.

[Charlemagne]

Only small children and maybe lunatics believe Santa Claus and magic are real.

There is substantially more evidence that some kind of God exists. Even Einstein thought so.

[Charlemagne]

Niels Bohr, Physicist Nobel Prize

“Scripture and Nature agree in this, that all things were covered with water; how and when this aspect began, and how long it lasted, Nature says not, Scripture relates. That there was a watery fluid, however, at a time when animals and plants were not yet to be found, and that the fluid covered all things, is proved by the strata of the higher mountains, free from all heterogeneous material. And the form of these strata bears witness to the presence of a fluid, while the substance bears witness to the absence of heterogeneous bodies. But the similarity of matter and form in the strata of mountains which are different and distant from each other, proves that the fluid was universal.”

Genesis 1: 9: “Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.”

[Charlemagne]

Carl Sagan, Atheist Astronomer

“Ten or twenty billion years ago, something happened – the Big Bang, the event that began our universe…. In that titanic cosmic explosion, the universe began an expansion which has never ceased…. As space stretched, the matter and energy in the universe expanded with it and rapidly cooled. The radiation of the cosmic fireball, which, then as now, filled the universe, moved through the spectrum – from gamma rays to X-rays to ultraviolet light; through the rainbow colors of the visible spectrum; into the infrared and radio regions. The remnants of that fireball, the cosmic background radiation, emanating from all parts of the sky can be detected by radio telescopes today. In the early universe, space was brilliantly illuminated.”

Genesis 1:3 "Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light."

Robert Jastrow, Astronomer

“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

[Charlemagne]

Hugh Ross, Astrophysicist

“Astronomers who do not draw theistic or deistic conclusions are becoming rare, and even the few dissenters hint that the tide is against them. Geoffrey Burbidge, of the University of California at San Diego, complains that his fellow astronomers are rushing off to join ‘the First Church of Christ of the Big Bang.’”

[LuckyR]

Only small children and maybe lunatics believe Santa Claus and magic are real.

There is substantially more evidence that some kind of God exists. Even Einstein thought so.

Uummm... perhaps I didn't make myself clear, I believe that Santa and magic are not real, but not impossible. Just like the Christian god.

I don't know why you're describing the possibility of "some kind of God" in a thread you created specifically about the God of Abraham.

[owlkinhoot]

God is so powerful that even the smartest joint-consciousness can be cracked with hitting on blindspots. If God was real, then he wouldn't necessarily appear with physical form, but use people inside Earth to poke fun at those who claim to enjoy power, because they haven't repented enough.

Philosophically speaking God is possible. And His powers are abundant. He moves like wind. And strikes like Tiger.

[Charlemagne]

Only small children and maybe lunatics believe Santa Claus and magic are real.

There is substantially more evidence that some kind of God exists. Even Einstein thought so.

Uummm... perhaps I didn't make myself clear, I believe that Santa and magic are not real, but not impossible. Just like the Christian god.

I don't know why you're describing the possibility of "some kind of God" in a thread you created specifically about the God of Abraham.

Perhaps because it is necessary to establish first that the idea of God is not impossible before evaluating which of the world's major gods is likely to be the most possible?

[Charlemagne]

Melvin Calvin Biochemist, Nobel Prize

“As I try to discern the origin of that conviction, I seem to find it in a basic notion . . . enunciated first in the Western world by the ancient Hebrews: namely, that the universe is governed by a single God, and is not the product of the whims of many gods, each governing his own province according to his own laws. This monotheistic view seems to be the historical foundation for modern science.”

[Sculptor1]

This is not the same as another thread here with a similar title

I can see why atheists would regard so many gods as impossible . I also regard them as impossible. What I'd like to know is whether they regard the God of Abraham as equally impossible, since that God has proven to have considerably more historical staying power.

Your thoughts?

Yes, impossible, in my view.
Given the state of the world multiple god seems more likely buy leave that to one side.

Since there is several versions of "The God of Abraham" please furnish the thread with your own understanding of this concept so that the thread does not run off is different directions chasing red herrings.
If we can start by agreeing on the main points about what exactly is meant by "The God of A", then the thread is going to make more sense..

So do you mean by TGOA?

[Sculptor1]

This is not the same as another thread here with a similar title

I can see why atheists would regard so many gods as impossible . I also regard them as impossible. What I'd like to know is whether they regard the God of Abraham as equally impossible, since that God has proven to have considerably more historical staying power.

Your thoughts?

The way that I interpret the word impossible is not merely that a thing is not real, but that it cannot be real in any and all possible circumstances. Thus it is not sufficient to prove something is not real to find it as impossible.

Thus for me, the Christian god is both not real and not impossible. Not unlike Santa, or magic.

So you are implying here that Santa is not impossible.
Trouble is that you could mean anything by Santa.
If you insist that there is a being that can follow the night around the planet visiting every single home to give children a gift and manages to come down a chimney pot despite his obvious girth, then you would have to admit that is impossible within the constraints of physics.
So surely a clear definition of that is meant be TGodofA, might be a good place to start?

[Sculptor1]

Only small children and maybe lunatics believe Santa Claus and magic are real.

There is substantially more evidence that some kind of God exists. Even Einstein thought so.

Thats a funny place to start.
Surely it would be easier to come down a chimney despite being fat to every child's house, than create the entire universe from nothing?

SO what do you mean by the God of Abraham?
I am pretty sure that einstein specifically and explicitly denies the existence of such a being.

[Sculptor1]

Hugh Ross, Astrophysicist

“Astronomers who do not draw theistic or deistic conclusions are becoming rare, and even the few dissenters hint that the tide is against them. Geoffrey Burbidge, of the University of California at San Diego, complains that his fellow astronomers are rushing off to join ‘the First Church of Christ of the Big Bang.’”

This is baseless.
Where's his data?

[EricPH]

Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in the same God of Abraham; and this causes us a profound dilemma. We each have the true religion. The greater struggle, is how do we get on with each other despite our differences? We are all created by the same God, and the same God hears all our prayers. But why has the same God given us different religions?

My feelings are, that we all think we have some kind of free will, so we need the freedom to choose from more than one way. Even if Christianity was the only religion, we could not all follow it in the same way. History has shown that we need / want thousands of Christian denominations to follow the same Jesus.

Differences in beliefs are not the problem, getting on with each other is. I truthfully believe that striving to live in peace with everyone brings us closer to God. Living in peace is a struggle; when the world is full of conflict.