Lack of BeliefNov 14, 2022

An argument from non-God objects for #atheism

• If #God exists, and is perfect, a reality where only God exists is the best possible world.

• God, being perfect, should create the best possible world, which is this world with only God in it.

• But this is not the case. Our universe and many things that exist within it are not God.

• Therefore a perfect God does not exist.

#CounterApologetic

Show threadMinshoshNov 20, 2022
@lack G is not perfect, G is not good or definable by any qualifications subject to our tiny brains. I am curious who taught you this. My home faith is Judaism, the kind that is flexible and responsive.
Show threadLack of Belief

@minshosh That's fine! If you don't believe in a perfect G, this argument isn't for you. It's more targeted toward a "classical Theism" or Christian conception of G.

I am curious about your beliefs, if you have a minute! To start with, if G is not definable to our tiny brains, what can we know about G? Can we even claim that G is real in any meaningful way?

Nov 20, 2022 at 2:48pmWeb
Show threadMinshoshNov 21, 2022
@lack I feel like (and it’s my oddly unique and perfectly imperfect perception) the Unknowable is everywhere but mostly in what I can barely sense of the Mystery all around me. Like Einstein’s idea that energy remains the same but changes form, the same with spiritual energy. I walk my dog each morning (what a mundanely human thing to do) keeping my “third eye” open and take huge joy at the day as it is.
Show threadMinshoshNov 21, 2022
@lack 2/ As a chaplain, I have witnessed some pretty extraordinary things, perhaps these can be explained through neurochemistry as “final surges” but could also be invitations to get out of an empiricist-only view. Full transparency, after surviving separate major medical and violent trauma events, I might be a bit more “woke” on the spiritual side but truly feel every day is a gift that won’t last forever.
Show threadMinshoshNov 21, 2022
@lack 3/ Think James Taylor, “the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time…” Enjoy the ride!
Show threadLack of BeliefNov 22, 2022

@minshosh

First of all, thank you for the beautiful and thoughtful reply.

I agree that there are unknowns everywhere, but I don't know enough to know if they are truly unknowable. I hope that makes sense! Maybe we will know them in the future. Maybe someone besides me already knows them.

I agree that we can have experiences, especially in domains where our knowledge is extremely limited, that can make us question whether empiricism is all there is. That's good! I like to question things I thought were true to test if I was wrong. But to take the invitation to question as an answer seems a bit premature. If empiricism isn't all there is, how can we know that? What does "knowledge" even mean, then?

In closing, I resonate strongly with your James Taylor quote. (Aside: I just learned "Fire and Rain" and it's a fun tune on the guitar!) I am enjoying the ride, and I'm glad you are, too! My disbelief in deities or the supernatural doesn't remove the wonder from my life. It helps me appreciate how much we don't know, but also marvel at how much we do!