25 Mar '07 07:11>
Some time back, I read a book called Does God Exist?, which was a debate between a theist (Christian) and an atheist philosopher, with commentary by others.
The basic argument of the atheist was that the Christian (and monotheistic generally) concept of God was strictly incoherent. His claim was, as I recall, (1) that there is no ostensive definition of such a God (like giving a definition of a tree by pointing to one), and (2) that all word definitions reduce to some incoherency—such as “a supernatural being that exists outside of time and space.” His argument was that such words are as technically meaningless as the word “God” by itself. As a natural being, whose very consciousness has time-space dimensionality built into it, how can I understand—really—what such terms mean?
Also there is the trilemma of a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omni-benevolent, who permits such natural evils as tsunamis and earthquakes that painfully kill and maim babies, in his creation. (The old “problem of evil.” )
The same critique might be made by a nontheistic monist (such as a Zen Buddhist, or an Advaita Vedantist).
Arguments?
The basic argument of the atheist was that the Christian (and monotheistic generally) concept of God was strictly incoherent. His claim was, as I recall, (1) that there is no ostensive definition of such a God (like giving a definition of a tree by pointing to one), and (2) that all word definitions reduce to some incoherency—such as “a supernatural being that exists outside of time and space.” His argument was that such words are as technically meaningless as the word “God” by itself. As a natural being, whose very consciousness has time-space dimensionality built into it, how can I understand—really—what such terms mean?
Also there is the trilemma of a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omni-benevolent, who permits such natural evils as tsunamis and earthquakes that painfully kill and maim babies, in his creation. (The old “problem of evil.” )
The same critique might be made by a nontheistic monist (such as a Zen Buddhist, or an Advaita Vedantist).
Arguments?