I feel like the conversation has strayed entirely from the original debate: whether or not “The God Delusion” is worth reading. That being said though, I really don’t think that’s going to derail the current topic .
Bombax, I understand your opposition to Argument from Design. It’s simply not a compelling argument for God’s existence. It looks great and makes sense… but only if you’re either (1) already a believer or (2) of a more simple and less questioning faith than inquisitive philosophers such as yourself. As a Catholic, I look at nature and see God’s handiwork in it, and it’s awesome; however, some non-believers look around and see the wonders of science and evolution, and it’s pretty cool for them too. The bottom line is that looking at something in nature and saying, “look at how complex this is! See how it exists in harmony with its surroundings!” simply isn’t enough proof for a non-believer to say, “God must have made this!”
This seems easily reversible to me. From my point of view, you’re theorizing that God does not exist, and in that case the burden of proof rests upon YOU, doesn’t it? We can toss that burden back and forth, but it’s not going to get us very far, is it? So instead, I would like to pose a different, more specific question to you…
As someone who evidently does not believe in the existence of a “God” in any form, how would you refute Thomas Aquinas’s Argument from Causality (explained below)?
[spoiler]Aquinas’s original argument:
“The second way is based on the existence of efficient causality. We see in the world around us that there is an order of efficient causes. Nor is it ever found (in fact it is impossible) that something is its own efficient cause. If it were, it would be prior to itself, which is impossible. Nevertheless, the order of efficient causes cannot proceed to infinity, for in any such order the first is cause of the middle (whether one or many) and the middle of the last. Without the cause, the effect does not follow. Thus, if the first cause did not exist, neither would the middle and last causes in the sequence. If, however, there were an infinite regression of efficient causes, there would be no first efficient cause and therefore no middle causes or final effects, which is obviously not the case. Thus it is necessary to posit some first efficient cause, which everyone calls ‘God.’”
A simplification (though, in my opinion, it seems to be an oversimplification)
(1) Some events cause other events.
(2) If an event happens, then it must be caused by something outside of itself.
(3) There can be no infinite cause/effect chains.
(4) So, there is a first, uncaused cause.
(5) Therefore God exists.[/spoiler]
Also, I feel like I’ve got to address a post from the previous page that didn’t get much attention…
I’ve read Angels and Demons. It’s is a work of fiction… you know that, right? Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoyed reading it, but just because it’s written by a former Catholic does NOT mean that it is an authoritative work that fully explains/displays God or Catholicism in a correct and complete manner. It’s just a story that happens to draw lightly from history and religion (for example, the Iluminati did exist long ago in history). Hardly something that constitutes a “test of faith”.