Does God exist?

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by moyself

If you want me to be honest, I don't really have a definition for science... Wait a minute! Dictionary here I come! No I'm just kidding I don't have one.

What is your definition?

Before I tell you my definition, can you please explain to everyone how it is that you've been telling each of us that the book you suggested uses science properly, and offers a scientific viewpoint, yet you yourself cannot even a) define science, nor b) find a dictionary to look it up?


Your position is not internally consistent, and I'm afraid you've been taught some things that are not entirely true or accurate.

[moyself]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

Before I tell you my definition, can you please explain to everyone how it is that you've been telling each of us that the book you suggested uses science properly, and offers a scientific viewpoint, yet you yourself cannot even a) define science, nor b) find a dictionary to look it up?


Your position is not internally consistent, and I'm afraid you've been taught some things that are not entirely true or accurate.

I don't understand why you think this book doesn't use science. I can find a dictionary, but then it wouldn't be my real opinion. Finally, what is "not entirely true or accurate"? Could you be more specific?

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by moyself

I don't understand why you think this book doesn't use science.

Science is a method. It is about asking a question, and looking for an answer. It is not about wanting and answer, and then cherry-picking information in support of it. It is about making testable predictions, then testing them... rejecting the idea when the concept is proven false.

Scientists (as in, those who live life using the methods of science) when acting in the above spirit do not continue to hold on to conclusions which are not supported by evidence.

Scientists, when acting in the spirit of science, let go of ideas and theories once they've been shown incorrect.

Science is more about rejecting wrong information than it is about "believing" better information.


As for "how I know" that your book is crap... Let's just say I've smoked enough cigarettes in my life to know that I don't want to smoke any more, even if it's a different brand.

[Eye Sky]

In ones mind many things and thoughts exist, including god. The Wired magazine had an article, in early 2000, where they monitored the brain to discover the area most responsible for the God thought.

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by Eye Sky

In ones mind many things and thoughts exist, including god. The Wired magazine had an article, in early 2000, where they monitored the brain to discover the area most responsible for the God thought.

And this was disproven during later studies. It's unfortunate that heavily hyped news stories take so long to be extinguished in the minds of the populace and the memes of the internet.


No 'God Spot' in the Human Brain | LiveScience

The human brain does not contain a single "God spot" responsible for mystical and religious experiences, a new study finds.

Instead, the sense of union with God or something greater than the self often described by those who have undergone such experiences involves the recruitment and activation of a variety brain regions normally implicated in different functions such as self-consciousness, emotion and body representation.

<...>

The study found that mystical experiences activate more than a dozen different areas of the brain at once. One of the regions, called the caudate nucleus, has been implicated in positive emotions such as happiness, romantic love and maternal love.

Brain scan of nuns finds no single 'God spot' in the brain, Université de Montréal study finds

This study demonstrated that a dozen different regions of the brain are activated during a mystical experience. This type of research became very popular in the United States in the late 1990s. Some researchers went as far as suggesting the possibility of a specific brain region designed for communication with God. This latest research discredits such theories.

[iamnoman]

Proving wether a god , gods, or 3 legged creatures that suck your brains out while you are sleeping, seems to be problematic. If you look at simple things like proving wether sasquatch exists, or UFOs/USOs. These things are all a quest for the unknown. Such is the same with science. Words are said by people. Others wish for proof before they believe. We all can go to some podunk museum and see a cast of bigfoot's footprint. It is up to us wether we believe that there is a possibility of a creature that all of us wise humans have not seen before. But , wait then again science has proven that there are spectrums of light and various different energys that our human faculties cannot comprehend on their own. I think that the scientific and religious communities should join forces and abandon the ignorant Hatfield/McCoy-esque feud that has been going on for centuries and actually work towards learning something. I myself am content with not knowing. For one.... If there is an omnipotent, all-encompassing god, I will not be able to comprehend it. My sadly under developed senses can not see infra-red light, much less comprehend the sounds a common bat makes. I have seen so much ridiculous banter between atheists and theists, that it makes me not only want to abandon hypography forums, I would like to quit the human race as well. Up until around 500 years ago, most of the scientific community believed the world was flat. There is such a lack in pioneering spirit and intellect in this world anymore, maybe we should just go back to believing that. There are new species found in areas of the world that we thought we knew everything about. Explain that to yourselves. Were people sitting around trying to disprove the existence of such species before they found it? I hate religion, and I am beginning to find a similar distaste for the scientific community. HOW HAVE WE EVER ADVANCED SCIENTIFICALLY FROM TRYING TO DISPROVE THE EXISTENCE OF ANYTHING!!!???? As far as I can tell the field is open, until one of us steps up and proves that they, in fact, are the omnipotent, ever-present, all-knowing God of everyone and everything. People are still running around in the North American wilderness looking for "Big Foot". They are still combing lakes in the U.S., Scotland, and England, looking for sea serpents. The fact that they haven't found them, does not mean they don't exist(have you ever played hide and seek?) I am sorry if I am coming off as some kind of freak, but there are many things we, as a collective do not know. There are a great many things to be discovered, and I think we are selling ourselves short.

[jedaisoul]

There are two problems with the question "does God exist?":

• Define what you mean by "God".
• Define what you mean by "existence".

I think you will find that there are many definitions of "God" and "existence", therefore it is impossible to give a single answer to the question.

Now, if you asked "does the God of Abraham exist as a material entity?", then you might get closer to an answer...

[jedaisoul]

In case my previous post was too brief and did not explain the problem I see in this question, I'd like to expand on the second point "what is existence?".

Does the number 5 exist? Well I imagine that you understood what I meant by "the number 5", so in that sense it exists as an abstract concept that we share.

Does the unicorn exist? It is a mythical creature, which may be based on early descriptions of the rhinoceros. But as soon as I mention "unicorn" a picture of a white horse with a single horn pops into your head (well, it does in mine).

So when you used the word "God", it had a meaning to you, and when I read it, it had a meaning to me. They are not necessarily the same meaning, but we both asssociate the word "God" with a meaning (or meanings). So to that extent the entity "God" exists. Furthermore, it does so even if neither of us believe in God.

That's a bit scary!

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by jedaisoul

Does the unicorn exist? It is a mythical creature, which may be based on early descriptions of the rhinoceros. But as soon as I mention "unicorn" a picture of a white horse with a single horn pops into your head (well, it does in mine).

Nope. My unicorns are purple.

[IATESOTK]

I see the debate for God as one we will never know the answer to. If we knew the answer, then what would we be living for?

I think without a doubt it is this fundamental search that actually keeps our brains alive. I'm not well versed in psychology, so keep in mind that I'm merely speaking from the heart. I do know what I know-- and I'm what some would consider an "expert" in music. That is the area I've spent the most time studying. I use the term expert loosely, because anyone can be an expert given the time and circumstance. Think back to when you were a virgin, and how some of the older friends seemed like sex experts to you in your little world. The cool older cousin slips you a Playboy and it's like "mana from the heavens". Now imagine that same scenario multiplied out on a much larger scale. As we learn more, it becomes harder for us to recognize, but in a sense we are all children. What may be basic knowledge to a mechanical engineer, an IT specialist had no knowledge of.

Some people don't realize they are searching for "God"--but if you really trace it back, we are all really going after the same thing. We are all chasing some god, or some career, or some dream that will give us hope for the future. When we start to lose hope, many of us become depressed. Some become angry and cynical--but those feelings are sometimes felt together as one big feeling of negativity.

You ever been really depressed, but then something happens that is completely unorthodox and you instantly snap out of your depression? Like for instance, you get a promotion at work, or a long lost friend calls you out of the blue? Science can tell us that the sudden event caused a shift in brain chemicals, and that explains the relief. But what caused the chemical reaction? Was it the physical manifestation of the event? If it was a phone call from an old friend, then was it putting a phone to your ear that relieved the depression temporarily? Or was it the idea in your brain that said, "Oh hey! Something to live for! Another little mystery to solve."

I don't claim to have an answer to anything--- but I can think of a question for every answer that is asked--and that makes me happy to be alive.