If There Is No God (Dennis Prager On The Consequences Of Secularism Alert)

Townhall.com ^ | 8/19/2008 | Dennis Prager

[Tribune7]

People of faith will believe anything.

Such as the actuality of energy coming into existence from nothing.

[Soliton]

Such as the actuality of energy coming into existence from nothing.

Did God have a cause? Did He come from nothing? Didn't God create energy from nothing? Do you doubt the book of Genesis?

[Tribune7]

Solition, you said it yourself: People of faith will believe anything and this includes the actuality of energy coming into existence from nothing. You are a man of great faith.

Who made God? Well, I can't answer that question which means my belief that God is the "Prime Mover", "the uncaused, cause" is a matter of faith, just as is your belief that all came about from nothing.

The difference is that my faith is rational in that I understand my belief is faith-based. Your faith is irrational in that you claim your belief is empirical when it is not.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Don’t try to reason people out of something they weren’t reasoned into.

[xzins]

Nope. “People of faith will believe anything.” is what you said.

It makes a difference. There are lots of things that I WILL not believe.

[Oztrich Boy]

Mark Twain on Religion: Bible Teaching and Religious Practice

It does certainly seem to suggest that if man continues in the direction of enlightenment, his religious practice may, in the end, attain some semblance of human decency.

[Damifino]

Please name something that faith would rule out

This question does not support your argument. Having blind faith in anything and everything is not the same as Christian faith. A list of things one's Christian faith rules out is not difficult to produce.

[Soliton]

Don’t try to reason people out of something they weren’t reasoned into.

IIt's my hobby :). BTW that used to be my tag line.

[Soliton]

Don’t try to reason people out of something they weren’t reasoned into.

It's my hobby :).

[Soliton]

I never said I believe anything came from nothing.

[Soliton]

There are lots of things that I WILL not believe

What will you NOT believe?

[Soliton]

Having blind faith in anything and everything is not the same as Christian faith.

Name something that Christian faith then rules out.

[Tribune7]

I never said I believe anything came from nothing.

It came from where then?

[xzins]

I will not believe in abiogenesis.

[Damifino]

Name something that Christian faith then rules out.

It rules out exactly the root of this discussion - The spontaneous unguided generation of all things. Having Christian faith includes believing the the hand of God guided the creation of all things. The two are mutually exclusive. Are we through with this exercise now?

[Westbrook]

> What will you NOT believe?

I do NOT believe:

• Everything came from nothing out of nowhere for no apparent reason.
• Life is a curious side effect of an unknowing, uncaring cosmos.
• When you die, you are just so much compost.
• The most you can hope for is a life of self-gratification and a painless extinction.

Asking where God came from is silly, since time itself is one of His creations. To come from or emerge from somewhere implies dt/dd. Time and distance comprise dimensions created by the Unmovable Mover/First Cause.

[Damifino]

This is why Dennis Prager is alway a favorite read. Good discussion and debate usually follow.

[tpanther]

And isn’t it amazing that those who ridicule those that believe in God by believing “anything”, will stop short at virtually nothing to silence them?

As if those that don’t believe in God, are somehow angry because we don’t believe in anything BUT “nothing”?

I don’t think they can see that.

It’s truly hard to see things though when you’re angry (at God in this case.)

[xzins]

They would be much happier if we believe in “nothing.”

Then they wouldn’t be reminded of the “something” we believe in who has them just a tad scared.

[kuzlaRah]

And He created him from the dust of the earth...