okay, first of all, I am not an atheist or an agnostic or anything. I'm just a typical college student enrolled under a medieval philosophy class. we have to make a paper proving that THERE IS NO GOD using all the topics that we discussed. However, all the topics point out that there is a God. Can you please help me put on ideas. any tip or websites would help. We can base on writings of Anselm, Boethius, St. Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, Siger of Brabant, Al Ghazali, Averroes, John Duns Scotus, Abelard, Moses Maimonides or any Medieval Philosopher out there. Please help me...
Jack F2008-09-30T08:18:50Z
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You can not prove there is no god, so don't bother. You can only point to the lack of evidence that gods do exist.
Ask your teacher to prove that Santa does not exist.
Point out that Santa has been seen and worshipped by millions of children, who's parents have taught them that Santa does indeed exist. Santa obviously has the god-like ability to deliver millions of gifts around the World in one night.
The evidence in favour of Santa existing far outweighs that of any god, yet Santa clearly does not exist.
Hey, buddy, im in a similar position as you, and although I'm a Catholic I'm hard to be convinced without any proof. But it is simply a belief, there is no proof. We cannot prove there is, and we cannot prove their isn't. Why? because it is unexplainable. Scientists can track closer than one trillionth of a second after time started, and before then we hae no idea what existed. But scientists theorise that there were anti-protons and protons that just sat there, and one day they collided making the big bang.
One thing you could use is the theory of matter: "Matter cannot be created or destroyed." Therefore God could not have created matter. But what created God? If he supposedly always was, how would he exist before time?Would he just be matter? But all matter before the big Bang was theoretically just made up of atoms and anti atoms. Does that mean God isn't matter? "Everything that exists must be some form of matter." We cannot answer these, which concludes to people coming up with ideas of some form of God. Very difficult and delicate topic. I believe in God, but not as an absolute. Hope i help, and your head stops spinning :P
One may derive the conclusion that a god or the gods do not exist from the overwhelming lack of any reliable, verifiable and quantifiable evidence in support of the premise that such does exist.
One of the easiest to disprove is the argument used by Aquinas that has a god as the prime mover ( an idea stolen from Aristotle). If god is the first cause then what is the cause of god? To say that one thing can exist without having such a cause is to imply that in the correct circumstances other things may exist without a cause.
Another rather ridiculous idea is that which proposes that something can not arise out of nothing. This is often applied to that which appears to exist however, one may turn this around to say then from what did a god arise as a god is a something which supposedly can not arise out of nothing.
When one is responded to with the idea that the god(s) has always existed without cause then obviously existence does not need a cause and that which exist can arise out of nothing proved by the proposed existence of the god(s) .
Remember that virtually all of the writers whom you cite began with a bias towards the belief in a god without a single shred of evidence in support of the same idea.
As their logic is circular at best and only finds support for its self in its self, one can always employ the reverse of such so as to support the opposing view.
your teacher is having you on old chum, i for one would sack him but there we are the numbers of good and valid teachers has been on the decline for ages now even teachers cannot write their own names now, i was disgusted when i read some of my grandsons teachers words such bitty piecey stuff they cannot do "joined up " writing any more a sad day for the world indeed. and as to God there is nothing in the whole of creation, the cosmos that is not God, so pass this on to teacher with my complements.
Post this same question in 'Religion & Spirituality' and you will get a lot of answers. They probably won't be philosophical and they won't necessarily make sense, but hey. I'm not qualified to prove there is no God, I'm still looking into it myself.