Belief in God is Rational

You are going off the topic 'belief in god is rational" the reason the universe exists is that it caused itself to exist. There are at least three ways the universe can cause itself to exist, by (1) a closed, simultaneous causal loop at the first instant of time, (2) beginning with a continuum of instantaneous states in a first half-open second, with each state being caused by earlier states, and (3) being caused to exist by backward causation, where a later event causes the big bang to occur. This suggests that the principle, "if the universe begins to exist, it has a cause" does not support theism (as traditionally has been thought) but instead supports atheism. http://plato.stanford.edu... http://www.thwink.org... Any way back to the topic at hand "belief". You are claiming to have acquired knowledge of an entity or mechanism that exited before space time existed. That is an irrational belief. This is merely a "god of the gaps" argument. You claim to know things that no one can know (like the cause of the universe) and you do so with 100% certainty, this is an irrational belief. It is also a fallacy of Special Pleading, since God himself is said to not need explanation. By the same token, a proposition such as "there is no god" may be universal, but it does not demand certainty. It demands that we prove it as knowledge, just like any other claim of knowledge. What grounds do you have to believe that a god is necessary? The right answer is egocentric thinking. Most humans live with the unrealistic but confident sense that we have fundamentally figured out the way things actually are, and that we have done this objectively. We natural believe in our intuitive perceptions, however inaccurate they may be. Instead of using an intellectual standard of thinking, most humans use self centered psychological standards to determine what to believe and what to reject. Here are the most commonly used psychological standards in human thinking. "IT'S TRUE BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT." Innate egocentrism: I assume that what I believe is true even though I have never questioned the basis for many of my beliefs. "IT'S TRUE BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IT." Innate sociocentrism: I assume that the dominant beliefs within the groups to which I belong are true even though I have never questioned the basis for many of these beliefs. "IT'S TRUE BECAUSE I WANT TO BELIEVE IT." Innate wish fulfillment: I believe in, for example, accounts of behavior that put me (or the groups to which I belong) in a positive rather than a negative light even though I have not seriously considered the evidence for the more negative account. I believe what "feels good," what supports my other beliefs, what does not require me to change my thinking in any significant way, what does not require me to admit I have been wrong. "IT'S TRUE BECAUSE I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED IT." Innate self-validation: I have a strong desire to maintain beliefs that I have long held; even though I have not seriously considered the extent to which those beliefs are justified, given the evidence. "IT'S TRUE BECAUSE IT IS IN MY SELFISH INTEREST TO BELIEVE IT." Innate selfishness: I hold fast to beliefs that justify my getting more power, money, or personal advantage even though these beliefs are not grounded in sound reasoning or evidence. Since humans are naturally prone to assess thinking in keeping with the above criteria, it is not surprising that we, as a species, have not developed a significant interest in establishing and teaching legitimate intellectual standards. It is not surprising that our thinking is often flawed. An intellectually honest person would admit that there are a great many things that we do not know and may never know, but we do not have to substitute "I believe" in place of, " I do not know" belief itself provides no scientific value at all. You have yet to show me how god belief is rational. http://goosetheantithesis.blogspot.ca... http://www.criticalthinking.org...