A Theistic God - On Balance - Does NOT Exist

Greetings & Salutations:I applaud you for being willing to take the opposite position of your current opinion on the topic. The world would probably be a far better place if more people were just as courageous!Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance!Let's get started! First, I would like to preface & frame the debate by pointing out common misconceptions. This is because, although I enjoy debate, I prefer meaningful conversation more. A Titanic Misconception:"I often ask my students, when they were children - reading comic books or watching television - if it ever bothered them that Casper the Friendly Ghost could both float through walls and catch a ball? Why doesn't the ball go right through his hand? Most say they noticed this mildly discomforting inconsistency but everyone still goes along with the gag.." - Dan DennettDennett's quote is spot on! Its a brilliant question!How can Casper the Friendly Ghost BOTH float through walls and catch a ball? Is Casper able to conveniently decide when to be physical and material - becoming able to interact in a natural-physical world (throwing a ball up in the air and catching it) but can then also conveniently decide to be supernaturally diaphanous when he wants to float through physical walls?OBVIOUSLY - Casper the Friendly Ghost is a cartoon! But this highlights one of the biggest misconceptions about what it is, or means, for something to be truly supernatural and how this cannot also be physical and natural. Ill-conceived notions and ideas about a theistic god are exactly the same!As an aside; I had one of my colleagues suggest the idea that perhaps Casper has the ability to suspend his atoms in a way that allows him to float through the walls, after-all, an atom is comprised of mostly empty space. I kindly reminded him that atoms and their constituent particles are physical [1][8][9]. This is terribly important and it is a concept that most folks don't quite comprehend."You can drag me across the floor by my arm, or by my atoms or by my nuclei or by my cells… It all has the same effect; I get dragged across the floor. These are simply the different levels of the description of the one reality that is me." - John HagelinMisconception Explained: A supernatural conception - something that is truly supernatural - is, by definition, devoid of being physical/natural. As humans are physical beings in a material universe, we cannot have access to truly supernatural "things" ... in fact, they cannot even be "things" - in a physical sense - as they are not physical. Therefore, we cannot be objective about them. Consider that as soon as we do have access to something that was supposed to be supernatural - it becomes firmly fixed in the natural! Which is to say that it was never truly supernatural then to begin with!Examples & Analysis (Supernatural): Three common things that one might consider to be supernatural: ESP, Ghosts & God.I don't think all three of these are or should be considered equally - but (just for the sake of the example) let's just pick ESP. If ESP doesn't exist, then one could say that its because it is supernatural - as in - doesn't exist in our universe.On the other hand, its possible that ESP does exist and if it does, then supernatural isn't all that "super" - it just means something natural that we can't yet explain. In this context supernatural might mean real, but unexplained. But, again, as soon as we have access (let's say proper data was obtained) for something supposed to be supernatural - it becomes firmly fixed in the physical – which means it was never truly supernatural at all. In short, it seems to me that supernatural either means doesn't exist at all or exists but is not yet explained. These are two different ways the word supernatural can be used but describing two very different semantics - one is used to express something as being truly supernatural - and the other to describe gaps in our understanding of an already physical universe.So, the scientific and philosophically important questions then become: 1) How would we be able to recognize something that is truly supernatural and 2) How can we distinguish the difference between something that is truly supernatural from something that doesn't exist at all?!Murky Metaphysical Waters - But aren't there things which are not physical? Not exactly. The seemingly metaphysical things that we might want to put forward as a last ditch effort: thoughts, love, dreams, hope, even consciousness itself, are all still rooted in physical systems. Consciousness, for example, is a by-product of a material brain. We know this because of cases of head trauma - damage the brain and consciousness is altered [2][3] - destroy the brain and consciousness disappears with death [4]. We have a pretty comprehensive understanding of the relationship between consciousness and the physical brain through neurology.At one time the Physics community was searching for the Graviton (a sub-atomic particle hypothesised to be responsible for the force of Gravity) [5]. A few short years later Relativity swooped in and explained an inexplicable phenomena in nature - gravity is a particle-less force as it is the curvature of space-time warped in the presence of matter. Similarly, in much of metaphysics, emotions and values we cherish deeply; Love, Joy, Happiness, etc., are the reactions of physical systems - our physical bodies (our brain) with and during internal and external stimuli (brain states). Consciousness itself might be looked at as a simple by-product of an organ - just like my liver produces digestive enzymes - my brain produces consciousness.This is not to say that Dualism is a completely failed project - but, in some way, it matters very little if everything of importance to us resides in the material brain and a physical universe.“I’m writing a book on magic”, I explain, and I’m asked, "Real magic?" By real magic people mean miracles and supernatural powers. "No," I answer, "Conjuring tricks, not real magic." Real magic, in other words, refers to the magic that is not real, while the magic that is real, that can actually be done, is not real magic.” - Lee SiegelSpooky Quantum Mechanics:The best attempts I have seen used to try and rescue our scientific sensibilities while still cleaving to our religiously inspired narratives are from those who try to fuse, what Einstein called "spooky action at a distance," quantum theories to metaphysics and spirituality.We have to be careful here. I love Quantum theory and I'm open to debate quantum mechanics. But I'm not sure the strange behavior, of an electron in superposition for example, can tell us much about Jesus, Mohamed, Abraham, God, etc.; at least not in a meaningful way. Theism v. Deism:So, where does a theistic god fit into all of this? Well, a theistic god is, by definition, a personal god who is actively involved - interacting in a physical/material world and Human affairs (interceding by healing the sick, answering prayers, deciding who might win a battle, or who becomes the next elected official, etc). These are physical, material and natural systems God is purported to be manipulating [6].This is to be distinguished from a deistic god. A deistic god is not a personal god who is actively involved in human affairs and the physical world. A belief in a god of deism is belief in a kind of deity that acted perhaps as the First Cause or the original Unmoved Mover [7].Why Doesn't God Heal Amputees?"The miracle is, there are no miracles." - Albert EinsteinIf a theistic god interacts in the physical/material world, there would have to be some interaction with the system at some fundamental level. Even with total absence of God's presence, we would still expect to see the results in the physical world as trace evidence of the interaction. We do not find any evidence of a divine hand at work manipulating the system or the laws or physics having been suspended.If there was even one documented case of an amputated limb being restored due to a prayer healing ritual it would at least be suggestive. There are no such cases on record.The question, "Why doesn't God heal amputees?" probes the ambiguity of theism - with reasonable expectations of observation (an amputated limb is physical). Even if one believes or has faith in a personal god - why believe in a deceptive one? Is God just like Casper the Friendly Ghost - able to conveniently decide when to be physical and material but then also decide to be supernatural when he wants to intercede and yet still elude the physical world?The Universe"I see the question of truth as one to be settled within science, there being no higher tribunal." - Willard van Orman QuineThe Universe is commonly defined as "the totality of existence," [8] and as "the whole cosmic system of matter and energy of which Earth, and therefore the human race, is a part." [9].Cited Source References:[1] [http://www.britannica.com...][2] [http://www-users.med.cornell.edu...][3] [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...][4] [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...][5] [http://arxiv.org...][6] [http://www.pbs.org...][7] [http://dictionary.reference.com...][8] [http://www.yourdictionary.com...][9] [http://www.britannica.com...]