Atheism or Theism

I wish to welcome my partner to debate.org, I see you are a new member. The Argument Formulated The argument is arranged as follows[1]: 1. If a claim is extraordinary, then in the absence of extraordinarily strong evidence in its favor, the claim may be considered false. 2. The claim that a god exists is an extraordinary claim. 3. Therefore, in the absence of extraordinarily strong evidence in its favor, the claim that a god exists may be considered false. 4. There is no extraordinarily strong evidence for the claim that a god exists. 5. Therefore, the claim that a god exists may be considered false. In order to understand this argument, we need to define an extraordinary claim. I will define an extraordinary claim as: A claim that contradicts accepted physical laws or our common sense, everyday experiences of the world.[2] So, the question is, ‘Is God an extraordinary claim?” I contend to you that indeed, it is. Let’s take a look at this chart that I have drawn up. God Man Holy Unholy All-knowing Limited knowledge Perfect Imperfect Immortal Mortal All-loving Evil Invisible Visible Just Unjust As one can see from this chart, God has attributes much different than man; indeed, God is incomprehensible compared to man.[3]Premise 3 states, “Therefore, in the absence of extraordinarily strong evidence in its favor, the claim that a god exists may be considered false.” We now need to ask ourselves two questions: 1) Why is one justified in rejecting extraordinary claims in the absence of extraordinary evidence? 2) What is the basis of extraordinary evidence? Allow me to give you the following propositions and ask yourself “which one do you immediately reject, and why?” 1) I am a member of Facebook, 2) I won the multi-million dollar lottery, and 3) I own a transportation mechanism that transports you from point A to point B in under 1 second. Which one do you immediately reject without further ado, and why? If you guessed point 3, you would be correct—and totally justified in rejecting proposition 3. Allow me to explain why. According to Facebook stats, Facbeook currently have 350,000,000 members[4] hence, to claim that I am a member of Facebook is not unheard of, nor is it an extraordinary claim. Claim 2 is certainly more extraordinary than the first; however, people have won the lottery before so it is not unheard of—in order for one to accept this claim, one may need to look at just my lottery ticket, or the numbers on TV. However, claim 3 is quite different. In order to accept claim 3 with just my word, you will have to: 1) Change your current views on the technology of today, 2) Change your views on how people transport from point A to point B, and 3) Change your perspective on the person making such a ridiculous claim (and ridiculous is quite appropriate). So, you see, extraordinary claims do require extraordinary evidence; though what is extraordinary evidence? I contend that evidence is subjective. What is evidence? Evidence is the kind of think which can make a difference to what one is justified in believing or what is reasonable to believe.[5] Therefore, in lack of a justification for a faith, one is justified in rejecting it. It is all up to each individual to decide what one is justified in believing based upon the evidence presented. What evidence is there for God? In my opinion, the answer would be none. The basis of this book lies in premise 4, namely, “there is no extraordinarily strong evidence in favor of God’s existence.” In order to prove premise 4, I will refute common arguments presented in favor of Theism, and also, will be presenting atheological arguments for the Non-Existence of God. Contention 2: The Divine Hiddenness Argument A. Observations There are many more Muslims than Christians than Saudi Arabia, many more Catholics in Ireland than Vietnam, and a very small ratio of Theists to pagans two and a half thousand years ago. If one were to be in Saudi Arabia, one has a greater chance of becomming Muslim than in America.[6] If one were to be in India, there would be a greater chance of being Hindu than in any other part of the world.[7] There are more Catholics in Ireland than in Vietnam. etc. In the ancient world, every nation had its own mythology.[8] It rather seems strange that God will let an important matter such as faith hinge strongly on the circumstance of one's birth. For example, in Christian theology, unless you accept Jesus you die and go to hell.[9] This begs the question, why would a loving God as defined in the terms allow this to happen? B. The argument formulated The demographics of Theism are better explained by Atheism than Theism. If the demographics of Theism are better explained by Atheism than Theism, then the demographics of Theism makes Atheism more plausible than Theism. Therefore, Atheism is more plausible than Theism. Contention 3: Theism predicts a different universe Science is all about predictions; however, the Theist hypothesis actually predicts a completely different universe than the one we find ourselves in. If God is truly perfect, and created this universe for the sole purpose of providing a home for human beings, and to bring his salvation plan to fulfillment; then he would never have invented this universe, but something quite different. However, the universe we find ourselves in is exactly the type of Universe one would expect if there truly was no God. The argument formulated 1) If Atheism better predicts the universe we find ourselves in than Theism, then one is justified in accepting an atheistic belief over a Theistic one. 2) Atheism better predicts the universe we find ourselves in. 3) Therefore, one is justified in accepting an atheistic belief over a Theistic one. First, one must wonder, what type of universe is predicted by Atheism and Theism? Well, if life (as Atheists argue) is just ordinary chance and one without a plan, then one would expect us to find life as a lottery game; and indeed, that is exactly what we see. In his essay, Why I am Not a Christian, Richard Carrier notes: Suppose there is no God. If that is the case, then the origin of life must be a random accident. Christians rightly point out that the appearance of the first living organism is an extremely improbable accident. Of course, so is winning a lottery, and yet lotteries are routinely won. Why? Because the laws of probability entail the odds of winning a lottery depend not just on how unlikely a win is.[10] Indeed, life is a lottery game. Consider the following statistics: 1) Over 700 extra-solar planets and solar systems have been found.[11] 2) Our Universe is 13 billion light years across—at least.[12] 3) In our solar system, we have 8 planets. 4) There are 125 billion galaxies.[13] 5) Earth is the only known planet with life. This indeed sounds a lot like a lottery game: not something that is suitable for life; in fact, as Lee Smolion points out, “our universe is probably the most perfect universe that could ever be arranged for producing black holes. [14] Conclusion I conclude that on balance of probability, there is no God. I look forward to my partner’s reply. May the best arguments win. http://www.debate.org...