Resolved: God Exists

Before presenting my argument, I"d like to open up con"s definition of God. The God I"d like to imagine is: the creator of all things and an omnipresent, benevolent, omnipotent, and all-knowing being. I doubt con will mind me adding in that God is also the creator of all things." OK. "Why God is neither evil nor impotent:" This is a misrepresentation of my point. I never said that God was evil. I merely stated that he allows suffering which contradicts with his benevolent nature. "I argue for deism. God created the world and now no longer participates in it for good reason." Care to share? What reason could possibly stop a benevolent God from stopping suffering. You are making an argument from ignorance by saying that there is a reason, and we don't know, but there still is a reason. Pro's claim is far too vague to be taken into account. "God created this universe to teach organisms important truths. Only true happiness can be appreciated in light of suffering. You have to know the bad to know the good. The ends, to allow for organisms to experience true happiness, justifies the means." What is "true happiness"? How is it different than normal happiness? Why must one suffer to attain "true happiness"? This concept is key to his argument, yet it is not clear what it is. His argument lacks substance if he cannot answer these questions. Also, since god is omnipotent, why can't he just allow everyone to experience true happiness (suffering-free)? Why do you "have to know the bad to know the good"? If the con can't answer these questions, then his argument fails. "Life will inevitable produce suffering as a result of God"s intentional design." Why would a benevolent god make a design like that? "The origin of suffering is attachment to a state of being, object, or whatever." What does this even mean? Is it saying that suffering comes from creations? If so, why did a benevolent god make them this way? "The way to end suffering is through the eightfold path, essentially by detachment. Right speech, meditation, and other practices would help you detach and eliminate suffering from your life. If the eightfold path is practiced and mastered, you can reach a state of enlighten and end all suffering. And you will enter nirvana at the end of this life as a result of your practice and mastery." Irrelevant to the debate and makes no claims on god. "Proof that God exists: God most certainly exists in the minds of many people. God exists in the minds of at least 92% off all people who live in America. For some reason I wasn't able to put in the table/poll. Here is the source: http://www.gallup.com...; Wrong. How is believing in something proof of its existence?. "However interesting the poll may be, I don"t believe I"m addressing my opponents question and concern. Con wants to know if God exists in reality." I agree, it doesn't. "Many people believe that God exists as I"ve shown." So... I've already shown why the "believe-so-exist" argument is bogus. "And they"ve experienced spiritual phenomena as a result of their pursuit to know God.It is objective that these people are experiencing mental phenomena that have yet to be explained. If enough people relay their subjective experiences of this mental phenomena in congruence with a common source, this may be evidence that supports the claim that God exists." Citation needed. The Gallup poll doesn't make any claims on spiritual encounters (it only talks about personal belief which is separate from spiritual encounters as it is possible for one to believe in god and never have "encountered him/her). Also, why is God the most reasonable explanation for "spiritual encounters"? It could be a hoax or one's own subconscious. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that one's mind is being tampered with. Why couldn't it be ghosts or aliens then? Pro needs to show that there is in fact a spiritual connection, AND that god is the most reasonable explanation for his argument to make sense.