The God of Christianity is probably real.

Thank you, Freeman, for starting this debate. First, a proof that God exists: 1. It is impossible to count from negative infinity to a definite number. (Given.) 2. If the universe existed indefinitely, the universe would never reach "now." (2) 3. The universe has reached "now." (Given) 4. The universe did not exist indefinitely. (2 + 3) 5. The universe existed definitely. (4) 6. The universe had a definite starting point. (5) 7. No natural event could have occurred within the universe before this starting point. (6) 8. All natural events are caused as a direct result of the preceding event. (Given) 9. The event that created the universe must have been supernatural. (7, 8) 10. There was no event preceding the creation of the universe. (6) 11. The supernatural event that created the universe could not have been the result of determinism. (10, [1]) 12. The supernatural event that created the universe was the result of a free choice. (11) 13. The supernatural event was started by a supernatural being with free choice. (12) 14. A supernatural being created the universe. (9, 13) 15. That supernatural being is conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe. ([2]) 16. That supernatural being is the object of worship in monotheistic religions. ([2]) 17. That supernatural being is God. (Established definition of God) Now, to respond to individual contentions: 1. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. a. See the proof above. b. With the resolution being "probably," this situation would actually depend on whoever claims the extraordinary. For example, if George Washington, or any other person who is known by everyone as trustworthy, honest, and of good moral character, claimed that they just hit a hole in one in golf, they'd probably be telling the truth. However, if the propagandist Adolf Hitler, or any other person known for being a deceitful liar, claimed the same thing, they'd probably be lying. This hole-in-one example can be extended to other events, like alien abduction, or witnessing Christ. Therefore, this contention by itself cannot negate the resolution at all, seeing as many, many trustworthy people of high moral standard make this claim. 2. Christian theology is unsupported by evidence. This paragraph paraphrased from Sam Harris does not even support the idea of the contention. Furthermore, Jesus' Wikipedia page mentions nothing about any crackers whatsoever. Additionally, anything that only a single person believes in would make that person seem mad. If only one person believed that the universe exploded into existence from a single point from nothingness, would he not also seem mad? 3. Hearsay is insufficient evidence to validate the truth of miracles. For one thing, the guy that answered the Wiki Answers question that you cited just so happened to have ended his answer with a paragraph stating that he actually thinks that the Gospels were written in the "late 30s or early 40s" [3]. For another, this contention doesn't actually have any bearing whatsoever on the resolution, "The God of Christianity is probably real." 4. Religion is the language of ignorance. My opponent's main argument, that religion was conceived by humans before much was known about the world, and therefore ignorant, is a fallacy [4], counter-examples including "paper, fire, the wheel..." Furthermore, this debate isn't about whether or not Christianity is correct. It's about whether or not the God of Christianity is real. In conclusion, my opponent's four contentions actually do nothing to show that God probably doesn't exist, and are mostly irrelevant to the resolution at hand. Additionally, I have a logical proof that proves that God exists. The resolution is affirmed. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org... 2. http://en.wikipedia.org... 3. http://wiki.answers.com... 4. http://www.debate.org...