Human social patterns point to the idea that there is no God

================== Introduction ================== I extend my highest approbation to abard for his kindness in this debate. He makes a great case with his "filling in the blanks" hypothesis. However, and unfortunately, his case is sorely wanting in the area most fundamental for the fulfillment of his burden – I will expound on this below. ================== As science explains, people believe less? ================== My opponent's entire premise erodes beneath him because its very foundation is unsound! He says that, due to science, people are now less likely to believe in god(s). This could never more untrue! Atheism is in decline worldwide (1). Munich theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg has said, "Atheism as a theoretical position is in decline worldwide." Alister McGrath, an Oxford Historian, in his book, "The Twilight of Atheism," meticulously explicates this phenomenon – pointing out that if atheism is the nexus of reason and science, why has it become so rare by the turn of the 21st century? In a recent article, McGrath comments on atheism's future saying it, "seems increasingly to lie in the private beliefs of individuals rather than in the great public domain it once regarded as its habitat." Belief in God is actually increasingly globally – steady and persistent. ================== Point of a Personal God ================== This is the crucial and fundamental point that my opponent misunderstood (I'm sorry if it was not entirely clear). There is no reason for people to make up a personal god – one who is deeply interactive and participatory. My opponent's argument would rightly apply to a deistic understanding, but certainly not a theistic one. The god of deism serves only to fill in the so-called scientific blanks. But the god(s) of theism could not have sprung from a similar desire to fill in the blanks, as its interactive and participatory initiative with mankind fills no blanks – there was never any need to posit a PERSONAL god(s) in the first place! ================== Moral Propositions and Logical Absolutes ================== My point was not that someone cannot be moral or logical absent god, but the very fact that all cultures, near and far, adhere to the principles of logic and all make moral proposition is societal evidence that favors the existence of God. ================== Does the article support this claim? ================== My opponent suggests that the article listed in round 1 actually supports his claim. This is thoroughly untrue. First, you need not know all the complex mechanisms of evolution in order to believe that it is true – most all of its adherents have only a superficial understanding. But what the article shows is that, from birth, human-beings are predisposed to believe in god. This means that it is not something that springs from society, but something that is innate. ================== Grand Assumption ================== When I stated that my opponent's grand assumption was that he actually thinks the human tendency to believe in God is evidence that God does NOT exist!, he responded saying, "Yes and no. I'm saying that that is a major part, and the more science that is readily available to society, the fewer people believe in God." As already pointed it, this analysis is completely wrong. As Phil Zuckerman points out in a recent presentation on his findings from surveying non-belief – atheism is on a worldwide decline (2). ================== Conclusion ================== My opponent's thesis relies on a flawed assumption and therefore falls short of fulfilling his burden. Atheism is not on the increase, but on a worldwide decrease. Moreover, if we are innately predisposed to believe in God, then there is no reason to believe that God sprung from a societal pattern, but an innate one. Thank you again for this debate abard124 – you are a great and formidable opponent! Sources: 1. http://www.washingtontimes.com... and http://creationwiki.org... and The Twilight of Atheism by Alister McGrath 2. http://www.investigatingatheism.info... Thanks, InquireTruth