BeIR/webis-touche2020 huggingface dataset:
God teaches forgiveness and love: an idea universally agreed upon as good.

There are more than a billion Christians in the world(the greatest chunk of believers).Followed by Muslims(second largest believing majority). Next in line are agnostics and atheists(agnostics do not hold a position on the God debate and atheists include deists who reject theism but may believe in creation/'one creator, at least'). God's teachings are perfect and they stirred the minds of the majority of the world. And continue to do so centuries later. "Love one another": it was original when Jesus said it and it’s surely the best way to live. Why would people kill so many for an idea, if the idea did not speak to them? And yes none of the modern religions that you mention(including Scientology) REJECT a creator or God. Which only means that they aren't NEW ideas, they are simply recycled/re-engineered forms of an old belief. Can you conjure a NEW idea with a large following? Perhaps(but unlikely),however you cannot invent a NEW idea that has a following greater than that of all god-fearing/believing religions, encompassed. The belief in no God preceded theism, in all its forms. And yet despite the anti-God head-start: Theism, rather deism has won the race. "They end up believing that the son of...an unfaithful wife is their savior.":Um there's a reason why she is called: The 'VIRGIN' Mary. And not 'all' believers in God believe in Jesus. Your entire argument is that divorcees have the WORST life? Well, if the divorcees themselves, thought so, they wouldn't get a divorce now, would they? All you have proven is that religious people are not constrained enough to force themselves to stay in a rotten marriage. And that they exercise the brilliant choice of getting out, while they can. This gives 'them' a better life not a worse one.
The Argument from Change

The Argument from Change http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm#1 The material world we know is a world of change. This young woman came to be 5'2", but she was not always that height. The great oak tree before us grew from the tiniest acorn. Now when something comes to be in a certain state, such as mature size, that state cannot bring itself into being. For until it comes to be, it does not exist, and if it does not yet exist, it cannot cause anything. As for the thing that changes, although it can be what it will become, it is not yet what it will become. It actually exists right now in this state (an acorn); it will actually exist in that state (large oak tree). But it is not actually in that state now. It only has the potentiality for that state. Now a question: To explain the change, can we consider the changing thing alone, or must other things also be involved? Obviously, other things must be involved. Nothing can give itself what it does not have, and the changing thing cannot have now, already, what it will come to have then. The result of change cannot actually exist before the change. The changing thing begins with only the potential to change, but it needs to be acted on by other things outside if that potential is to be made actual. Otherwise it cannot change. Nothing changes itself. Apparently self-moving things, like animal bodies, are moved by desire or will—something other than mere molecules. And when the animal or human dies, the molecules remain, but the body no longer moves because the desire or will is no longer present to move it. Now a further question: Are the other things outside the changing thing also changing? Are its movers also moving? If so, all of them stand in need right now of being acted on by other things, or else they cannot change. No matter how many things there are in the series, each one needs something outside itself to actualize its potentiality for change. The universe is the sum total of all these moving things, however many there are. The whole universe is in the process of change. But we have already seen that change in any being requires an outside force to actualize it. Therefore, there is some force outside (in addition to) the universe, some real being transcendent to the universe. This is one of the things meant by "God." Briefly, if there is nothing outside the material universe, then there is nothing that can cause the universe to change. But it does change. Therefore there must be something in addition to the material universe. But the universe is the sum total of all matter, space and time. These three things depend on each other. Therefore this being outside the universe is outside matter, space and time. It is not a changing thing; it is the unchanging Source of change.
The challenge of rationality, science and coincidence to religion

Religion isn’t about science. It is about faith. The belief in God is individual and personal. He does not need to be physically proven. If not by God, how else are there miracles? I don’t agree that there is not a God, THE God. I believe in him and his powers. It is simply a matter of believing in a higher power – to compare God to Santa and the Bogeyman is simply laughable. There has to be more to life than the simple foundations of science. The best example I can give, and if you so want some ‘evidence’ – is us! How else can complex life-forms be explained? We didn’t come from nowhere! Everything happens for a reason and if He simply saved everyone the world would over-populate. He does, however save the worthy ones. I guess He is like Santa then, in the fact that he provides gifts – the gift of life. Who said God saves everyone or wants or tries to, even. science is not perfect. The placebo effect has helped many a patient against death and into recovery. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZNRVXKfHP0]] Um hello? 'Free-will' is a concept taken out of theistic religions. Must you think in Boolean absolutes, always? Do you have 'complete' control over anything? Do you have 'no' control over anything? The answer to both questions, is in the negative. And maybe you believe in Santa since you're so darn obsessed with him. Maybe you have conjugal fantasies about him, how would I know? Santa isn't even remotely relevant to this. God, Allah, Bhagwan etcetera, are all one and the same, now you're arguing about semantics: Another irrelevant sidetrack!
People think that a benevolent God cannot exist because bad things happen...

Helping people is good, yes. Doesn’t exactly prove the existence of God, does it? The ‘Problem of Evil’ points out a severe difficulty in the theistic argument. If God is considered an omniscient, omnipotent and benevolent being, then his failure to prevent something such as a tsunami (or any natural disaster certainly) is inconsistent (if the bible is to be appealed to as a defence, the story of Noah’s ark and the great flood remove any such opportunity). He must either be unaware, lacking in power, or unwilling to assist and prevent suffering. An analogy that has been applied previously is an infested dormitory, in which all of the housemates are diseased and hungry. There is a door in the dormitory, and none of the housemates know what is on the other side, although they sometimes make appeals for salvation, although the situation does not change. To assume that a caring, capable and aware dormitory management exist behind the door just doesn’t make sense. The existence of a God is not a prerequisite to one human assisting another: if anything, the need for humans to assist each other merely demonstrates that God is weak, unaware, unkind or non-existent, in any number of combinations. The story of the Good Samaritan outlines a decent and expedient moral code, but it does not necessitate the existence of God.
'God' is merely a concept designed to promote a set of values

Then what is the need for laws/rules/regulation? Are you saying atheists and agnostics are morally bankrupt? Is retribution from divinity, the only reason the crowd moves in a predictable designated pattern? The fear of the existence of a deity is not what controls crowds it is the fear of being punished, judged, alone and forgotten.This fear can be 'generated' by people in power for themselves. The ruling minority generates that fear by demonstrating what it is capable of: public execution, humiliation, offerings, handing out resources(food, water & clothing)[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrOz-inIG30&feature=related]]are all ways of getting noticed, loved, hated , talked about and feared. Judaism teaches that all Jews are chosen to go to heaven, whether they sin shamelessly or not.People of other religions have attempted to borrow that belief but what with hell stepping in the way. Buddhism teaches that their gods, like the impersonal god of Spinoza do not intervene in worldly events. All Theists believe God is "oft-forgiving & most merciful". How can a double-minded God, who, as you say, is a figment of our imagination be used to control masses? Small weak armies have throughout history,defeated larger stronger armies simply by the power of faith, the strength of the belief that God is on their side. They used God to 'fight' oppression not create it. And IF there is no God ,then nothing can be used to control anything, since everything would then be random and predictable: ramdomly/normally distributed thus moving towards a determinable mean. History would shape history and no one , rather nothing would be responsible for anything. As a true atheist you should not be blaming anyone or anything for anythingelse. If everything is random there is no creator , no free will and thus no accountability. Wait up, the statement you just made, "'God' is merely a concept designed to promote a set of values' is a concept about God and promoting your values about God, so why should we listen to you? Wait up we are not justified by Good works, Christ has already done that and you are right on when you say we are worshiping him in a abstract way, but there is a denomination that doesn't do that.
The Argument from Efficient Causality

This argument is intersting and, to some extent, makes a valid point. There is a need in the universe for an uncaused cause, an unmoved mover. However, as the argument on the left is meant to be philosophical and not faith based, it's conclusion is not at all valid as one cannot help but ask; if everything has a cause and that cause is God, what caused God? The reply, of course, will be that God is eternal, having no cause Himself. However, as we are tackling this from a supposedly philisophical viewpoint, this will not do as it is unjustified. In short, the argument has failed to answer its own question and has simply defined (as opposed to derived) something (God) as the Uncaused Cause. There is no justification for naming this as 'God' (while there is strong justifiction for naming it 'The Big Bang') let alone asigning any of the common concepts of Christ, Love and Miracles that reduce further the argument for God. There is not an argument for the existance of God that isn't either faith based or an argument for a God that does not intervene. The argument to my left prooves no exception.
The challenge of rationality, science and coincidence to religion

One word: Science. So you agree that there is not A GOD, it is just a belief system. So there is not a physical being as the question asked but just a belief… in your "GOD". Miracles? Try chance and coincidence. Do you believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy or the Bogeyman? There is no evidence that they exist or that they ever have. Is "GOD" another fabricated fable to be believed in by children until they are old enough to know better? Science is far from ‘simple.’ Chemistry explains where we came from, Biology explains what we are…science is life. Where is "GOD" in saving the lives of car accident victims? If "HE" is all powerful, powerful enough to make the world by "HIMSELF" in less than a week, why didn’t "HE" stop the accident? Then you would have to rely on Science. It is a silly question really considering we have already established that there isn’t a "HE"...it’s just a belief in something that cannot be proved…just like SANTA!!!!! So now you believe in Santa too? Why would you think that everything has to happen for a reason? Do we have no control over our lives or our own destinies? Why does "GOD" get to chose who is worthy of life? Surely if "HE" created it, he would try "HIS" damnedest to preserve it, would he not? Also, you say you believe in "GOD" but I am aware of many "GODS". Many people believe in "GOD" and others believe in "ALLAH". Are they wrong too because they don’t believe in your "GOD"?
Science can support the existance of God

Your argument seems to resemble the Cosmological Argument, which primarily deals with causality. The Cosmological Argument, in a nutshell, claims to prove that God must exist, because everything must have a cause, and God is supposedly that "First Cause" that is required to begin the chain of events that led to the universe in it's current form. The Cosmiclogical argument also states that it is impossible to "Transverse an Infinite Series" and so the matter that constitutes the Universe could not have existed indefinitely. The flaw in this argument is simple: it assumes that God is capable of "Transversing an Infinite Series" which it later denies as a possibility. So the argument is hypocritical. The argument here is very similar to Cosmological Argument, and it also has a very simple flaw. Namely, it claims a responibilaty of explaining the existence of matter using the God concept, however it does not attempt to explain the existence of God Himself. If nothing cannot exist indefinitely, how could God? And if it can, God is not needed to explain the presence of matter. Many theists would reply to this by asserting that God is beyond time and space, and therefor logic does not apply to Him. Think for a moment, your saying that an omnipotent entity to which logic does not apply, 1) exists, and 2) refuses to show itself. And you agree that you have no physical evidence to support your assertion whatsoever. In such a case you have no logical argument that can support your assertion, because such an assertion does not make claims relating to anything in the empirical universe and thus, it is not testible. If one believes in something that one does not have the capability of proving or disproving (and therefor one is not able to know if one's belief is false or otherwise) then one is being irrational, wouldn't you say? Something else to add on. Energies that occur in the Earth often come from the sun, so you would be implying that the sun is the god?
People think that a benevolent God cannot exist because bad things happen...

These people are wrong. God has given us all the opportunity to do good, but unfortunately many choose to ignore this. When you see someone suffering don’t stand back and comment on how unfortunate that person is; you have the chance to help. In order to refute some of the opposition’s points, let us first make the distinction between the two types of "bad thing": those caused by the natural world, and those caused by the humans that inhabit it. To refute the point that "He must either be unaware, lacking in power, or unwilling to assist and prevent suffering" in the case of natural disasters, one could first point out that the Bible claims not only that God did not try to prevent that flood, but actually caused it to happen, and then could go on to discuss the delicate balance of nature that we rely on in order for life to continue on Earth. Were God to prevent every earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption, flood and so on, which cause death and suffering for many people, would the environment still exist for us to exist? Surely the maintenance of the means for the continuation of humankind is reason enough for God to allow such disasters to occur. With respect to "bad things" brought about by humans: God, being a benevolent God, gave us free will: the ability to choose whether to good or bad. This is no poor excuse used to brush aside the "bad things" as irrelevant, but instead affirms God’s benevolence in not creating us as slaves to His will. Regarding the point on the right about housemates, surely the dormitary manager can whisper advice to at least some of the housemates such that they help each other out? Even if some disease existed, that would hardly disprove the existence of the dorm manager if it was up to the housemates to follow instructions themselves? To my knowledge that is the belief of most religions who generally accept that miracles are hard to come about these days. As the leading rabbi in England said, 'Don't ask, "Where was God at Auschwitch?" ask, "Where was Man?"'.
'God' is merely a concept designed to promote a set of values

It is possible to argue that God is just the name given to a special set of morals that a person or persons follow. If people did not have a God then it would seem that they would have no incentive to behave in a certain way. Throughout history the idea of God has been used to bring people under control. For instance, the Ancient Mayan leaders would force people to obey the law as laid down by “the Gods” otherwise they would become displeased and seek revenge by way of a failed harvest or drought – hence the use of human sacrifice to appease the Gods. Fear would inspire and force people to conform. To jump right to modern day, certain Christian denominations believe in helping others in order to please God and reach Heaven. This is all to conform to the Bible, a book compiled at the Council of Nicea (325 AD) by men of the Church who disregarded many Gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary, because they did not conform to the model they wished to create. We can therefore argue that the idea of God has been used to give authority to a set way of thinking and acting. It acts as a means of control and so to state that there is a God per se could be regarded as too conventional and shallow an interpretation. The truth could be that there is not an omnipotent being but more an abstract term which brings together a moral attitude.
Probability

Speaking of probability, what was the probability that the atoms randomly thrown into space by the big bang would eventually combine in such a way that sentient life came into being? It must be infinitesimal, incomprehensibly small, and yet here we are. One must remember that science does not necessarily contradict religion. For instance, Creationism versus Evolutionism is a non-existent debate; the Book of Genesis is a metaphor for how God created the Earth – seven days could easily be interpreted as seven aeons. Back to probability: if one were to assume an individual of average intelligence to be correct in his or her convictions at least 50% of the time, and considering that approximately 1 in 4 of the world’s population are Christian, it would follow that the odds for the existence of God were closer to 1 in 8 would it not? 2008-06-29: Logic beats cutting edge science. http://www.google.com/search?q=logic+proof+of+God
Science can support the existance of God

When people discuss whether there is a God or not they usually build up a confrontation between religion and science. However, it is possible that science, the apparent foe of religion, can be used to prove the existence of a God. The most compelling scientific argument is the law of conservation of energy that states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed in forms. The important point is that energy could exist one day, having not existed the day before. Right at the beginning, something, be it a God or otherwise, must have originally created energy. The philosopher Thales of Miletus did have ideas linked to the theory of the conservation of energy as early as the 5th Century BC and modern Physcisists have developed the law. It must therefore be argued that something originally created energy and this, by one definition or another, could be considered a God. Does a potter need to be explained by the cup he creates? Most people, including scientists agree the universe had a beginning. And since it did have a beginning, it had a cause. For arguements sake, lets insert God as the cause. So God created the universe and all the matter within it. He created all the physical laws, gravity, maths, the complex information within the DNA double helix, etc, etc. If the universe is but a creation of His making, why should he need to be explained and or be bound by the laws in which he subjects it to. If He is its creator, he supercedes it on every level and is not bound by its bindings, but is indeed the maker of them. The flaw with presuming that logic does not apply to God because He is not bound by the logic of his creation is absurd. An artist may produce a masterpiece on canvas but himself is not bound by what is on the canvas. And so it goes with God. He created the laws of physics to govern the universe. They were not made to govern Him. And it may seem unusual, in terms of the physical nature of our condition to think of a higher being, who is completely outwith the understanding of what we deem as logical. But if God created the laws that govern our universe then His mind is of such greater conceptual power than we can even think possible. And the flaw in logic would be, that we can presume that our logic is on an even-keil with the one who created a masterpiece of a universe, with its intricate design and complexity of life. We cannot even make an atom let alone a living cell, of the law of gravity. Another factor to consider is the second law of thermo-dynamics. This law states that basically everything in this world is deteriorating. This means that the theory of evolution cannot be true because it supports the fact that everything is evolving or improving.
Falsification

This isn’t strictly what falsification means. Falsification was a scientific proposition put forward most famously by Karl Popper, arguing that as there is no agreed means of determining what is true (for example, if I look at all the cats around me, and they’re all black, I can’t say ‘all cats are black’ as you could come back and show me a white one.), the only truths we can hold are hypothesis that we assume to be true unless proven otherwise. As with the example above, I would take the hypothesis ‘all cats are black’ and try to prove myself wrong, searching for the example of a white cat to disprove my hypothesis. Falsification doesn’t fit your argument for two reasons. 1) It doesn’t strictly accept ‘truth’ at all: the whole point of it was to find a logical substitute as truth isn’t a term that can be agreed on. Thus the idea of compromise is a crucial part of this theory, and the Christian ‘100% truth’ belief is not accepted by falsificationists. 2) More importantly, a further requirement of any hypothesis held by a falsificationist (e.g. all cats are black) must be contradictable (e.g. I’ve found a non-black cat) for falsificationism to properly function. There is no contradictory state for God existing, for what single piece of evidence could there be that defeats the argument that God exists? Searching every atom of the universe for any traces of ‘God’ wouldn’t do it, nor would attempting to explain every ‘miracle’ – either way, the possibility of God still exists. This is unfortunately put forward as a strength by many theists, although logically (and by the definition of falsificationism) it is a huge weakness of argument. Take, for example, my argument that there is an invisible, inaudible unicorn in my room that can’t be felt or sensed in any way. I won’t ever be proven wrong, but is it really there? A lack of proof that something does not exist ONLY implies that we can hold it as existing (for now) WHEN it is possible to imagine a situation where we can be proven wrong. A belief in God does not fulfil this criterion and is not supported by falsificationism. Besides, there is a big debate over whether maths is innate (something in the world that we’ve discovered), or invented (a system we’ve created to explain the world) but it doesn’t support the falsificationist argument either way. Just because some people believe something doesn’t make it reality!