Quote Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie View Post
Rather than agree or disagree I'll treat the questions as if they were open questions - and I'm afraid that my responses will be brief as I'm on holiday and simply typing on my phone.

1. Of course I can't state that a supreme being doesn't exist. I don't think there is any evidence currently available to support the concept of a supreme being but if reliable evidence we're to be available I would re-evaluate, of course. I have no vested interest in denying what is true.

My answer therefore contradicts truthpaste's assertion regarding this specific matter.

2. I don't know if we have a purpose in life in a philosophical sense. The second part of the question therefore doesn't have any relevance as I don't self-determined a purpose.
I think that the concept of altruism has existed for millennia and has straddled peoples of all denominations, races and cultures but that is bye the bye

3. I'll take this question as being less literal than considering the cessation of heart activity. I can't definitively state that there is no 'afterlife', re-incarnation, hell, Valhalla, Happy Hunting Ground, Hades, Purgatory or Paradise - but there is no evidence thereof that I find convincing. As we humans live in a tiny speck of a planet in a Universe we can't even define the size of and which supposedly contains up to a septillion of stars, it seems that relatively poorly educated humans in the past came up with the most parochial of belief systems. To imagine that a creator of those septillion stars instigated a talking snake, a talking donkey and turning people to salt in just one area of the Earth and thousands of years ago seems rather laughable. This creator seems unable to even have the majority of the population on this wee planet believe in him/her/it. I consider it to be hugely laughable fare but that is another matter.

Point 1: OK, fair enough. Obviously for you the Bible is not an authoritative source, so you would require additional non-Biblical evidence. The usual non-Biblical evidence for a supreme being/intelligence who created the universe and everything in it is found in the Anthropic Principle, which Im sure you are aware of.

I found this summary of the A.P. on the Internet: Clearly, humanitys very existence shows that the current structure of the universe and the values taken by the constants of nature permit life to exist. Indeed, it appears that many features of the universe that are necessary for the evolution and persistence of life are the results of unusual coincidences between different values of the constants of naturequantities such as the mass of the electron, the strength of gravity, or the lifetime of the neutron. The significance, if any, of these coincidences is not understood. What is understood is that, if these quantities were slightly altered, then no form of complexity or life could exist in the universe.

I like the unusual coincidences bit. A hint of intelligent design there perhaps (?) but obviously intellectual suicide to say so outright! I am aware of the counter arguments of course, such as the multiverse concept and the endless cycle of regular expansion from, then reduction to, the initial singularity which repeats itself over and over until the current universe which we observe is arrived at. I guess any attempt to eradicate the need for a creator God is desirable?


Point 2: Thats an honest response! I believe that God created life and therefore every living human being is precious to him, and each one unique. Of course with our modern day knowledge of DNA we can confidently state that yes, each person is indeed unique. There never has been a TBG or a Gofer Blue before in the history of the universe nor will there ever be another one in the future. Before I became a Christian I would have given the same response as you I didnt know if my life had a purpose in the philosophical sense. Since becoming a Christian I know that the purpose of my life is to reflect the love of Christ/God not just in words but in actions.

Regarding some sort of in-built altruism, I can agree and at the same time disagree with you if that makes sense. Yes, I believe each person has a built-in God-given sense of conscience which can be outwardly portrayed as altruism. However this trait can, and is often, suppressed by pure selfishness and greed and like civilisation in the general sense, is only like a thin veneer which can easily be stripped away.


Point 3: I agree with you in that it seems ridiculous that a God who created umpteen billions of stars and planets should be interested in us humans on an apparently insignificant speck of rock spinning around a bog-standard star in a galaxy which is just one of billions! However as the psalmist wonders: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Like you I cannot prove or disprove there is an afterlife but I believe in Jesus and if he said that there is, then thats good enough for me. I am well aware of the Jesus was either mad, bad or deluded debate but from my examination of his life, teachings and works he was none of these things! Even if it did turn out to be untrue then it would not matter that much to me as pie in the sky when you die has never been my motivation to live as Jesus expects me to live. The greatest accolade I would like to have is that after Im gone, someone would say that they were glad that I had lived.