Hi Javeca,

That fact that you've taken the time to read books by atheists is great. Add to that you come here and engage on this subject is also great. How sad it is when people hold strong opinions yet don't take the time to even investigate what the other side is saying. For my part I've read much pro-theist JW material of course, but I also read The Language of God by Francis Collins wherein he details his experience of going from atheism to theism. One of the first book that convinced me of the factual basis of evolution was Finding Darwin's God by Kenneth Miller, a Roman Catholic.

By one definition faith is belief without proof. This is the definition often tossed around to ridicule the idea of faith.

Yet, if we insisted on belief only where there was proof we would believe in almost nothing and our progress towards a better understanding of the world would be greatly hindered. If someone asked: "where is your car?" our answer "parked outside" really lacks absolute proof and doesn't take into account other possibilities such as someone has stolen it. The more correct, agnostic answer, would be "I don't know". More correct, but not very productive.

If faith was defined as belief in what is patently false, I would never say I have faith. Or if faith was defined as stubborn resistance to evidence contrary to our beliefs, I would never say I have faith.

Hebrews 11:1 says...

Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.

By this definition faith is belief in what is real that is hoped for before it is beheld. The rest of Hebrews 11 goes on to list examples of faith such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, etc. Although the writer admits many of these characters died in faith before the full realization of their beliefs, nowhere does he argue they are examples of belief without proof that ultimately proved false.

Proof for non-existence of anything is likely impossible. However such doesn't mean we should just throw our hands up in the air and declare there is no basis upon which to decide. One of the reasons people often cite for belief in God is his existence explains something (i.e. where life came from, why people are moral, how prayer can be answered, how I was able to cope with a distressing situation, etc). Believing in something because it has explanatory power is a good reason. But can we go further?

At one time, people believed the universe was filled with a substance called ether. This substance helped explained the propagation of light waves. However a determined search for the substance failed to find any evidence. Eventually better theories explained how light waves could move across empty space. Although no one proved ether did not exist, since a determined search found no evidence and it was no longer needed to explain anything many felt safe in saying it did not exist.

There is no doubt God exists in the minds of individuals. And why that would be the case is a fascinating question in its own right. Pascal Boyer attempts to answer that question in Religion Explained. No one can argue against the existence of a non-interactive God outside the material universe.  However, most believers in God, insist on a God that does interact in tangible ways with humans and has desires (i.e. love me, pray to me, trust me, etc). This is also the God of the Bible...

In [the] beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness upon the surface of [the] watery deep; and God’s active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:1, 2)

Thus, while we can be fairly certain we can't prove God does not exist, it is fair to ask what evidence do we have that he does exist. The reason I am an atheist is every attempt to demonstrate the existence of God fails objective analysis. Certainly Jehovah's Witnesses point to many examples, such as fulfilled prophesy, evidence of special blessings, answered prayers, people of unusual high moral character.  Like many others Jehovah God is used to explain the existence of life and the universe. Yet a careful look at all this so-called evidence fails to be convincing and in some cases a good measure of intellectual dishonesty is deployed.

Since the God most people believe in has these desires, it does not escape the notice of us atheists such belief can be dangerous or at least reduce the enjoyment of life.  All it takes is believing Jehovah God does not want you to talk to a disfellowshipped person and brain functions surrounding loyalty can be activated.  Remove "God wants" from the picture because he doesn't exist and many times clearer more rationale thinking results.

Cheers,
-Randy

Last Edited By: rawe Mar 13 10 7:18 AM. Edited 3 times.