I Don't Exist

Let's see if you can follow this argument from Ray Comfort:

There can be no such things as an atheist. This is why: Let's imagine that you are a professing atheist. Right there with ya, Ray. Here are two questions for you to answer: First, do you know the combined weight of all the sand on all the beaches of Hawaii? We can safely assume that you don't. This brings us to the second question: Do you know how many hairs are on the back of a fully-grown male Tibetan yak? Probably not. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that there are some things that you don't know. It is important to ask these questions because there are some people who think they know everything.

Why would I need to answer those questions? Yaks and sand have nothing to do with atheism. Atheism neither denies nor claims any knowledge of yaks and sand. Nor do atheists claim to know everything. Atheists, in fact, like not knowing everything. We're ok with uncertainty, it's exciting. I don't know what's going to happen next, but I'm looking forward to finding out. You can come with, if you want.

Let's say that you know an incredible one percent of all the knowledge in the universe. To know 100 percent, you would have to know everything. There wouldn't be a rock in the universe that you would not be intimately familiar with, or a grain of sand that you would not be aware of. You would know everything that has happened in history, from that which is common knowledge to the minor details of the secret love life of Napoleon's great-grandmother's black cat's fleas. You would know every hair of every head, and every thought of every heart. All history would be laid out before you, because you would be omniscient (all-knowing).

I still couldn't tell you where this is going. No place logical, I'm sure.

Bear in mind that one of the greatest scientists atheists love scientists! we're crazy that way. who ever lived, Thomas Edison i personally prefer einstein or nikolai tesla (but i think i only like tesla because he was played by david bowie in that movie. really cool role.), said, "We do not know a millionth of one percent about anything." Let me repeat: who are you, joe biden? Let's say that you have an incredible one percent of all the knowledge in the universe. Would it be possible, in the ninety-nine percent of the knowledge that you haven't yet come across, that there might be ample evidence to prove the existence of God? If you are reasonable, you will be forced to admit that it is possible. Somewhere, in the knowledge you haven't yet discovered, there could be enough evidence to prove that God does exist.

You don't want to play with that kind of logic, Ray, because it's sharp on both ends. If you truly are reasonable, you would also be forced to admit that somewhere, in the knowledge you haven't yet discovered, there could be enough evidence to prove that god does NOT exist.

Look, no one lives their life on the basis of all the things they don't know. Yes, there may be, somewhere out in the infinity that is existence, proof of god. Maybe he signed a mountain on some distant planet, I don't know. But, until I see that proof, I'm going with what I currently know: there is no god.

Look at it this way: you get cancer. The oncologist tells you your options: surgery, chemo, radiation, some mix of all three. You do your research, get a second opinion, and then you pick an option. You don't sit around waiting to see if somewhere, out there in the universe, there is some other option nobody currently knows about.

Having seen all the currently available information, I make my choice. I don't choose to believe in something I have no proof of, on the idea that somewhere there is proof nobody knows about.

Let's look at the same thought from another angle. you can look at this from all the angles you want, the logic still doesn't hold up. If I were to make an absolute statement such as, "There is no gold in China," what is needed for that statement to be proven true? I need absolute or total knowledge. I need to have information that there is no gold in any rock, in any river, in the ground, in any store, in any ring, or in any mouth (gold filling) in China. If there is one speck of gold in China, then my statement is false and I have no basis for it. I need absolute knowledge before I can make an absolute statement of that nature. Conversely, for me to say, "There is gold in China," I don't need to have all knowledge. I just need to have seen a speck of gold in the country, and the statement is then true.

Seems like good logic, isn't. Suppose no one had ever, up until this point, ever found gold in China. Until someone finds gold in China, I can categorically say that there is no gold in China. Until someone proves god to me, I can categorically say there is no god.

To say categorically, "There is no God," is to make an absolute statement. For the statement to be true, I must know for certain that there is no God in the entire universe. No human being has all knowledge. Therefore, none of us is able to truthfully make this assertion. This is ridiculous. We make categorical statements based on currently known information all the time. I hate the taste of alcohol. I have not tried all alcoholic beverages, so perhaps there is one that I might enjoy, but for right now, there aren't any.

Atheism is not the position that "even if you proved god to me I wouldn't believe", it is the position that "given all that I currently know, I don't believe in god." Don't turn the argument into something it isn't.

If you insist upon disbelief in God, again reframing the argument into something it isn't. I don't "disbelieve" in a god I know exists. I believe there is no god. prove to me there is a god, and I will change my mind. what you must say is, "Having the limited knowledge I have at present, I believe that there is no God." yeah, that is what I say. I know my knowledge is limited, everyone's knowledge is limited. which means that Ray's knowledge is as limited as my own. suck it, Ray! Owing to a lack of knowledge on your part, you don't know if God exists. So, in the strict sense of the word, you cannot be an atheist. Yes, I can. I don't believe god exists. This is the definition of atheism. The only true qualifier for the title what title? atheism is a title? Ok, loyal readers, I now insist you refer to me as "Atheist Personal Failure" in all future communications. is the One who has absolute knowledge, and why on earth would God want to deny His own existence? AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! The stupid, it burns! I don't believe in god, you can't use god to convince me of god!
The professing atheist is what is commonly known as an "agnostic" - one who claims he "doesn't know" if God exists. No, agnostics and atheists do get lumped togethre a lot, but they are not the same thing. Atheists believe there is no god, agnostics just don't know. It is interesting to note that the Latin equivalent for the Greek word is "ignoramus." This is disingenuous at best. "agnostic" means "noncomittal" or "doubter" while "ignoramus" means "ignorant of". They might be the best equivalents across the two languages, but they are not the same word.

The Bible tells us that this ignorance is "willful" good for you, using the book that means nothing more to me than any other book to prove that it should mean more to me. that's so useful. (Psalm 10:4). May as well start quoting Michael Crichton at me. It's not that a person can't find God, but that he won't. It has been rightly said that the "atheist" can't find God for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman. oh, puhlease. I look at the world and see it differently than you, and I am automatically immoral and hateful? Yeah, that's just the best kind of logic. He knows that if he admits that there is a God, he is admitting that he is ultimately responsible to Him. This is not a pleasant thought for some. This is not what stops me from being a believer. I already do obey the laws. I am far more moral, and commit far fewer of what are considered sins than most christians I know. Oh, and insulting me doesn't exactly incline me to come over to your side, asshat.

It is said that Mussolini (the Italian dictator seriously, you think there might be people unaware of who fucking Mussolini was?), once stood on a pinnacle a pinnacle of what? a mountain? a building? and cried, "God, if you are there, strike me dead!" When God didn't immediately bow to his dictates, Mussolini then concluded that there was no God. However, his prayer was answered some time later. Well, duh! On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.