Probability of the existence of God

It is sad that you feel that life has no meaning. I agree that we are extremely complex. It is also true that many of us have delusions of grandeur. But if you really think about it, life is very special. This existence that you and I have here on earth is meaningful.If you really look inside yourself, I think you will find a part that cannot be explained by science. You will find something that exists that cannot be explained through a series of chemical reactions. There is an awareness that life has meaning and purpose. There is an awareness that you are special.

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"There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be." - Charles Sanders Pierce

Hello,I thank God that you believe in Jesus Christ. I really think are differences are only due to definitions.I quoted John 8:24 and Romans 1:23 to show that we are required by God to believe in God. We are told that we have no excuse. In other words, we are told that we have no reason to doubt!You say: and This is where I think we are getting off track from one another. You see I understand the Bible to teach that faith is being convinced completely about those things you cannot see. Where you say the exact opposite that complete assurance is the lack of faith. If we could agree on this one point, then I think are differences would go away.Faith and belief are two ways of saying the same thing. If you believe (verb) in something then you have faith (noun). If you have faith (noun) then you believe (verb) in something.The Bible gives us a definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1:This is from the New American Standard version of the Bible:Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."By definition faith means that we are convinced of those things that we cannot see (i.e. the existence of God). If you are convinced that something exists, then what probability would you place upon that?>>>>>>>In James 1:6, we are told that faith does not allow doubt.James 1:6 - "But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.">>>>>>>We see this again in Romans 14:23:Romans 14:23 - "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.">>>>>>>Therefore, the fact that I have faith means that I am convinced that God exists. I have no doubt.Therefore, the probability that I would assign to the existence of God is 100%.>>>>>>>If you assign a probability of less than 100% to the existence of God, then you are not convinced that God exists. You may be saying that it is probable that God exists. However, that is not Biblical faith.Biblical faith requires being convinced in God and His promises, and being assured that God will deliver upon those promises.

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"There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be." - Charles Sanders Pierce

No.However, I try not to sin.

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"There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be." - Charles Sanders Pierce

I agree that the two verses that I quoted are not talking about doubting God and his existence. However, they are both indicating that faith does not include doubt.The first verse in James (1:6) is related to doubting that your prayers will be answered. In other words, we should pray with faith. We should be convinced that our prayers will be heard and answered.The second verse in Romans (14:23) is doubting whether an action we have decided to take is sinful or not (eating meats offered to idols). If we are to do something, we need to be convinced that it is not sinful. We need to have faith.In both verses, there is an indication that faith means we are convinced. Earlier you say you have no doubt, and here you say there are times when you doubt. When you say that you doubt, does that mean that you question the existence of God? And if so, what would cause you to do this?Is it due to an intellectual observation (If evolution is true then God cannot exist)?Or is it due to an emotional situation (If there was a God, I would not be going through this situation)?No reason for asking, I am just curious.Thanks

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"There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be." - Charles Sanders Pierce

You would be asking me to admit something that I do not believe to be true. I am answering this question based upon faith, not based upon intellectual logic.Intellectually, I could be wrong about the existence of anything.But from the standpoint of faith, I am completely convinced.Let us take a physical example. If I was sitting in my car, using your logic, then I could not say with complete assurance that I was sitting in my car.It is possible my car doesn't exist. It is possible I am psychotic. It is possible I do not exist. It is possible the universe does not even exist. There may be a million possibilities.However, I would still be completely convinced that I was sitting in my car. Based upon my perception, and my view of reality there would be no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the situation I perceived to be true was actually true. I could say with 100% probability that I was sitting in my car, and that would not be intellectually dishonest in my opinion.The same is true with my perception of the existence of God. It is possible I am psychotic. It is possible that I do not exist. It is possible that none of us exist. Again, there may be a million possibilities.However, based upon my perception and my view of reality there is no doubt in my mind that the situation I perceive to be true is true. I can say with 100% probability that God exists, and I do not believe that is being intellectually dishonest. Actually, in my opinion, it would be dishonest for me to say that I doubt the existence of God when I do not. I am not God's robot because He has not given me undoubtable confidence. He has given each of us free will. Each of us can make our own decision about whether God exists or not (and we do). I can choose to believe that God does not exist. I can choose to believe that maybe God exists. Or I can choose to be convinced that God exists. The choice is mine.I choose to believe that God exists! All that means is that I have faith. I am convinced (100% sure) that God exists.Thanks

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"There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be." - Charles Sanders Pierce

Catholic Scientist says: then you say: You say that you believe that Jesus is God. Then you use his name in an irreverant manner! Who is dishonest?Do you believe that Jesus was 100% convinced in the existence of God? Do you think that Jesus Christ was wrong when He claimed that God exists? What probability do you think that Jesus would place on the existence of God? How about his apostles, were they convinced?You are not convinced that God exists! You are not convinced that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be! You lack faith!You say: You do not even understand what it means to have faith from a Biblical perspective.Because you lack faith you are attempting to attribute your lack of faith to others. You are in effect saying because I cannot have assurance, then no one can have assurance. You are even implying that Jesus cannot have assurance.I am convinced that God exists! I am convinced that Jesus is the son of God! I have faith!

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"There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be." - Charles Sanders Pierce

Hi iano,Thank you for your welcome to EvC.You say: I agree completely that a Christian can doubt, and that there will be different degrees of conviction between individual Christians. A Christian's faith should grow stronger as they mature in Christ. In a couple of instances in the Bible, it talks about weak faith.I am wondering though whether these instances are related more to a persons reliance upon God, rather than his belief in the existence of God. In other words, if I beieve in God (I have faith) but if I am not willing to depend upon God (I have weak faith). I am just thinking this through in my head so I would appreciate your comments. This is really why I came to this forum. Not to engage in philosophical debates about what constitutes faith, but to gain a better understanding of why people refuse to believe in the existence of the supernatural. I want to gain a better understanding of the scientific view of origins and evolution.After only a few days on this forum, I question whether this is the best place to accomplish that task. It seems that I am constantly under attack, and it has caused me to be overly defensive.I truly appreciate your civil and gentle manner.

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"There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be." - Charles Sanders Pierce

I had to look up on google what the term intellectual dishonesty meant. It is the advocacy of a position that the advocate knows or believes to be false. I have not knowingly committed such an offense.I have admitted many posts back that it is not possible to calculate a probability for the existence of God based upon objective evidence.I said in post 27: The probability of 100% that I have placed upon the existence of God is based upon my subjective faith which has developed based upon my analysis of objective evidence. I am as convinced that God exists as I am that I exist. I believe that I can place a probability of 100% on my own existence without committing intellectual dishonesty either.So if someone feels I have been advocating a position that I do not believe in, I assure you that this was not my intent. Have you considered the possibility that I do not know how to debate? As far as I know, I have never engaged in a formal debate in my life. Maybe with time I will learn to develop more logical arguments. This is something that I would be interested in learning more about. It seems that evolution is a model of changes rather than origins. I get the same impression from cosmological origins. That the Big Bang Theory is a model of changes in the universe rather than origins. I think I will search out threads that are dealing more with the questions that I am attempting to answer.My faith or belief in the existence of God is not one of those questions.

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"There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be." - Charles Sanders Pierce