At what point should we look for a non-materialistic explanation?

Abso-friggin-lutely!!I don't understand how anyone can think that the god of the gaps argument holds any rational water at all. Nor can I comprehend why anyone would willfully revel in such dead end ignorance rather than seek a method of valid investigation. At the point that you decide to abandon any hope of ascertaining the nature of reality and simply wish to have an answer regardless of reliability. Perhaps for emotional or personal reasons. But ultimately an answer for answers sake.If you are going to accept untestable irrefutable supernatural answers then anything goes. There is no more evidential reason to think god (whatever that means) created the universe than there is to think it was hatched from an ethereal egg laid by an immaterial celestial chicken.

What level of complexity?

Why?Why do you consider belief in the supernatural to be evidence in favour of the actual existence of the supernatural?

Hey BuzThe topic question is "At what point should we look for a non-materialistic explanation?"You said: To which I asked "What level of complexity?"You haven't answered this. In fact you haven't even tried. So I'll ask again with some clarification.At what level of complexity should we consider supernatural answers? How are you measuring complexity and can you give me some examples of things that are:A) Definitely not complex enough to have required supernatural intervention.
B) Probably not quite complex enough to have required supernatural intervention.
C) Indeterminately complex.May or may not have required supernatural intervention.
D) Probably complex enough to have required supernatural intervention.
E) Definitely complex enough to have required supernatural intervention.I am trying to get an idea of your scale of complexity here so that we can devise some objective measure of complexity to see what needs designing and what doesn't.Does that sound fair?

Oh. Then what did you mean by the following? This sure sounds like citing belief in the supernatural as evidence of the supernatural. Edited by Straggler, : Fix quotes

I am always a bit hyper and usually more than a little impetuous. OK. But you did answer my original question about the level of complexity required with fairly pointless non-answer. Maybe it would be better for you to do your research and then get back with a fuller answer rather than post intermediate answers and get the inevitable replies pointing out their inadequacy. We will no doubt all be looking forward to that.

By "non-material" I mean inherently empirically undetectable. What do you mean? And how can the "non-material" be evidenced? Not really Buz. It's called a scientific hypothesis based on evidence. The problem is how to test such theories in practical terms given our technological limitations.I assume you don't think that God is similarly empirically detectable and that it is just our technological shortcomings that prevent us from actually materially detecting him?

And how do you do that Buz?Find a gap and then say "Well if we cannot explain this phenomenon materially then goddidit"?What is the "non-materialistic evidence" you are speaking of? Can you show us or refer us to some of this etheral evidence?

If we had all invoked the supernatural everytime something that didn't fit with current knowledge occurred we would still be living in caves. A patient mentions the phrase "chicken dance", the surgeon interperets this as the patient seeing him point to things with his elbows whilst the patient is unconscious during surgery and this is evidence of the supernatural. Wow. Seriously this is up there with LindaLou and her telepathic dogs. I am not even sure that there is a phenomenon that requires explanation here? Perhaps some over zealous willingness to accommodate the belief of the patient on the part of the surgeon. But little else.Is there more detail to this story? Or is that literally it?

Presumably because the relatively advanced Egyptians didn't expect gods to go around erecting vast and complex stone structures for them. Put a member of a less advanced hunter gatherer society in the shadow of the pyramids and see if he would initially assume such works as being the result of the divine? What on Earth is the difference. But it comes so naturally........

So I finally embrace your definition of "evidence" at long last and all you can do to thank me is call me a dick. No no. I really am a complete natural.

What exactly do you mean by the "non-physical" here? Sounds like "somethingsupernaturalofthegaps" to me. And there is nothing wonderous about ignorance.

I pity your attitude to life.There is no need to be nihilistic. Certainty is a fools pursuit. And Basking in ignorance remains far from wonderous. No mater how pretttily you might phrase it.

Well I would advise against starting from the base assumption that you went "wrong" as such. That seems a little nihilistic for my tastes. More re-examine your life and see if you are where you want to be I guess.But that aside it sounds like a fun quest and one that we should all contemplate from time to time.Enjoy.