Season 3 Podcast 224 A Layman's Argument of the Existence of God Pt 1
A Layman’s Argument for the Existence of God Pt 1
Following the publication of The Origin of Species, science and religion split as if they were mutually exclusive, causing many to turn away from God, from the story of Genesis, and from religion and toward science. The split has become wider and wider. A relatively recent book entitled “The God Delusion,” a New York Times Bestseller, by the popular science writer Richard Dawkins, promotes an open antagonism between science and religion. Through the eyes of some, a belief in God is seen as evil.
In a very strange diatribe against God, Dawkins’ in the opening lines of Chapter Two, “The God Hypothesis,” makes the following accusation:
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. Those of us schooled from infancy in his ways can become desensitized to their horror.”
I take no offense at people’s personal beliefs. But in the above Mr. Dawkins is a little too subjective to be taken seriously. “Methinks Mr. Dawkins doth protest too much” perhaps fits here. The language drives the narrative. It demonstrates a tremendous ignorance of the God of the Old Testament. Mr. Dawkins, as often happens when writers have no distance from the subject, gives himself over to logical fallacies, clichés, and rattling hyperbole. The book is only convincing to those who already hold that opinion.
An admirer of Mr. Dawkins’ earlier book, The Blind Watchmaker, I have read the God Delusion four times. It is not science. It is an attempt to prove preconceived opinions. The cleverness of his language camouflages the blatant fallacies of his spurious arguments. Religion cannot prove the existence of God through argument any more than science can disprove the existence of God through argument. Any attempt on either side is itself a logical fallacy. ·
· You cannot prove that God exists; therefore, God does not exist.
· You cannot prove that God does not exist; therefore, God exists.
You may think me hypocritical since the title of this series of podcasts is “A Layman’s Argument for the Existence of God.” I don’t pretend to prove the existence of God. But I do pretend to tear down any arguments, even those that hide behind science, that proport to prove the nonexistence of God. You cannot use the scientific method to disprove the existence of God, and anyone who pretends to will fall into a deep pit of logical fallacies and non sequiturs. Reading the God Delusion is much like being in Charles Dickens Circumlocution Office.
There is no scientific evidence in the God Delusion that disproves the existence of God. The only thing one can be certain of after reading the book is that Mr. Dawkins is an atheist and is willing to disregard logic in order to persuade others to become an atheist.
Nevertheless, Dawkins’ best seller status and popularity suggests that he has a very supportive audience; however, science, as brilliant as it is in making our lives better, is not the answer to social problems nor is it the answer to faith. The fact is that science is faced with the evidence of intelligent design without accepting an intelligent designer. Scientific based atheism, though it lures away the untrained mind, poses no threat to Christianity. Christianity is faith based. The Holy Bible says little or nothing about the laws of nature used by God to create the universe; therefore, it gives science a broad canvas to paint their picture of creation.
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