Is there a god?

[marc]

I am agnostic. I simply do not know if god exists nor can I claim that he does or does not because I have no evidence of any kind to say so.

I do know some things for certain however and so do many people who have dedicated their life to science. First, evolution is real. It happens every day in many species throughout the planet and we have observed & documented its consequences directly. It is indeed very possible, if not near certain that we evolved from lower life. Although this is called a "scientific theory" the use of the word "theory" does not mean it is uncertain, it simply means we do not have all the details to connect the dots but we know it to be true not by faith but by science. Do not confuse scientific theory with the term "idea" or "possibility" like many faiths do. A good reference to anyone who want to really dig into evolution is 1st learn some ecology, then microbiology then specifically look at our own cells and compare them to bacteria (im not just talking about anatomy here but also behavior and structure) especially look at our embryological development. The other big step is to learn about sponges to see how it can all be possible. Then you just connect the dots and you will find that given the age of the earth, it is very possible that we evolved into what we are now.

I also know, from a philosophical point of view, that everything here may or may not even be real. All the laws and science might just be some program running on some computer somewhere and we are all simply characters in that world very much like our own video games albeit a much more complex simulation and we seem to have the ability to manipulate this word and we may even have free will... but im on the fense about that one since the mathematics are simply too complex for me to understand. As much as I dislike this idea, it is just as likely to be true as any "creationist" idea. Heck you might even be able to say that the owner of the computer we live in is god... but that may throw a pretty heavy wrench in some beliefs hehe

Where the 1st form of life came from is a more complex question but I also know something about that. No I cant tell you where it came from but I can say that almost any idea anyone has ever come up with is about as equally likely as any other since we have no evidence to deny or support any of them. So Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, pagans, athiests, scientologists, scientists, & Matrix fans rejoice... the probability is you are all equally correct about the origins of early life. I just dont like to spend my life gambling on odds that cannot even be comprehended so I am now agnostic... what I dont understand is why so many people are willing to throw away their lives on a gamble? Would you place your life on the line for a lottery ticket knowing that the odds are infinity to 1?

Edit: just wanted to add one last point (yes i love philosophical discussions). I was raised a Chrisitian as many other were however Christianity did not make me who I am. I have my morality and ethics and Christianity simply supported those idea which is why it stuck with me for so long. Once I realized that those two were not related and that I was this way long before I was even religious none of the religions made sense any more. The idea that people are moral because of religion is false. Religion can make someone moral out of fear however there are many people who are moral and ethical because that is simply their belief not because they are afraid of going to hell nor because some imaginary man told them so. Alternatively, there are many religious folks who make me scratch my head at their morals and ethics... George Bush anyone?