Jay520 said:
I'll keep it short and post a short version of the argument from Wikipedia:
1. If no perfectly loving God exists, then God does not exist. 2. If a perfectly loving God exists, then there is a God who is always open to personal relationship with each human person. 3. If there is a God who is always open to personal relationship with each human person, then there no human person is ever non-resistantly unaware that God exists. 4. If a perfectly loving God exists, then no human person is ever non-resistantly unaware that God exists (from 2 and 3). 5. Some human persons are non-resistantly unaware that God exists. 6. No perfectly loving God exists (from 4 and 5). 7. God does not exist (from 1 and 6).
What do you think of this argument? Good or bad?
I guess you could say that God doesn't have to be perfectly loving if he does exist, but I think the majority of theists believe otherwise. Everything else seems valid to me.
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1. This really only effects the Christian God(like you mention). Me being a Christian I will accept this as coherent.
2. Number two wouldn't be affected by any perfectly loving God. It isn't neccassry that a perfectly loving God, to be consistent has to be with a relationship with any humans just like with animals. But because I'm a Christian this has to be true for the Christian God because it is said he is always willing to be in a relationship with all humans. So, I accept this as coherent with the argument against the Christian God.
3. Non-resistantly isn't a word from any dictionary I read. So, I will use non-resistant instead. Nonresistant: Not resistant . So, I assume the argument is that there shouldn't be anyone that unaware that weren't influenced? Correct me if I am wrong because the double negative is making the sentence confusing a bit(referring to "non-resistantly unaware".)
From Dr Justin Barrett, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind.
""The preponderance of scientific evidence for the past 10 years or so has shown that a lot more seems to be built into the natural development of children's minds than we once thought, including a predisposition to see the natural world as designed and purposeful and that some kind of intelligent being is behind that purpose," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"If we threw a handful on an island and they raised themselves I think they would believe in God."
More from the Dr. Barrett,
"Dr Barrett claimed anthropologists have found that in some cultures children believe in God even when religious teachings are withheld from them.
"Children's normally and naturally developing minds make them prone to believe in divine creation and intelligent design. In contrast, evolution is
unnatural for human minds; relatively difficult to believe."
Article for full read. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/3512686/Children-are-born-believers-in-God-academic-claims.html
I did a report on this in college for a paper it was really fun. If you want
some peer-review work or other experiments I will gladly help.
But as you can see the argument falls flat from here.
But I like to add the God of the bible says it is possible that everyone can come into a personal relationship with him not that everyone will sadly.
If someone rejects God's it's part of there free-will to do that if they wish.
4.No one is born resistant to God. But they can turn resistant by influence of whatever comes there way.
5. Nothing factual supports this therefor is an assumption.
6. 4 and 5 as stated have not proved there case and by the evidence it would suggest the opposite.
7. Deductive reasoning needs to be fully investigated before arguing anything like this. This why you rarely see anyone
who are professional philosophers use an argument like this in a peer-reviewed paper.
I had fun having this conversation I hope we can converse some more.
(Disclaimer Dr. Barrette isn't claiming that evolution isn't true. He is claiming a person raised neutrally is more likely to believe
in creationist arguments than evolutionist. Manly believe it's less complex than the other.For personal note I'm a theist-evolutionist.)
Thank you!