Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Misty: Baytheist Living! on May 4, 2009 at 4:33am

Analyzable a controlled environment and the acceptable answer of personal questions.
Even if my conclusion was that the being was so advanced that it and the god definition were close to the same, it would still have to have the values I hold dear, or a very good explanation as to why mine should be different.

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Permalink Reply by Bob on May 4, 2009 at 7:14am

Overall, I doubt I would ever be convinced that said person was truly a God. I would, of course, be convinced they were powerful, if they did very obviously "impossible" things directly in front of me (changing form, conjuring things, healing wounds, etc.) with no sleight of hand, but still, no God.

However, if said guy started talking with the Voice of Legion and getting all glowy-eyed, like Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender, moving all the elements and such, then I might bow down, in hopes that he'd share his power without requiring too much commitment! Hey, I can dream, can't I?

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Permalink Reply by River Otter on May 4, 2009 at 9:28am

If someone appeared before me with provable (testable) magic and knowlege, I might be convinced they had knowledge and could perform magic. So what? This doesn't mean I would worship them or concider them a god.

In order for me to believe, they would have to regenerate a new limb on an amputee friend of mine, right before my eyes. Again, I still probrably wouldn't worship them.

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Permalink Reply by Pitabred on June 16, 2009 at 6:50pm

If someone were truly a God, they could simply make me convinced. If they couldn't do that, they aren't really an omnipotent God, are they? A lesser God, something like Roman or Norse mythology, I'd be skeptical. And if they were carrying a big hammer that was breaking things and shooting lightning and thunder and told me to call them a God, I have enough of an interest in self-preservation to do so no matter what I believed ;)

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Permalink Reply by Jason Brown on June 16, 2009 at 7:20pm

Fossil Bunnies in the Pre-Cambrian (sp?) anyone?

Rabbit Stew?

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Permalink Reply by Herk on June 17, 2009 at 10:57am

If you were to time-travel to the past, it is highly unlikely that you would be able to speak the language coherently. Even if you only went to Dark Ages Europe you would not be able to make yourself understood.

And if the sort of character appeared to me, no, I am far to skeptical. It would take a lot more proof for me to even suspect that this person were a god. And then, it would take a lot for it to convince me that I should care. So it's a god. So what?

If it wants me to be subservient, it is my enemy.
if it wants me to be worshipful, it is arrogant.
If it wants to give me something, well, beware of Greeks bearing gifts . . .

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Permalink Reply by James C on June 24, 2009 at 11:26am

When I saw this topic, what immediately popped into my head was when Christians ask "OK so what would be sufficient evidence for you to believe in God?? NOTHING would be acceptable to you!!! Because you are closed-minded!"

I know this isn't exactly what you were asking, but I've seen this question asked many times and I've never seen this simple answer from atheists:

EXACTLY the same thing(s) it would take for YOU to believe in Zeus! (Don't say Santa or the tooth fairy or anything, as that is more likely to trigger an emotional response since you are just trying to make them look foolish).

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Permalink Reply by Dave G on June 24, 2009 at 11:39am

A nice riposte, James. Not completely accurate, as what might convince them may not be what would convince me, but pointing out that they reject other gods out of hand is a good starting point.

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