Is There a God?

• “No”

  

  “The Definition of 'God'”

• “Objection”

  

  “Absolutely Clear?”
  

The Definition of 'God'

American Atheists

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Is there a god? Be careful here. It’s a trick question.  In order to answer the seemingly simple interrogatory, we must be clear on what is being asked. 

What is a god?  Surely there is a big difference between the Christian God Jehovah and the Greek God Zeus. If we were talking specifically about any one of the gods ever worshipped by man, it would be a much easier question.  However, that’s not what we have.  And since this will be a discussion, we all better have our definitions straight.

We have: “is there a God” which can include all the gods ever worshipped, and all the gods forgotten, and all the gods never taught  (for whatever reason).    That’s a lot of gods, and any one of them existing would force a “Yes” answer to the question.  But before my future adversaries raise their hand to offer their god as the ONE god that sets the answer to positive, we must define what it means to be a god.

1. A god is a living being (as proscribed by the word IS in the question, as opposed to “Was there ever a god”).
2. His is very unlikely to die, although he may have been born.
3. A god has the ability, presumably, to create matter and energy (the universe), which he (or his ancestors) presumably did. He may or may not still have this power.

So those are the three attributes. So the question can therefore be translated to “Does a being live today that possesses (or once possessed) the ability to create the universe?” The answer is clear – absolutely not.

Next Argument

"No" American Atheists

• The Definition of 'God'
  6
• Matter Cannot be Destroyed – or Created
  7
• Wishing Doesn’t Make It True
  10
• Science Has Been Proven, God Hasn’t
  6

"No" American Humanist Association

• Lack of Agreement on What God Is
  5
• Lack of Agreement of What God Does
  3
• The Storybook God
  7
• The Persistence of the Storybook God
  6
• The Abstract God
  4
• Abstractions Aren’t Answers
  4
• Deified Reality
  4

"Yes " Rabbi Jeret

• How Did the World Come to be?
  4
• Don’t We Often See Ourselves In Our Children?
  4
• What are the Actual Implications of God's Existence?
  3
• The Absence of Proof Is Not Proof of Absence!
  5
• Belief vs Knowledge; Faith vs Proof
  2

Most Objections

• The Definition of 'God'
  6
• Matter Cannot be Destroyed – or Created
  7
• Wishing Doesn’t Make It True
  10

Is There a God?

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