How logic works in the real world
What is Rock?
Rock is a relatively hard object that is naturally composed of aggregated minerals.
Can you prove Rock exists?
Here is Rock in my hand.
How logic works for the religulously inclined
God exists.
What is God?
God is omnipotent and omniscient (never you mind that contradiction! your mortal mind can't comprehend his ways), and exists everywhere but doesn't exist in physical reality, and is love and hate and sunshine and darkness and responsible for everything that happens except for the things that he allows you to do with your free will that he planned for you.
Can you prove that God exists?
Proof of God is everywhere if you know how to see it. If you can't already see it you have to have faith.
Strong atheism, or the declaration that there is absolutely no possibility that a god can exist, is commonly viewed by most people as an irrational position. It is often ironically lumped together with the anti-rational fanaticisms of orthodox religion.
Because modern philosophy has inculcated our society with the idea that having a strong opinion is "dogmatic" and "uncompromising", most fence-sitters will postpone the decision and declare themselves to be agnostic. Agnosticism is the unwillingness to apply logic to an emotionally-charged hypothesis.
The burden of proof must be carried by the person who presents a hypothesis.
Failure to prove a scientific hypothesis yields a "not true" conclusion.
Failure to prove a religious hypothesis yields a "not quite proven but still a possibility that it may be true so let's not discard it" conclusion.
Are gods subject to physical laws?
- Physical laws govern existence
- Existence is defined as that which is composed of matter or energy
- If gods exist, they must be composed of either matter and/or energy
- If gods are composed of neither matter nor energy, they cannot exist
- To say that gods exist but are not composed of neither matter or energy is to effectively say that "existence = non-existence"
- If gods exist and are therefore governed by physical laws, they can be perceived using sensual evidence
- If gods can be sensually perceived, there would be ample proof
- If gods are subject to physical laws, faith and religion are unnecessary and praying to God is equal to praying to Rock
Do gods perform miracles?
- Miracles are, by definition, violations of physical laws
- If gods exist and are therefore governed by physical laws, they cannot logically violate physical laws
Religion, government, and modern philosophy are the triumvirate of power that currently enslave the world to thugs and con-artists. In the future I'd like to discuss the symbiotic relationship that these institutions have developed with each other, but for now, understand that accepting any lie from any one of these groups snares you for the rest of them.
If you are wrong about a strong opinion that resulted from faulty logic, there is power in humility. Being humble in the face of reality is the hallmark of wisdom.
If you are wrong about a compromised opinion that resulted from indecisiveness, you have yielded truth to evil. Being polite in the company of emotional hostility is the hallmark of a slave.
