by Don Cameron
Introduction is here. Part 1 is here.
2) WHY ARE ALL GODS INVISIBLE?
In all religions, including the ancient ones that nobody believes in anymore, the gods are invisible. There is no trace of them. Apologists sometime say that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence but, of course, it really is. The number of things that we could imagine without evidence is infinite. There is no point believing something even a little bit probable until there are at least some grounds to suggest it. The fact that some of the greatest minds over thousands of years have failed to find any tiny scrap of evidence is pretty good proof of nonexistence (although, of course, not absolute).
If any god exists, he has gone to extreme lengths to conceal himself, even putting false fossils in the ground to make us think we are descended from apes. And if he felt the need to go that far, how could he allow priests to go around telling everybody?
Fake Fossils
They tell us that he really wants us to believe and that he offers almost infinite reward to those that believe and infinite torment to those who don’t. But all he needs to do is to tell us. We are told that he remains invisible to test our faith. Does this sound like a rational god, or an incentive dreamed up by priests to explain away the obvious conclusion?
Some claim that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-caring. Now this gives us the opportunity to test the hypothesis of his existence.
The Problem of Evil
For example, when disasters happen, which he could easily prevent, he never turns up. This is the “problem of evil” which theologians have tried without success to answer for centuries. He cannot be all-caring, all-knowing, and almighty as is claimed. At most he could be two out of the three. It is really odd that, after a disaster, people hold a church service. If God exists, he has failed. Apparently, he could have easily prevented the disaster, but chose not to. It does not seem to be the best moment for praise.
Sometimes they say evil comes because of God’s grant of human free will, but how could that apply to volcanoes and pandemics? And why are there innocent victims of the sins of others? Some say it is punishment for sin, but misfortune happens to the good and bad at random.
People pray to gods, but never get an answer. It’s a one-way conversation. Outcomes are indistinguishable from chance. Survivors think their prayers were answered, but those who prayed but didn’t survive do not give their side of the story.
If God really doesn’t exist, is this perhaps exactly what it would look like?