Reply #52: Apples and oranges, my friend. [View All]

[IrateCitizen]

See the problem with your example is that there is an easy experiment you can do to prove whether or not there is a 500 lb gorilla on your roof -- you can simply look for yourself. Based on direct observation, you can prove or disprove whether or not there is a 500 lb. gorilla on your roof.

But what do you do when it comes to proving or disproving the presence of God? What experiments can you conduct based on either direct or indirect observation? According to the scientific method, you CANNOT prove or disprove the presence of God. Therefore, whether or not God exists comes down to a personal BELIEF.

I say all of this as a Protestant Christian who tends toward gnosticism. I fully acknowledge that my belief in a higher and/or collective power is just that -- a belief. It cannot be proven nor disproven. My gripe with certain people of faith AND atheists is that they try to present their beliefs as TRUTH, as something undeniable. Frankly, I think that both of them tend more toward the realm of non-thinkers, because they disavow Enlightenment principles of scientific inquiry in favor of simple belief.