Does God Exist? Is there any proof or evidence?

[Yohan]

More on Anthony Flew's conversion to Theism.

I don't hear anything about a proof of an afterlife.

He thinks now that god exists - somehow....

He died already, I wonder what religious organization he joined...he fits in to nowhere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Flew

... Flew was known as a strong advocate of atheism, arguing that one should presuppose atheism until empirical evidence of a God surfaces. He also criticised the idea of life after death, the free will defence to the problem of evil, and the meaningfulness of the concept of God.
.....
However, in 2004 he changed his position, and stated that he now believed in the existence of an Intelligent Creator of the universe, shocking colleagues and fellow atheists. In order to further clarify his personal concept of God, Flew openly made an allegiance to Deism, more specifically a belief in the Aristotelian God, and dismissed on many occasions a hypothetical conversion to Christianity, Islam or any other religion. He stated that in keeping his lifelong commitment to go where the evidence leads, he now believed in the existence of a God
.....
He supported the idea of an Aristotelian God with "the characteristics of power and also intelligence", stating that the evidence for it was stronger than ever before. He rejected the idea of an afterlife, of God as the source of good (he explicitly states that God has created "a lot of" evil), and of the resurrection of Jesus as a historical fact, although he has allowed a short chapter arguing in favor of Joshua's/Jesus' resurrection to be added into his latest book.
.....
Flew was particularly hostile to Islam, and said it is "best described in a Marxian way as the uniting and justifying ideology of Arab imperialism.

I have been denounced by my fellow unbelievers for stupidity, betrayal, senility and everything you can think of and none of them have read a word that I have ever written....

He left behind his fellow unbelievers and thinks they will still listen to him?

He became a few years before his death obviously somehow a Christianity orientated fellow - he says nothing negative about the Bible, dislikes Islam and ignores totally the existence of other religions....however it seems he rejects the idea of an afterlife. - Which is not what the Bible is teaching you....

Any proof about anything what he all said during his life? Just talk and nothing else....

I do not see anything of an 'Intelligent Creator' - the human design should be the last and the best design, but it has many flaws...

[Winston]

@Yohan

I never said Flew was an expert in the afterlife. I referred you to others for that. But Flew said that intelligent design inescapably points to God as a Creator and Intelligent Designer. His arguments were very sound about that. That's my point. You can't deny that.

Watch these short clips about former atheist Anthony Flew and why he changed his mind about atheism that I posted for you here:

viewtopic.php?p=351304#p351304

You will find his reasons for his change of mind very interesting and mind blowing and enlightening.

[MarcosZeitola]

Assume a salesman arrives at your house. He touts a new household appliance: it can sense exactly what flooring surface it’s over and can clean accordingly. It vacuums, mops, waxes, as needed.

“Wow!” you say. “How does it do that? That doesn’t sound possible!”

The salesman says that the appliance’s workings are mysterious, but it works.

You’re a bit dubious, but you say, “Okay, show me one and let’s see how it works.”

“Oh, I can’t do that! But if you believe — really and fully believe — then it will work as promised.”

You would be justified, and quite factual, in saying that until the salesman shows up and demonstrates an actual product that works as claimed, you are withholding belief.

[Cornfed]

You would be justified, and quite factual, in saying that until the salesman shows up and demonstrates an actual product that works as claimed, you are withholding belief.

What if you were provided with proof that people's houses were cleaner when they used the product, in the same way that it can be shown that people's lives were demonstrably better over time when they worshipped a moral god?

[MarcosZeitola]

You would be justified, and quite factual, in saying that until the salesman shows up and demonstrates an actual product that works as claimed, you are withholding belief.

What if you were provided with proof that people's houses were cleaner when they used the product, in the same way that it can be shown that people's lives were demonstrably better over time when they worshipped a moral god?

Then it would prove that the belief itself is a good and useful thing, but evidence of the product or deity itself existing would still be missing. Which is pretty much how I see it... by all means go to Church and uphold your religious morality but there is no need to delude yourself into actually believing any of it is real-real. It's like watching a movie which inspires you. Is it real? No. Is it useful? Yes.

God doesn't exist but the Bible does. And it's the Bible from which all the good stuff originates.

[Cornfed]

You would be justified, and quite factual, in saying that until the salesman shows up and demonstrates an actual product that works as claimed, you are withholding belief.

What if you were provided with proof that people's houses were cleaner when they used the product, in the same way that it can be shown that people's lives were demonstrably better over time when they worshipped a moral god?

Then it would prove that the belief itself is a good and useful thing, but evidence of the product or deity itself existing would still be missing. Which is pretty much how I see it... by all means go to Church and uphold your religious morality but there is no need to delude yourself into actually believing any of it is real-real. It's like watching a movie which inspires you. Is it real? No. Is it useful? Yes.

God doesn't exist but the Bible does. And it's the Bible from which all the good stuff originates.

Well there we can get into a philosophical argument about the nature of truth. You are taking the Platonic position that there is an objective truth that is out there and your beliefs are true to the extent that they correspond with it. Is that really all that useful? Maybe we could take the position that something is true to the extent that we act as if it is true, things work out in a favour, and if you think about it we do this all the time.

[Winston]

You would be justified, and quite factual, in saying that until the salesman shows up and demonstrates an actual product that works as claimed, you are withholding belief.

What if you were provided with proof that people's houses were cleaner when they used the product, in the same way that it can be shown that people's lives were demonstrably better over time when they worshipped a moral god?

Then it would prove that the belief itself is a good and useful thing, but evidence of the product or deity itself existing would still be missing. Which is pretty much how I see it... by all means go to Church and uphold your religious morality but there is no need to delude yourself into actually believing any of it is real-real. It's like watching a movie which inspires you. Is it real? No. Is it useful? Yes.

God doesn't exist but the Bible does. And it's the Bible from which all the good stuff originates.

Would u tell a child that never met his father that his father didnt exist and he was created by random chemicals mixing by accident? Just because u dont see God doesnt mean others dont and doesn't mean that everything was created at random and that life came from non-life. See these videos about why atheist Anthony Flew was forced to change his mind by following the evidence where it leads.

viewtopic.php?p=351304#p351304

[Winston]

Francis Collins, Director of the National Institute of Health, former Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, describes his personal journey from atheism to Christianity when he was a young doctor and an aspiring academic.

@Yohan and @Contrarian Expatriate, you should listen to this to hear how a very credible person came to believe in God and his reasons for it, which make a lot of sense.



Francis Collins interviewed about God and Evolution.

[Winston]

"Two men each stand in a dark corner and ask Gautama the Buddha the inevitable question, "Does God exist?" One a devout believer, the other an out-and-out atheist. What answer does each receive?

Sadhguru explains in this video about the difference between a belief and seeking and how it relates to a spiritual process."

[Winston]

Bishop Robert Barron, a great Catholic philosopher, explains in this short video below why people believe in God. It's very touching and eloquent.