[how_can_losing?]

Nicho,

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Can someone address this, por favor:

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Thinking back on it, this is what seems to have happened. He starts asking me questions that I do not know the answer to, such as where the universe came from. When I reply "I do not know" it makes my ideas seem incomplete. People listen to him, and his idea's answer that question: "God created the universe." Observers think "Athiest 0, Thiest 1".

What went wrong? I can say, "Who created God?" They can answer "God has always existed." Then what? "What is God?" "God is the creator of the universe." "Oh." "Oh."



How can I respond to "God has always existed"?

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I would ask what his definition of God is and why. I suspect you will find it is an arbitrary definition colored by his (probably Christian) upbringing. If you are familiar with other religions/cultures it is not difficult to come up with examples of other deities that don't fit the description of the Abrahamic god. I doubt that he will find this significant but you might.

To put this another way, the question I find more interesting than "Does God exist?" is "What is your conception of God, and what does it say about you and your culture?"

On a side note, when I enter into an argument these days, it is not with the intention of trying to convince the other person that he or she is wrong and that I am right. This is not because I am less certain of my beliefs, but because I think it is a waste of time. If I do enter into an argument, it is hopefully with someone whose intellectual abilities I respect and whose points may challenge me to reconsider what I think.

hcl