When I was a college student, there was once a guy on the quad talking about God. One of the things he said was that one of the most compelling arguments for the existence of God is the fact that so many people in so many cultures and countries seem to believe in one. It's as if humanity has a God-shaped hole to fill.
I thought to myself, this is his most compelling argument?
The existence of desire does not imply the existence of possible satisfaction. I may have a cheeseburger-shaped hole in my belly, but that does not imply the existence of a cheeseburger. If I were a caveman with this same burning sensation in my gullet, I could not use it to prove that cheeseburgers just are somewhere for my consumption.
And perhaps that cheeseburger-shaped hole I feel is not really in the shape of a cheeseburger after all. Perhaps the only thing that will really satiate is soylent green. Is God made of people? I don't know. I do know that if people could feed themselves by imagining food, there'd be no more hunger, and if my brain worked like the guy preaching God on the quad, I wouldn't have much imagination.
2 comments:
Actually, there is a somewhat complex philosophical argument purported by Descarte that follows this "God-shaped hole" line of reasoning. Not so much "everybody thinks there is one" but more, the mere fact that the humans' capability to fathom a perfect creator exists at all -- if there weren't a creator, would we have the ability to wonder?
Bah, there is no valid argument for God. The simple truth is that we're scared little animals whose brains don't have enough to do. So to counteract that fear we imagine someone's sitting up there waiting to help out when things get bad. That's all; case closed. Descarte may have been smart, but even the smartest people get scared.
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