Why God Is Impossible

Fine-Tuned Universe

I briefly brought up this point while discussing the argument from first cause. In that case, I explained the so-called ‘fine-tuning’ of the universe by saying that a generic cause to the universe, whatever it is, is highly unlikely to stop working, and so would result in a multiverse: multiple universes making it easily likely some would allow for life. 
Some people find a few issues with a multiverse, but they generally seem to hinge on a misunderstanding of what it actually is. 

Personally, I accept the idea of a multiverse. Let’s move past it, though: is it possible to explain the apparent fine-tuning of the universe, in a situation where this is the only universe that exists?

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The Origin of Life

One common argument against atheism is that there’s no way life could have come about without God. In itself, this still isn’t much of an argument: after all, there’s quite a leap from showing ‘God is a possible explanation of the origin of life’ to stating ‘God created life’ as fact. 

The main reason this argument seems to be used by believers is that they can quote many major biologists as saying that we don’t know how life came about. Accepting, for a moment, that we have no clue how life came to exist, why does this automatically point to God? There are literally infinitely possible mechanisms we might not have thought of: why does God take precedence? 

And then, of course, there’s the matter of how quoting biologists in this way is dishonest: it’s not that we don’t have any idea of how life came about, it’s that there are so many possibilities and possible mechanisms, we don’t know which one is the correct answer. Maybe none of them: that still wouldn’t point to God. 

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Free Will

Many religions require some form of free will, the definition usually relying on some variation of 
People are able to control their own actions
Usually to allow for some kind of retributive punishment or judgement, or as a response to the problem of evil. However, this definition is impossible; something that can seem surprising at first, but is fairly simple to demonstrate. 

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God Is Not One Thing

It’s easy to find statements of the form ‘atheists need to accept multiple assertions based on science: theists need only accept one, God, and everything falls into place’. Aside from the validity of science, it can often be used as an attempt to use Occam’s Razor: that theism is simpler than atheism, because it relies on one assumption (‘God’, though assumption is rarely the word used) whereas science is based on multiple axioms. Even ignoring the tried-and-tested nature of science, this approach is flawed. 

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Near Death Experiences, Take Two

I’ve already made a general overview of Near Death Experiences, and why they make no case for an afterlife of any kind. I didn’t cover each sort of argument used, as there are so many. Still, none are convincing, that I’ve seen, so it’s worth revisiting the topic. 

Last time I covered a scientific basis for them, showing easily that they’re possible under an atheistic worldview and need not require an afterlife, and pointed out some theological difficulties with the idea. 
This time I’ll deal more with why so many people report broadly similar events, and why some atheists have also experienced them. 

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First Cause

I honestly can’t believe this argument is used so often. Look up any attempted proof of God, and the odds are you’ll see some variation of this point. 
It’s put many different ways, from the Islamic (yet ironically favoured by Christian William Lane Craig) Kalam, to Aquinas’ multiple formulations. Ultimately it’s some expression of the question ‘if all things need a cause, what is the uncaused cause that must necessarily be the First Cause of the universe?’
The answer is meant to be God.  

We’ll go past the ‘what created God?’ response to this argument, as it really just shifts the level. 
The ‘which God?’ argument is more on the right lines; though the argument itself isn’t meant to establish a specific religion, the point of the question is key. How can so much be read from ‘something behind the universe’?
Even granting some cause to the Big Bang, why believe it to be even sentient? 

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On Personal Experience

By far one of the most common explanations of belief is ‘I have personal experience of God’, taking numerous different forms. 
Some claim to have felt a signal, some say they’ve felt God’s presence. I’ll dwell on God’s presence here, as the other kinds are generally covered by this. 
So, what can we say about God’s presence?

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Divine Command Theory

An attempt to justify atrocities perpetrated or encouraged by a deity in numerous religions. It dwells on part of the definition of God: that it is apparently the pinnacle of goodness, and so when it issues a divine command, that too must be good. 
There are two grounds that this can stand up on, that I can think of, the stronger of the two positions making the title of this ‘theory’ rather questionable. Nonetheless, we’ll examine each of these. 

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Near Death Experiences

Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) are often hailed as evidence of an afterlife: when someone comes so close to death as to appear lifeless for a little time, sometimes they speak of viewing some kind of world beyond death. 
This could indeed be heavily convincing evidence, if that was the only side there was to look at. We will however examine the likelihood of an afterlife demonstrated by NDEs, on three grounds:

1. The Role of Expectations
2. Theological Implications
3. Scientific Explanations

None of this would make impossible the viewing of heaven via NDEs, though the second point may raise an issue. It does however make assuming an afterlife as an explanation completely unnecessary. 

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Why do you believe?

Can be faith, can be anything. I’m not aiming to criticize with this post, I’m just interested in learning for future reference. For believers in God, why do you believe?

Heaven: Justification.

A while ago, I made this post. Rereading it, I’ve realized I did little to explain myself. I’ll just quickly remedy that here. 

In essence: will any human go to heaven?
The answer is, essentially, no.

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Universal Significance

This point is relevant to so much, even beyond religion. There are a few things which, almost invariably, will mean something. Examples in religion include prophecy, ‘Bible Code’, and all kinds of answered prayers. 
The point is, nearly all the time, similar things will be seen to have the same kind of meaning, regardless. That probably doesn’t make much sense. 

Take numbers, for one example. Perhaps numerology, perhaps the idea that the Bible having 66 books makes it satanic: whatever the case, looking at the kind of charts used to read significance into numbers, every number has some meaning. Every single one. All the seemingly impressive meanings read into something, no matter what the number is, there’ll be another meaning, no doubt with some other justifiable relevance. 

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Purpose?

Some claim that, without a God, life is purposeless. 
It’s possible to discuss how we can give our own lives meaning: but even beyond that, supposing that our lives are meaningless without a Creator ultimately does nothing for theism.  

God has no Creator (for whatever reason), as believers often point out. By their logic, God would be purposeless: so whatever God does must also be. In the same way they say humanity is meaningless without a Creator, then God should also be (by extension, humanity again). All this argument does is shift the level. 

When exceptions are made for God, then alarm bells should ring. If God can create a purpose for something as supposedly powerful as itself, then why can humanity not?
Whatever the case, even should humans be unable to make their own meaning, it fails to show God exists. 

One Cannot Know the Mind of God

This is a common response to questions on motive, or incongruencies in God’s actions. 
It would be fair enough: but moments later, the people who say this can often be found doing the exact same thing: professing to know the mind of God.

God is good; God wants all to be saved… Anything like that, where does it come from? God said it? how do you know it was true? With humans, we expect truthfulness, honesty: but if we cannot know the mind of God, we cannot know either way. 
And those that say God is good, how do you know that? And even if we can grant that principle (as many take it as the definition of God, admittedly with very little reason), you still know the mind of God to the degree that you expect:

1. God’s definition of good to be the same as ours (for example: lying vs truthtelling)
2. Telling humans the truth is in fact good (not necessarily, especially under Divine Command Theory)

Among other things. 

No matter where you claim to get this knowledge from, how are you assured that it’s genuine?
Not knowing the mind of God would be a fair enough response and, assuming there is a deity, may well be true: but then, why do those that say this argument equally expect to know the mind of God? 

Borrowing

It’s interesting how many religions can claim, on one hand, to contain the one true truth, etc: while simultaneously being composed of an incredible amalgamation of individual stories from so many cultures: some real, some mythical. 
I’ve heard some claim that this proves the truth of the claims: for example, in science, corroboration shows that something is likely to be correct: but the problem here, is that there is no scientific methodology involved in how these tales are passed on: it’s based solely on literature. It’s not corroboration: it’s plagiarism. 
The only claim I’ve seen that stands up to a vague scrutiny, is that whatever God is proposed tried to give people the true story of the world, and essentially failed, only segments being passed on: a claim that falls completely once the idea of an omniscient God is involved. 

Now, a quick examination of the most interesting borrowed stories in religion. I try not to dwell on the clichéd subjects, so I’ll try to mention only the more interesting. 

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