"Meta-analysis: Does God Exist?"

DOES GOD EXIST?

1) Yes
    a) Christian - Believes that the Bible is God's Word, and that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, and the only way of salvation.

    b) Jew  -  Believes in One God and and the Old Testament as God's word, but Jesus is NOT God.

    b) Moslem  -  Believes in One God (Allah) similar to a) but Jesus is NOT God.

    c) Non-Christian  -  Believes there is "a god" and Jesus is NOT God.

    d) Polytheist   -  Believes there is more than one god.


2) No
    a) Atheist/Naturalist - Believes that the tangible natural world is all that exists.  Typically hostile to any belief in the supernatural.

    b) Pantheism  -  Believes that "god" is not separate from the world, but merely part of it, or the totality of existence.


3) Don't know, or don't care.

    a) Classic agnostic - Does not see enough evidence one way or the other to decide.

    b) Buddhist  -  God is a side issue, what matters is Suffering, it's cause and cure.
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>  Do people actually read the standard arguments in the literature about this?  Or do they prefer to hash it out themselves?  <
        In general, I think people tend to read material that supports their own ideas about God, or that   attacks other ideas.  I think the people doing the hashing are NOT doing it to find out what others think, but mostly to assert or defend their own opinion.

>  And if they do hash it out themselves, how often does the entire range of answers to this question get reviewed?  <
       Almost never.  Most of the hashing I see is between Christians and Atheists.

>  Perhaps even more importantly, do these conversations here on Askville ever add anything to the conversation (provide links if you think they do), or is it always a rehash of what more educated minds have said in the past?
       Rehash.  Retailing what others have said.

>And finally, if it is a rehash, does that serve a positive function, and if so, what is that function?  <
       Apologetics practice.

Once people have an idea about God, they tend to quickly get "fully invested" and not open to reconsidering the question from scratch.  New information is unlikely to change anyone's mind.  This is in line with presuppositionalism, which says that everybody has to have a starting place, which then determines how and what you think, and your range of possible conclusions.  Hence, most people end up with a "worldview" that they are unlikely to change. 

For this reason, most social engineers have always put their emphasis on training the young rather than on converting the old.

However, I think an athiest would have an easier time believing if proof existed for a god, than a believer would have not believing if proof existed that the entire faith was a sham.  The main reason is most athiests are very intelligent and educated, whereas most believers are ignorant, uneducated and superstitious.  Give an educated and intelligent person enough information and they will come to the most probable and generally correct answer.  Give a superstitious person enough information, and they will ignore it because it interferes with their belief system and fragile world view.

Are we speaking of the Judeo-Christian god, Allah, Hindu gods?  Let's assume it's the Judeo-Christian version, since that's what most people mean when they say 'god'.

I don't believe the Judeo-Christian god exists.  The historical and empirical evidence against his existence, and even that of Jesus, is overwhelming.  Besides, what god is going to be so jealous, vengeful and insecure?  Those are all human conditions and ideas.

Is anything gained by these conversations?  Yes, I think so.  I think if it makes even one person question all they've been taught and all they've blindly trusted in then something has been gained.  Anything that makes one participate in critical thought is a good thing in my eyes.

Do I believe in any god?  Not in the traditional sense.  I think there's something larger than us, something pretty incomprehensible to us in our current state.  I don't think it's a big fairy godfather in the sky or anything though.  I think it's something that transcends us in all aspects.  Energy, Our Source, The All, whatever you want to call it.  Do I know what it is or why it is or even IF it is?  Nope, and neither does anyone else.