The God Distraction, Chapter One: Arguments
Can arguments settle the question of God's existence?
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Comments (7)
A significant area of mathematical logic involves trying to show that various axiom systems are consistent. That is, trying to show that there is no statement that can be proven (correctly argued) to be both true and not true within the axiom system. This led to the famous Incompleteness Theorem of Godel, which says that within a sufficiently complex consistent axiom system there are statements that can be neither proved nor disproved within the axiom system: <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/goedel-incompleteness/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/goedel-incompleteness/</a> The reason that it's so important to know whether or not an axiom system is consistent is that if the axiom system is inconsistent, then pretty much any statement can be proven (correctly argued) to be both true and not true. As a trivial example, suppose we add to the usual axioms of arithmetic the assumption that \pi = 3.14. Then we can argue (correctly) that 0=1, in which case all numbers are equal and any statement at all about arithmetic becomes true (and also not true). I believe it's these ideas that led Bertrand Russell to refer to the Crucifixion as "the central contradiction of Christianity". Once you accept the contradiction that the brutal torture and murder of Jesus was a glorious and wonderful event into your belief system, it is then possible to (correctly) argue pretty much anything. Christianity isn't the only religion that embraces contradictions. Many religions have contradictions as some of their core tenets. By convincing people that believing in contradictions is a virtue, religions open people up to all sorts of manipulation via arguments that are logically valid within that (inconsistent) system of beliefs. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_noncontradiction" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_noncontradiction</a>
I was excited to hear your argument as to where all my socks have gone. What a dissapointment!
Great writing Brian!
Excellent! Some very good points there.
Great stuff Brian. Can you take a run at process theology sometime? Seems to be the greatest wank they've come up with yet.
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