Posted: Mar 06, 2010 4:59 am
jim wrote:Its a very weak argument at best.ray wrote:
Yes, of course. God is not completely hidden. That would be very unfair. Anyone can see Him if they really loved to.
Its like a tall building, and I am standing on the top roof. I can only describe the stars to you. You chose to remain in the basement cellor. You simply need to get to the top floor to see the sky for yourself. How you get up there is entirely up to you.
Unfortunately the reverse of this can be said to be just as valid.
The believers are the ones in the basement, refusing to go up to the roof to see the whole world, they stay in the dark clutching a book that promises all the answers.
While I am an atheist and I would welcome a compelling and well thought out argument, this isn't one of them.
Perhaps you could simply understand it as a claim which can be tested? Couple it with the fact that there are self-interested reasons which make it rational to investigate whether the claim is true or not (i.e. P's wager), one has good reason to take him at his word and see whether or not one is in the cellar. This is not an uncommon form of reasoning - for instance it resembles Plato's cave, as well as Nietzsche's mountains ("Why I am So Wise").