Dear OzSpen,

The fact that there is no proof for the existence of God is fact - not my personal opinion. Kant in his "Critique of Pure Reason" discusses the arguments of speculative reason, the ontological proof, the cosmological proof and the physico-theological proof at length in chapter 3. Nobody has successfully challenged him. Your belief in God's existence as well as my disbelief are our personal opinions. Kant, as do you, chose to believe in God, but it is a matter of belief. I see no need for a further discussion of the matter. You believe. I don't.

david f,

<<The fact that there is no proof for the existence of God is fact - not my personal opinion.>>

There you go with another one of your opinions.

Philosopher and Christian apologist, William Lane Craig, dares to disagree with you in his defence of the Kalam Cosmological Argument for God's existence, http://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/existence-nature-of-god/the-kalam-cosmological-argument/. See also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ58aloF7Bc

Dear OzSpen,

You are secure in your belief in Christianity. I am secure in my lack of belief of any kind of supernatural agency – gods, devils, angels, spirits, ifrits djinns, demons etc. I don’t know how old you are, but I will be 95 if I live until the end of October. I would rather spend the time I have left thinking about other matters. As I am inconsistent I may get involved in this sort of discussion again.

To the best of knowledge eight of my nine descendants are atheists. My daughter lights candles on the Jewish Sabbath, sings in the Unitarian choir Sunday morning and attends a Buddhist sangha on Sunday afternoon. I am not sure what she believes, but I know she likes religious ceremonies.

I accept Kant. William Lane Craig doesn’t. That’s ok.

In life it’s important to know when to stop arguing with people and simply let them be wrong.

There may be a god. If there is a god I can’t imagine that any sort of a god would be connected with the Christian religion with its virgin birth, an entity dying for other people’s sins, life after death and other nonsense. I am thankful that I live in a country where I would not be burned at the stake, put in an iron maiden, pressed to death or subject to the treatment Christians have given to dissenters, Jews and Christians of a different sect. If there were a god and he was all-powerful, all-knowing and benevolent why would he allow Christianity? Christianity to me is a denial of God and a proof that he doesn't exist.

Dear Spencer,

«So, the 'God' you have faith in does not exist?»

Yes. I sufficiently love and respect God to not insult Him by considering Him to be a part of His own creation!

«Am I reading you correctly? Does your 'God' have any more essence than the tooth fairy?»

The essence of everything is God, not the tooth fairy.

«It's impossible to have a rational discussion with you when you have faith in the non-existent God but still call it 'faith'.»

Everyone has faith in something or the other.
Some in Mammon, others in science or humanity, and so on and so forth, relatively a few have faith in God.
Dare I claim that your faith is in the idol of Existence?

First is God - then existence emanates from God, along with the rest of creation,
but in your view, so it seems, first is Existence, then if God happens to fit in with Existence then you can accommodate Him, otherwise He is not your God.

One cannot serve two masters at the same time.

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Dear David,

«Without evidence Yuyutsu’s position is the most reasonable one»

Sorry, but I need to decline your compliment: my position is that God's presumed existence is both a heresy that insults God and a logical fallacy that easily leads into many contradictions. I ought, on technical grounds, to be considered a "strong atheist".