God exists

The statement has been used flippantly throughout history. The concept of god is undefined, paradoxical, and unverifiable/falsifiable. It should be discarded as a philosophical proposition until there is ample scientific evidence and at least a clear definition of what god is. Let’s examine this problematic assertion.

Defining God
To assert a god exists, we must develop a definition of “god” upon which everyone can agree. A daunting task, I know. To some, god is everything. To others, god is outside everything. What does it look like? How big is it? Is it good, bad, or both? Did it create everything or only some of everything? Did it create nothing and only exists to manipulate what is already there? Did the universe exist before it and was created by some larger being? If so, what created it? Is it the god of the Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Native Americans, Native Africans, aboriginal Australians, or some other tribe? Is it many gods or one? Is it infinite or finite? Can it mate with humans as described by the Greeks and the Christians? Has there been, is there now, or will there ever be a human who can speak definitively about this god and its true nature? How do we determine his/her credibility on this topic of god? We cannot use a holy book to answer these questions, because we must first establish which holy book is accurate and which author is credible. There are many more questions, but these will suffice to demonstrate the breadth of what we don’t know about deities. Once the answers to these questions have been established, we can then wrestle with the basics regarding its possible existence. As we can see, obtaining clear, concise, and factual answers to these questions is an audacious task.

The God Definition Paradox
To most religious folk I’ve encountered, their god is a paradox. It created everything yet was not itself created. It created the laws of the universe, yet is not subject to these laws. As per Christian tradition, their god is loving and kind in the New Testament, but in the Old Testament, he is jealous and blood-thirsty. They claim to maintain a relationship with it and communicate with it, yet have never physically seen or heard it. It cannot be examined in the known world yet supposedly operates in it freely and openly. As these paradoxes demonstrate, there is no clear agreement on the nature of god.

Can we verify/falsify the proposition?
If we were to be lucky enough to settle on a definition of god, we could then determine if the aforementioned proposition is true or false. It must be verified to maintain any relevance in reality. This proposition is metaphysical, but is stated as fact within the realm of reality, therefore it should be subject to testing within the natural world. Our only tool for determining the validity of a proposition is the science method, which requires the subject to be present in natural form. This is impossible, because deities are conveniently invisible.

Faith as a means of verification
I’ve posed these questions and objections to religious people before and their ultimate response is always, “one must have faith” or “I know my version of god is correct (I know that I know)”. Faith cannot answer these questions. In which version of god do I place my faith? Faith in this instance is not faith in the concept alone, but faith in the messenger and faith that he is credible to deliver an accurate and truthful message. Faith only raises more questions and does nothing to validate god claims.

Even if we could establish a coherent definition for god and could verify its existence beyond a reasonable doubt, the work of determining which god is correct and determining its will and purpose for us will have only begun. Discussing the concept of god is an entertaining exercise, but outside of that, it offers nothing positive and meaningful to our lives. Being convinced there is a god and that one can mystically hear its voice or know its will is a dangerous endeavor that transforms seemingly good people into propagators of lies and willing accomplices in the systematic corruption of children.