by behemot 3 Replies latest jw friends
From the novel 36 Arguments for the Existence ofGod, the work of atheist philosopher and novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein.
Scroll down a bit (after Chapter 1) and read the (non fictional) Appendix where the 36 arguments are set out and sistematically debunked:
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/goldstein09/goldstein09_index.html
(long but worth reading)
very interesting behemot. Rebecca Goldstein seems to debunk the debunked to foreground lived life through fiction. I think I'd like to read some of her books, particulary this one but it is currently unavailable (January 2012 hardcover and paperback in March 2012 on amazon). But thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Appendix: 36 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
1. The Cosmological Argument
1. Everything that exists must have a cause.
The version of "The Cosmological Argument" that she argues against is one that I have never seen anyone use. Its hardly a valid representation of the actual arguments used by theists. As one site poins out:
http://www.uncommondescent.com/philosophy/36-arguments-for-the-existence-of-god-a-work-of-fiction/
"This analysis doesn’t work because the argument is mis-stated. The first premise is not “anything which exists must have a cause”, but “anything which begins to exist must have a cause”, which makes a huge difference in the analysis."
FLAW 2: Even without von Neumann's work (which not everyone accepts as conclusive), to conclude the existence of God from our not yet knowing how to explain the Original Replicator is to rely on The Argument from Ignorance.
Design arguments involving the origin of life involve things like 1). probability analysis, and 2). known properties of chemistry, hardly merely an "Argument from Ignorance"
Her other arguments against the necessity of an intelligent designer are dealt with (in excellent form) in the book the Biotic Message
http://saintpaulscience.com/contents.htm
available from www.creationresearch.org
