Question

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LF2023

God

God doesn’t reveal himself more obviously therefore he doesn’t exist.

God let’s bad things happen therefore he doesn’t exist.

The only mention of god is in a book that was written thousands of years ago by people therefore he doesn’t exist.

God allows bad things to happen to good people therefore he doesn’t exist.

I don’t want to believe in a God that demands my obedience therefore he doesn’t exist. 

Kids have cancer therefore God doesn’t exist.

God is said to exist and to be loving, that  he loves us. I see something bad happen to me or someone I care about. So God therefore cannot love me or someone I care about thus the entire of notion of God existing is false. 

What are the logical fallacies made here if any? 

asked on Tuesday, Jul 23, 2024 06:11:20 PM by LF2023

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Dr. Richard
1

Before one can engaged in a ration discussion, the participants must agree to the definition of the operative terms. In this case, the word “God” is thrown about with no intelligible definition.

According to a 2021 article in Psychology Today, at least 18,000 different gods, goddesses and various animals or objects have been worshiped by humans. So, to which god does the inquiring person refer?

answered on Tuesday, Jul 23, 2024 06:27:49 PM by Dr. Richard

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AI Fallacy Master
0
The statements you provided contain several logical fallacies, cognitive biases, and examples of poor reasoning. Let's examine each one:

### 1. **God doesn’t reveal himself more obviously therefore he doesn’t exist.**
**Logical Fallacy**: Argument from Ignorance (or Argument from Incredulity)
- **Explanation**: This fallacy occurs when someone concludes that something is false simply because it hasn't been proven true, or vice versa. The absence of clear revelation does not necessarily negate God's existence; it might only indicate that God's nature or methods of revealing himself don't conform to our expectations.

### 2. **God let’s bad things happen therefore he doesn’t exist.**
**Logical Fallacy**: Problem of Evil (implicit appeal to personal incredulity)
- **Explanation**: This falls into the problem of evil, which questions how a benevolent and omnipotent God could allow suffering. However, concluding that God doesn't exist based on the presence of evil in the world is a hasty conclusion. There might be reasons beyond human understanding or a different conceptual understanding of God that reconcile these issues.

### 3. **The only mention of God is in a book that was written thousands of years ago by people therefore he doesn’t exist.**
**Logical Fallacy**: Genetic Fallacy
- **Explanation**: The genetic fallacy asserts that something is false or worthless based on its origin. The age or authorship of the Bible does not, in itself, determine the truth of God's existence. Evaluating the claims requires more than just dismissing them based on their origin.

### 4. **God allows bad things to happen to good people therefore he doesn’t exist.**
**Logical Fallacy**: Problem of Evil (reiteration)
- **Explanation**: Similar to point 2, this statement assumes that a benevolent God would not allow suffering. It disregards possible theological explanations for why suffering occurs (e.g., free will, greater plans, human limitations in understanding God's purposes).

### 5. **I don’t want to believe in a God that demands my obedience therefore he doesn’t exist.**
**Logical Fallacy**: Appeal to Emotion
- **Explanation**: This is an appeal to emotion, where one’s discomfort with a concept is used to argue against its truth. Whether or not someone wants to believe in a deity doesn't affect the deity's existence. Whether God exists is independent of our personal desires.

### 6. **Kids have cancer therefore God doesn’t exist.**
**Logical Fallacy**: Problem of Evil (reiteration with an emotional appeal)
- **Explanation**: This is another instance of the problem of evil combined with an emotional appeal. The suffering of innocent children is a powerful emotional argument, but the conclusion that God does not exist does not logically follow without addressing more complex theological arguments about suffering and divine purpose.

### 7. **God is said to exist and to be loving, that he loves us. I see something bad happen to me or someone I care about. So God therefore cannot love me or someone I care about thus the entire notion of God existing is false.**
**Logical Fallacy**: Hasty Generalization and Emotional Reasoning
- **Explanation**: This reasoning jumps to a broad conclusion based on personal experiences (hasty generalization) and uses emotional reasoning. The logic assumes that if bad things happen, then a loving God cannot exist. This oversimplifies and does not consider the wide range of theological interpretations that might explain suffering.

### Conclusion
Overall, the statements generally assume that the presence of evil, suffering, or the lack of direct evidence refute the existence of God, often without considering alternative explanations or deeper theological arguments. This introduces various logical fallacies and biases into the reasoning. Evaluating the existence of God is a complex philosophical and theological issue that requires rigorous investigation beyond the objections listed.
answered on Tuesday, Jul 23, 2024 06:11:38 PM by AI Fallacy Master

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Mr. Wednesday
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The main issue with arguments like these is that there are some baked in assumptions about the nature of God: That God does love all humans, that God is powerful enough to prevent all bad things from happening to people, and that God's love would necessarily compel them to prevent bad things from happening to people. And that God would be able to, and choose to, reveal themselves as often as we might expect.

If you strip away those assumptions, then what you're left with is a bunch of non sequitur arguments. The premises leave open the possibility that there is a God who isn't that powerful or doesn't care about humans that much.

answered on Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 04:47:57 PM by Mr. Wednesday

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