Probably (pun intended) the most difficult part of my argument for God is to properly convey the unlikelihood of our universe forming because of an unplanned and undirected sequence of events. The odds against the existence of our universe are literally astronomical. Even so, I may have finally stumbled upon a way to present the improbability in language anyone can understand, or layman's terms, using the NCAA basketball tournament popularly known as "March Madness." Recently, ESPN published a rather remarkable story about an otherwise unremarkable neuropsychologist named Gregg Nigl. What was Mr. Nigl's specific claim to fame? Had he made some innovative medical discovery that was some groundbreaking innovation in the world of sports? No. No skill was involved in his otherwise noteworthy "accomplishment." Did he break some unique sports record like hitting the most bullseyes in a game of darts, or somehow make his mark in the Guinness Book of World Records? Nope, that wasn't it, either. What did Gregg Nigl do in 2019 that was so remarkable? He was the first person known to have gone a perfect 48-0 in predictions through two rounds of the NCAA tournament. The odds against picking a perfect NCAA tournament bracket have been estimated as between a somewhat modest 1 in 120 billion for an experienced gambler to correctly guess all the tournament winners to treating the outcome of every game as a coin flip. Those "coin flip" odds have been estimated to be a stunning 1 in 9.2 quintillion. But in 2019 for the first time in history, Nigl's picks were perfect … [Read more...]
A reason for the problem of evil
I'm not a preacher. I like to write books. I've never claimed to be an evangelist and I have no formal training in theology. When people ask me questions and I don't know the answers, I'll just say, "I don't know!" because it's the truth. Of all the questions you could ask me, my least favorite is "Why does God allow people to suffer pain? What is the purpose of evil?" My go-to answer for that has always felt like sort of a cop out in my opinion, even though I believe it's true: free will. God has given us this tremendous gift of free will and permitted us the choice between good and evil. I've often said that without pain, we cannot understand pleasure. Without sorrow, we do not appreciate joy. If we've never experienced hate, we have no true concept of love. All this is true. But is that a sufficient answer to the question? Why does evil exist? Why are humans often cruel? Why doesn't God just turn the Earth into Heaven and make everything good? Earlier this morning I watched two short videos I shared on my Facebook page called The God Conclusion, and a "Eureka!" moment occurred to me, although I have managed to refrain from running naked down the street shouting about it at the top of my lungs. The two videos had the same basic message: when we ask God for strength, should God just magically make us stronger, or should He give us difficulties that will ultimately make us stronger? When we ask for wisdom, should God simply make us wiser or give us problems to solve that ultimately make us smarter? If we ask God for courage, should He … [Read more...]
A review of The God Conclusion
One of my atheist friends (yes, I really do have them) promised to read The God Conclusion and said he would publish a review when he finished. Amazon (as typically the case) refused to allow him to post the review, so my friend Tony sent his review to me and I'm posting it on my website. Tony is an honest broker, and fair. I like what he wrote, even when he disagrees with me, and we're going to talk about it in further detail on my next podcast. Here is his review of my book: The Introduction offers important context and sketches some of the arguments to follow. Chapters 1-10 of the book constitute a nearly point-by-point response to "The God Delusion" by biologist Richard Dawkins, with chapters 11-15 forming a positive argument in favour of the author's own position, "The God Conclusion".In his Introduction, Leonard recounts personal experiences that have led him to believe in the Christian God. This sets up the tone of the entire work - this is a book that mixes philosophy, science, and theology with personal thought. To my mind, that is what makes it worthwhile. He also sets up some of the themes he will return to later in the text, including that not believing in God is an act of free will rather than unbiased evaluation. He gives Dawkins credit where credit is due for intelligence and erudition, which is a notable thing contrasted to the generally toxic tone dominating the "God debate". He closes the introduction by pointing out that truth MATTERS. In our current age of "post-fact" discourse, this is also a worthy reminder.Leonard offers responses to … [Read more...]
Is Richard Dawkins lying or stupid?
It is really and truly difficult to imagine that Richard Dawkins could actually be a stupid man, and yet there is some evidence to suggest it. On video, no less. I just finished watching a clip named "7 Clever Atheist Flawless Victories", but saying the video failed to deliver would be a major understatement. Why did I even bother to watch it in the first place? My best, most honest answer would be morbid curiosity. Knowing your enemy seems to be a very sound battle strategy and between theism and atheism there is an ongoing war of ideas. Yet despite the video's provocative title, my expectations going in were low and still went unmet. Frankly, there are no new arguments for atheism, and all the old arguments are incredibly weak. Personally, I don't view individual atheists as my enemy. Atheism is my enemy. I don't hate atheists, but I'm not a fan of atheism. Why? Atheism is the enemy of logic and scientific evidence. My book proves that with a comprehensive argument that is utterly devastating to atheism. That's why I like to offer the atheist visitors to my Facebook page a free ebook copy so they can see for themselves and check all my references. Sadly, far too few accept my generous offer, even if they live in a country where I can upgrade the gift to an audiobook. They would prefer to remain willfully ignorant rather than tackle an argument that could (and would) rock their worldview if they took the argument seriously. This particular video promised not only one, but seven different arguments for atheism that were (allegedly) perfect in their … [Read more...]
The second best argument for atheism
When I try to think of what the best arguments for atheism might be, two immediate possibilities come to mind. The first is the problem of suffering and evil. How does a kind and loving God allow humans to suffer from natural disasters as well as our own evil deeds? Aren't murders, rapes, and incest bad enough without some innocent people enjoying a lazy day at the beach being suddenly swept away by a seismic wave? There is no valid human explanation for the problem of suffering because humans don't like pain but do like pleasure. People never want to experience sorrow; they only want to feel joy. But without sorrow, how do we understand and appreciate joy? Without pain, does pleasure even exist? For a moment let us consider the possibility of a supernatural Creator for this natural world we currently occupy...how could this Creator/God have some purpose for allowing pain and suffering in our imperfect world? Sure He could, and we would still not have the mental capacity to understand the Grand Plan. Naturally, this raises a new question--is there a Grand Plan, or only the illusion of a Grand Plan? To answer that question, I would ask the reader to read my book, The God Conclusion. If expressed in the correct language, the origin of our universe can be reduced to two basic, binary options: the universe was either planned or unplanned. If the universe was planned, we don't need a true multiverse hypothesis, where an unlimited number of failed universes exist only to reduce the improbability of the universe we have and still don't supply a cause for the … [Read more...]
