Extra-dimensional God? I believe so.

[Syne]

If you knew, for a fact, there was a God, and knew the consequences of not following that God, you'd have to either be mentally deficient or mentally ill (one of which you've already repeatedly admitted to) not to do so.

Right..so I'd have the choice to serve him or not.

So, you thinking being mentally ill or deficient is a choice?

[Magical Realist]

So, you thinking being mentally ill or deficient is a choice?

So God pretends to not exist to lend legitimacy to the atheist's conclusion? That makes no sense. He should be honest and frank with us. "Hi, I'm God. Believe in me now?" Remember that verse from your unread Bible? "The truth shall set you free."

[Syne]

Why quote me if you're not going to even pretend to answer the question?

Again, is nature being dishonest because it's underlying structure and mechanisms are not readily apparent? Any rational person would say it's nonsense to attribute dishonesty to nature for simply being complex. We don't even understand how significant parts of nature work. So why should we expect to understand the origin of nature? Like nature, God doesn't pretend or deceive. Those are, again, attributions you are placing on something you claim doesn't exist. Completely incoherent.

You can lead a person to the truth, but you can't make them believe. Forcing belief is authoritarian. And it's ridiculous for you to try claiming knowledge of the Bible while quoting out of context.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
- John 8:31-32

Again, the only things that lend credence to atheism are the things you've learned after you were raised as a believer. And only after you got disillusioned with the belief.

[Zinjanthropos]

How are religious text quotes any different than a Francis Church letter response to a young girl(Virginia) enquiring about the existence of Santa Claus? Are kids predisposed to believe in creatures like Santa, Easter Bunny, pixies, boogeyman, etc? How about those who believe in flat Earth, cryptozoology, faster than light? How about Joe Biden being mentally competent? Anything sensationally newsworthy about celebrities, disasters, all types of propaganda? I’d say by the looks of things, humans simply like to believe and defend. There’s more than God beliefs that should be questioned.

[Syne]

The difference is that belief in those other things do not include a moral component. By all accounts, religions formed independently in many cultures, and work to promote cooperation and a civilized society. And you can see, today, just how uncivil our discourse has become as religious belief has waned.

[stryder]

The difference is that belief in those other things do not include a moral component. By all accounts, religions formed independently in many cultures, and work to promote cooperation and a civilized society. And you can see, today, just how uncivil our discourse has become as religious belief has waned.

Religion isn't the bedrock you claim and it certainly isn't all butterflies and rainbows.

Religion(s) have been both the catalyst and accomplice of wars, such as jihads and even more recently the Russian orthodox church suggesting it's correct to fight an unjust war.

They've also been persecutors (Such as the Salem witch trials and the "Inquisition", or their justification for removing "savage" civilisations when they can't be tamed by their "righteous words". There is also the "Crusades" which left a litany of sin ever after.

There is also the long term persecution of Jews which is one faith attacking another which will likely never subside.

By definition these proponents are the very nature of uncivil and spread ill-will through history.

[Magical Realist]

Give a person a reason for believing they have infallible knowledge about what is right and wrong (religion) and you grant them any excuse to commit horrendous atrocities on others. See 911, Jim Jones massacre, Heaven's Gate, Waco massacre, etc.

[Zinjanthropos]

Whether a theist or atheist, you not going to sense God because according to Ostro we can’t get around his multi-dimensional physique. But if you’re an atheist, that’s a bad thing.

[Secular Sanity]

In other words, you can’t know anything about the fundamental truths of the universe and now the burden is on you to disprove it.

It's too bad that humans have such a hard time displaying a sense of community, compassion, and love without hiding behind a god.

[Syne]

Religion isn't the bedrock you claim and it certainly isn't all butterflies and rainbows.

Religion(s) have been both the catalyst and accomplice of wars, such as jihads and even more recently the Russian orthodox church suggesting it's correct to fight an unjust war.

They've also been persecutors (Such as the Salem witch trials and the "Inquisition", or their justification for removing "savage" civilisations when they can't be tamed by their "righteous words". There is also the "Crusades" which left a litany of sin ever after.

There is also the long term persecution of Jews which is one faith attacking another which will likely never subside.

By definition these proponents are the very nature of uncivil and spread ill-will through history.

There have been far more catalysts for war than religion, so scapegoating religion alone is a non-starter. Even if you do make stretches like state-aligned churches making politically-driven statements.

Sad that so few people know that the Crusades were a direct response to Muslim invaders. And pretending that all religions are somehow equivalent, when one obviously promotes more violence to this day, is more than a little intellectually suspect.

---

Personally, I don't care what you believe. You're ultimate fate is no skin off my nose.
I've never claimed that there was compelling evidence of God. To the contrary, I believe that such evidence would run counter-purpose to the existence of free will.