ABC News' web site, of all places, carries a lively forum debate over the existence of God.
Ideally, both believers and nonbelievers hold similar views on most other questions. Faith in God is immediately replaced by Faith in Goodness by an ethical person who subscribes to atheism. God is not necessary for any equations, theories, or other practical matters in our daily lives. Believers and nonbelievers share similar concerns, interests, and passions.
I feel ignorant about science and do not understand as many things as I would like. I'm not quite confident enough to withhold any chance for the existence of supernatural beings, or for that matter, extraterrestrial beings. If I had been told that there were Martians living on Mars with an advanced civilization, then I would probably believe it, if enough people of my acquaintance seemed convinced. If I heard people speaking with God on a regular basis as though he were present, particularly at a young age, then it might influence me to believe and to begin talking to him, as well. As a boy, I did pray on occasion, although it concerned me that none of my prayers ever came true, and often the things I prayed not to happen, happened anyway, and I never seemed to receive any divine communication whatsoever. I remember listening for a voice, but never heard one, which perhaps is for the best. If God was there, he was doing a good job hiding his presence.
Based on what I've read and heard about from other people, and based on the explanations given to me by devout believers, I think that the atheist camp probably has more truth on its side. Atheists do not believe in what they do not know about, and that seems a commendable policy. They are the same as agnostics, except they keep a tighter lid on the djinni bottle. Nothing exists until it is proven, in their view. The agnostics prefer to say, nothing is either proven nor unproven, which is a very liberal policy indeed, leaving the door open to all kinds of nonsense, such as goblins, vampires, wizards, demons, dragons, a flat Earth, an immobile Sun, and so on.
However, the existence of God is a narrow topic. It does not touch upon ethics, society, science, or human behavior. Both the atheist and the theist can believe the same way in regards to politics, music, art, and everything else. I do not see where God enters into the picture. God seems minor by comparison with other things of more importance to human beings. The believers tend to dwell upon God, as though he is more important than other concerns, when he is not, because being God, he can take care of things himself, without our action or advice. Indeed our only duty should be to one another.
It is interesting that few of the believers have ever really described God in his physical aspect, or described the means by which he obtains energy and moves around, so to speak. Pagan writers were far more explicit about their gods, including their amorous lives. The modern religions prefer to imbue their deity with the gravitas bestowed by mystery and elusiveness. Perhaps the early Fathers learned a lesson from the indiscretion of the Pagan writers and endeavored not to commit the same mistake. Once a god's sex life has been disclosed, it rather removes the aura of mystery.
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