Monday, December 16, 2013

Atheism, Agnosticism, and Theism (A Review of Plantinga's Ontological Argument)

Atheism, Agnosticism, and Theism

Many wish to claim that Atheism is a lack of belief in God, which is completely false. If it is a lack of belief, then it is simply one's mental state and can be neither true nor false. And on that basis, inanimate objects and animals are atheists since both lack a belief in God. Atheism is therefore the claim that there is no God. So there is  Theism ("there is a God"), Agnosticism ("it is possible that there is a God"), and Atheism ("there is no God"). But then we see that Agnosticism really doesn't even exist and that is due to the Ontological Argument which states: "1. It is possible that a greatest conceivable being exists (namely all powerful and transcendent).
2. If it is possible that a greatest conceivable being exists, then a greatest conceivable being exists in some possible world.
3. If a greatest conceivable being exists in some possible world, then a greatest conceivable being exists in every possible world.
4. If a greatest conceivable being exists in every possible world, then a greatest conceivable being exists in the actual world.
5. If a greatest conceivable being exists in the actual world, then a greatest conceivable being exists.
6. Therefore a greatest conceivable being exists." So simply by default, if it is possible that God exists, then God must exist. So there is really only Theism and Atheism which respectively make the claims that "God exists" and "God does not exist" and therefore are equal claims and then equally share the burden of proof.

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