I Can't Be Sure There Is No God

[Bazile]

Says Prof Brian Cox

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07br0zk

What do you think of what he says in this clip ?

[pixie374]

I'm not sure anyone claims to be 100% sure. Most people will go with what is most likely with what we know so far and believe that unless there is strong further evidence.

[Old_Geezer]

Makes perfect sense.
(Except his not labelling himself as an agnostic.)

[Samuraisan]

Well we will all find out sooner or later.

[pixie374]

I doubt it... :-)

[Buenchico]

I can't be sure that there aren't fairies at the bottom of my garden (since proving a negative is never easy) but I'm still prepared to assert that they don't exist.

[nailit]

Theland will be along shortly, no doubt, to tell us that HIS god created the universe.
Not Allah, Zeus, Thor, Osiris, Brahma, or a million other gods. But HIS God.
The God of the Bible. The same God that created the entire, (unimaginably large) universe and yet has an interest in the foreskins of a small group of middle eastern males!

[Bazile]

Yes buenchico
But you can go and check for fairies at the bottom of your garden

[10ClarionSt]

Theland won't be along shortly. He only comes on this web site after he's clocked on his night shift.

[webbo3]

t=0

[Theland]

Oh dear Nailit. Speechless!

[vetuste_ennemi]

That's OK, don't think Dr Cox was really caring about the question as formulated. Not an "agnostic" (keep your mind open) v "atheist" (it's shut) thing, more, as a scientist he was saying on the subject of God, like Laplace, "Je n’avais pas besoin de cette hypothèse-là". Followed by every scientist's caveat: there are more things I don't know than do; and even those thing I think I know may turn out to be wrong.

But enough of that. If the proposition is that the Christian God exists then manifestly not. Don't need to sit on any fence there, do we, Theland?

I'm mad in God's image. Even fallen man reflecting the Divine image imperfectly has more compassion for the loving and omnipotent God.

(Technical term is theodicy). No, that's not the companion book to the Gilead.

[vetuste_ennemi]

//I'm mad in God's image//

Did I say that? Apparently so.

"There's a divinity which shapes our ends"

[Mamyalynne]

Perfectly fine reply from Brian.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Andd another verbal slurp: "Even fallen man reflecting the Divine image imperfectly has more compassion for the loving and omnipotent God".

More compassion [for His creation] than the loving and omnipotent God... seems to have shown.

[vetuste_ennemi]

The teenage VE had an EP (what dat den?) of Mr Robson singing spirituals.

Here's one of the songs:

[naomi24]

He's absolutely right. I've been saying the same for years. There can be no other response - and if we don't know there's nothing wrong in saying we don't know. That's the only way to learn.

One thing I would add is that if a creator does exist I would be willing to bet that it isn't the god of the bible. Apart from the obvious flaws in that argument, it seems to me to be a very small notion.

[4candles]

// Question Author
Yes buenchico
But you can go and check for fairies at the bottom of your garden//

Not if they move in mysterious ways, passing all understanding. ;)

[beso]

Nor can we be sure there is no Flying Spaghetti Monster.

[mibn2cweus]

The simple answer (for a few) is that existence precedes consciousness. Consciousness without anything to be conscious of is a contradiction. Consciousness is possible only be virtue of existence. I'll leave (a few) to draw the only logical conclusion.

[Theland]

Brian Cox is undoubtedly a really nice guy.
But he can't be sure about anything.
His planet formation theories are flawed, for starters.
His most profound moments are shots of him standing on some mountain top, gazing at the heavens, and to a background emotional sound of classical music, his voice over presents suggestions, assumptions, and little else.
Good entertainment, but of no particular value.