Discussion 1 to Ask the Patriarch 182
There is a difference
by: Julian
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Greetings John Tyrrell:
No, there is a difference. "if I believed or disbelieved in a god, it wouldn't matter. So - to you the existence of a deity does not matter."
The question is not existence, but belief.
When a god or goddess (I wish!) confirms their existence to me, I will be very passionate. But simple belief, in the manner of those who advocate faith as proof of god's existence, cannot suffice.
I have faith in gravity. Once, while climbing a ladder, I slipped and fell to the ground. It hurt. Although gravity has not spoken to me, it has revealed itself to me in a painful way. It exists. I believe.
If a god exists, how does "it" show its existence?
There's a partial answer. When I do something that harms another creature, whether intentionally or unintentionally, I feel pain. Whether this is imposed on me by training or by some universal field (like Einstein's rubber sheet), my psyche is affected.
So, there is a difference between belief and existence. Belief doesn't affect me. Existence certainly would.
I am not apathetic to existence. The term doesn’t fit.
Julian Roberts