But still, I don't think it's possible to draw accurate conclusions about such an elusive subject as "god" through intuition. I have a friend who believes in God because he just has a gut feeling. Well, other people have had gut feelings that the Heaven's Gate cult was right. People have had "gut feelings" that Naziism was correct. People have had "gut feelings" about countless things throughout time, some right, some wrong. Should something be considered true just because it feels right? When I first learned of the Theory of Relativity, it seemed so outlandish and impossible that I found it difficult to believe. The theory had no instinctive acceptance in my gut, but it's been proven true again and again. Should I deny relativity because it feels wrong to me?

"I believe that god is not perfect, not infinite, not omnipotent, not omniscient, not omnipresent, yet sentient, active, unimaginable by our human minds, responsible for all that exists, and is doing the best he/she/it can."

Why do you believe this? Especially if you consider it absurd. Why come to any conclusions about God with absolutely NO reliable evidence? Wouldn't agnosticism or atheism make more sense?

"So, absurdity itself should not be a reason to abandon inquiry.

Absolutely true. People used to say, before the Wright brothers, that if man was meant to fly he would have been given wings. Flight was considered absurd. I never say anything's impossible. God could very well exist. The Christian God could very well exist. But, since the available evidence and logic seem to dictate that God probably doesn't exist, or if he does, he either doesn't want to be found or just doesn't care about us, I refuse to conclude anything about his existence. If God was proven to exist tomorrow, and every word in Revelations came true, I would certainly change my current opinions. But as I have said before, I prefer to save my ammo rather than take a shot in the dark. To me, it makes more sense to say that God probably doesn't exist.

Never abandon inquiry. Inquiry lead me to Atheism. Inquiry lead you to Theism. I disagree with you, and will argue with you forever, but I respect your choice as long as you made it. Lack of inquiry leads to narrow-mindedness and ignorance, and ignorance is the one thing I can not and will not tolerate in any form.

• More on why I believe what I do. - paulm - April 21, 2001 - 06:21 UTC