The God Hypothesis

8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis

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The God HypothesisPhilosophy and Science

BRENT SILBY

Unlimited (UPT)


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The God Hypothesis

Ancient Romans thought the Christians were atheists

Why?

Christians had a god, of sorts. But it wasnt a real god.

Its easy to call anyone who believes in a different god an atheist

This view is still true today. Anyone who doesnt believe in the god

I believe in is an atheist, because mine is the only real god.


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We have seen that religion is not science because its claims

and theories are not open to falsifiability.

But what about the scientific question: does God exist?

This is a question that can be asked by science.

I might suggest that God exists based on evidence in the world

e.g. our existence. A super natural God is the only way to explain

complex living forms such as us.

Is this falsifiable?


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Yes, Charles Darwin offered

an alternative explanation

for life complex life on

Earth.

The God as creator of

complex life theory is

falsifiable.


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Similarly, God as creator of the universe is falsifiable through theories in particle physics.


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Remember, religious theories do not recognize these as possible

means of falsification. But as far as science goes, the God theoryfor life on earth and origin of the universe is falsifiable.


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But can we falsify the theory that God exists?

How?

We can weaken the theory by finding an explanation for where theidea of God came from.


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Where did the idea of gods come from?

One explanation:

The gods and religion evolved as proto-science

Early humans needed a way to explain the natural world

3 possible ways to explain events

1. Physical

2. Design

3. Belief / Desire


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Physical stance

Use the laws of physics to understand the phenomenon.

e.g. How an alarm clock works.


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Design stance

Look at the purpose or design of the system to understand how it

works. e.g. the alarm clock rings because it was designedto do so.


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Belief / Desire

Explain in terms of beliefs and desires. The alarm clock rings

because it believes it is 6am, and it wants to ring at the set time.

This will really scare

The bejebus out of him


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Its not fair, the games cheating

We cant help ourselves. Itseems natural to ascribe

beliefs, desires, and intentions

to non-living things.


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Using belief/desire reasoning is sometimes known as folk

psychology. It is also known as the Intentional Stance

Consider the following scenario:

Mary gets a text from a friend who is arriving in town at 4pm.

She needs to be picked up from the airport.

Can we predict what Mary will do?


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If we wanted to use the physical stance to predict Marys behavior

we would need complete knowledge of physics and current state

of the universe.

We cannot use design stance, because we do not have full

knowledge of what Marys brain subsystems have beendesigned by natural selection to do.


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As systems increase in complexity we need to use higher levels

of predictive strategy.

So, to predict Marys behavior we use the Intentional Strategy.

We look at Marys intentions, or her beliefs and desires.

1. Mary believes that her friend will arrive and 4pm2. She believes that it takes 15 minutes to get to the airport

3. She wants to pick up her friend

Armed with this knowledge, we can make a pretty goodprediction of Marys behavior.


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Ancient people used the simplest way to understand natural

phenomena. They applied belief/desire psychology to natural

systems.

People are experts at using belief/desire psychology. We all

use it everyday to understand each other.


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Ancient people applied personalities to aspects of nature. If a volcano

exploded, it was because the volcano was angry. They reasoned that it might

want the same things as people, so they offered it food, gold, and sometimes

young women or slaves as human sacrifices.

Sacrifice was a significant part of ancient Aztec culture


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The God Hypothesis

Ancient people applied personalities to everything. Over time,

this concept evolved. Rather than the object (tree or volcano)

having a personality, it had a spirit, which was attached to it.

A similar process took place within all cultures. It was a simple

solution to the problem of explaining the world.

The problem is that most of the time it didnt work.

gods are mysterious


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The origin of this might not have been a conscious choice.

It is possible that humans evolved agent detection mechanisms.

These mechanisms can be tricked

You are sitting alone in the house and without warning, the

door slowly opens.

Your agent detection mechanisms switch on and give you

the false impression that someone is there


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Its no surprise that ancient

people falsely concluded thatghosts exist.


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Question: is it plausible to suggest that the Judeo/Christian

religion evolved from these simple beginnings?

But isnt there evidence for the existence of God? The bible

makes clear statements about God and provides evidencethrough the life of Jesus Christ.

But God is more complex than simple tree spirits. Surely

this give us more reason to think God exists?


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The gods of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans etc all evolved

from these simple beginnings.

Mythologies between these cultures had similar characteristics.Most of these emerged within the Egyptian belief system.


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An example: Jesus on Earth

Like the biblical Jesus, Osiris

symbolizes the divine in a

mortal form combining both spirit

(Nut) and matter (Geb).

According to the Ancient

Egyptian traditions, Osiris came

to earth for the benefit ofmankind, bearing the title of

Manifester of Good and Truth,

much like the biblical Jesus.


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Isiss conception of Horus by no

living man is the oldest

documented version of immaculate

conception. The supernatural

conception and the virgin birth of

Horus found its way into Christianity.

Isiss role in the original Egyptian

Story and the story of

the Virgin Mary are strikingly

similar, for both were able to

conceive without male

impregnation, and, as such, Isis

was revered as the Virgin Mother.


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The Christian myths were first related of Horus or Osiris, who was the embodiment of

divine goodness, wisdom, truth and purity Gerald Massey, The Natural Genesis

According to Massey, Jesus birthdate was selected as Dec 25th because that was the

birthdate of Horus.


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The virgin Isis and her son Horus


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Consider these other ancient stories of miraculous births

1. Alcmene, the mother of Alcides was a virgin


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2. The mother of Apollonius was overshadowed by the supreme

god Proteus


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3. The mother of Bacchus was a virgin


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4. Buddha was immaculately conceived


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5. When the young god Chang-ti was born, angels and

shepherds attended the birth


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6. The prophet Bala predicted a divine savior that would be born

of Kunti, a virgin from the Devaci line, to relieve humanity of its

sin.

7 Th d Citl lt d b d t th i i


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7. The god Citlaltonac send an ambassador to see the virgin

Chimalma. The god told her she would conceive a son, which

she did soon after


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8. The mother of Ghengis Khan claimed he was the son of the sun


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9. Hercules was born from the virgin Prudence


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10. Hesus was born of the virgin Mayence

11. Eschylus of the Huns was a virgin and her son was the son of

God

12 Josa was a virgin who should bear a son and a star would


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12. Josa was a virgin who should bear a son, and a star would

appear blazing at midday to signal the occurrence. Follow the

star and adore the mysterious child, offering him gifts. He is

your lord and everlasting king

13. Julius, son of virgin Cronis Celestin was begotten by the

father of all gods.

14. Plato was begotten of Apollo, not his father Ariston


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15. Mother of Pythagoras was impregnated by the god Apollo


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16. Chimalman, mother of Quezalcoatle was a virgin. This myth

also includes a crucifixion and resurrection after three days.

17. Celestine, mother of Zunis was a virgin. Zunis was crucified.

Ki A th


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King Arthur

Perhaps based partly on the legend of Jesus Christ

Arthur- Savior for his people, brought peace

- Betrayal by Sir Lancelot (Judas)

- Knights of the round table, analogous to Jesus

disciples

C ti Al l k f t f l if th


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Caution: Always look for ways to falsify a theory

Lets take another look at Horus

Massey claimed that 25th Dec as Jesus birth was selected because

Horus was born on Dec 25th.

BUT, the New Testament does not refer to the date of Jesus birth.

This date appeared in the 3rd century.

The date was result of assumption that Jesus was conceived on

March 25th (during spring equinox) and was born 9 months

later.

C ti Al l k f t f l if th


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Caution: Always look for ways to falsify a theory

Watch clip from 2:03


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Origin of hours is Greek hora = unit of time

BUT, No mention of symbolic star in Horus mythology

He did not have 12 disciples, he had 4

Horus was not born on Dec 25th he was born in August

Origin of horizon is Greek horos = boundary, divide

Horus meant Falcon, or distant one incorporated into Greek as

Horos so there is plausibility that this is the origin of the words

mentioned in clip


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Religions evolved from simple beginnings. They borrow from

each other (though sometimes the extent of borrowing is

exaggerated)

When you analyze any religion, you find similarity with other

religions. This is because they all share a common ancestor.

Christianitys belief system borrowed from many older religions.


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So heres the argument:

1. We have an explanation for where the idea of God came from2. This explanation describes God as a product of cultural

evolution

3. Therefore: God does not exist

Is this valid?

What else is needed to make this a better argument?


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A second attempt:

1. We have an explanation for where the idea of God came from2. This explanation describes God as a product of cultural

evolution

3. There is no independently verifiable evidence for the existence

of God

4. Therefore: Probably, God does not exist

Is this better?

A complete argument:


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p g

1. We have an explanation for where the idea of God came from

2. This explanation describes God as a product of cultural

evolution3. There is no independently verifiable evidence for the existence

of God

4. Therefore: Probably, God does not exist

5. Both religion and science offer explanations for natural

phenomena

6. Scientific theories are based on evidence that is

independently verifiable

7. Therefore: Compared to religion, science offers more

reasonable explanations for natural phenomena


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Free discussion


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Powerpoint by BRENT SILBY

Produced at UPTChristchurch, New Zealand

www.unlimited.school.nz
http://www.unlimited.school.nz/http://www.unlimited.school.nz/

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The God Hypothesis