Loppupuolella kirjaa Stenger listaa, missä suhteissa jumala osoittautui epäonnistuneeksi hypoteesiksi.
Let me then summarize the gods we have shown to disagree
with the data. Again, an uppercase G will be used when the attributes
apply specifically to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God.
Gods Who Disagree with the Data
1. A God who is responsible for the complex structure of the
world, especially living things, fails to agree with empirical
fact that this structure can be understood to arise from
simple natural processes and shows none of the expected
signs of design. Indeed, the universe looks as it should
look in the absence of design.
2. A God who has given humans immortal souls fails to
agree with the empirical facts that human memories and
personalities are determined by physical processes, that no
nonphysical or extraphysical powers of the mind can be
found, and that no evidence exists for an afterlife.
3. A God whose interactions with humans, including miraculous
interventions, have been reported in scriptures is contradicted by the lack of independent evidence that
these miraculous events took place and the fact that physical
evidence now convincingly demonstrates that some of
the most important biblical narratives, such as the Exodus,
never took place.
4. A God who miraculously and supernaturally created the
universe fails to agree with the empirical fact that no violations
of physical law were required to produce the universe,
its laws, or its existence rather than nonexistence. It also
fails to agree with established theories, based on empirical
facts, which indicate that the universe began with maximum
entropy and so bears no imprint of a creator.
5. A God who fine-tuned the laws and constants of physics
for life, in particular human life, fails to agree with the fact
that the universe is not congenial to human life, being
tremendously wasteful of time, space, and matter from the
human perspective. It also fails to agree with the fact that
the universe is mostly composed of particles in random
motion, with complex structures such as galaxies forming
less than 4 percent of the mass and less than one particle
out of a billion.
6. A God who communicates directly with humans by means
of revelation fails to agree with the fact that no claimed
revelation has ever been confirmed empirically, while
many have been falsified. No claimed revelation contains
information that could not have been already in the head
of the person making the claim.
7. A God who is the source of morality and human values
does not exist since the evidence shows that humans
define morals and values for themselves. This is not "relative
morality." Believers and nonbelievers alike agree on a
common set of morals and values. Even the most devout
decide for themselves what is good and what is bad. Nonbelievers
behave no less morally than believers.
8. The existence of evil, in particular, gratuitous suffering, is
logically inconsistent with an omniscient, omnibenevolent,
omnipotent God (standard problem of evil).
Ja sitten mahdollisia löydöksiä, jotka olisivat viitanneet jumalan olemassaolon mahdollisuuteen:
Hypothetical Observations That Would Have
Favored the God Hypothesis
1. Purely natural processes might have been proved incapable
of producing the universe, as we know it, from nothing. For
example, the measured mass density of the universe might
not have turned out to be exactly what is required for the
universe to have begun from a state of zero energy, which
we assume is the energy of nothing. This would have
implied that a miracle, the violation of energy conservation,
was required to produce the universe.
2. Purely natural processes might have been proved incapable
of producing the order of the universe. For
example, suppose the universe were not expanding but
rather turned out to be a firmament (as the Bible says it
is). The second law of thermodynamics would require
that the universe always had total entropy less than maximum
in the past. Thus, if the universe had a beginning,
that beginning would have to be one of order imposed
from the outside. If the universe had no beginning but
extended indefinitely into the past, then we still would
need to account for the source of the ever-increasing
order as we go back in time.
3. Purely natural processes might have proved incapable of
producing the complex structure of the world. For
example, the age of Earth might have turned out to be
too short for evolution. Simple processes might not have
been able to produce complex structure.
4. Evidence was found that falsified evolution. Fossils might
have been found that were inexplicably out of sequence.
Life-forms might not have all been based on the same
genetic scheme. Transitional species might not have been
observed.
5. Human memories and thoughts might have provided
evidence that cannot be plausibly accounted for by
known physical processes. Science might have confirmed
exceptional powers of the mind that it could not plausibly
explain physically. Science might have uncovered
convincing evidence for an afterlife. For example, a
person who has been declared dead by every means
known to science might return to life with detailed stories
of an afterlife containing information he could not
possibly have known and is later verified as factual, such
as the location of the nearest planet with life.
6. A nonphysical channel of communication might have been empirically confirmed by revelations containing
information that could not have been already in the head
of the person reporting the revelation. For example,
someone in a religious trance might learn the exact date of
the end of the world, which then happens on schedule.
7. Physical and historical evidence might have been found
for the miraculous events and the important narratives of
the scriptures. For example, Roman records might have
been found of an earthquake in Judea at the time of a
crucifixion ordered by Pontius Pilate. Campsites might
have been found in the Sinai Desert.
8. The void might have been found to be absolutely stable,
requiring some action to bring something rather than
nothing into existence.
9. The universe might have been found to be so congenial
to human life that it must have been created with human
life in mind. Humans might have been able to move
from planet to planet, just as easily as they now move
from continent to continent, and be able to survive on
every planet without life support.
10. Natural events might follow some moral law, rather than
morally neutral mathematical laws. For example, lightning
might strike mostly wicked people; people who
behave badly might fall sick more often; nuns would
always survive plane crashes.
11. Believers might have had a higher moral sense than nonbelievers
and other measurably superior qualities. For
example, the jails might be filled with atheists while all
believers live happy, prosperous, contented lives surrounded
by loving families and pets.
But none of this has happened. The hypothesis of God is not
confirmed by the data. Indeed that hypothesis is strongly contradicted
by the data.
Let me then summarize the gods we have shown to disagree
with the data. Again, an uppercase G will be used when the attributes
apply specifically to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God.
Gods Who Disagree with the Data
1. A God who is responsible for the complex structure of the
world, especially living things, fails to agree with empirical
fact that this structure can be understood to arise from
simple natural processes and shows none of the expected
signs of design. Indeed, the universe looks as it should
look in the absence of design.
2. A God who has given humans immortal souls fails to
agree with the empirical facts that human memories and
personalities are determined by physical processes, that no
nonphysical or extraphysical powers of the mind can be
found, and that no evidence exists for an afterlife.
3. A God whose interactions with humans, including miraculous
interventions, have been reported in scriptures is contradicted by the lack of independent evidence that
these miraculous events took place and the fact that physical
evidence now convincingly demonstrates that some of
the most important biblical narratives, such as the Exodus,
never took place.
4. A God who miraculously and supernaturally created the
universe fails to agree with the empirical fact that no violations
of physical law were required to produce the universe,
its laws, or its existence rather than nonexistence. It also
fails to agree with established theories, based on empirical
facts, which indicate that the universe began with maximum
entropy and so bears no imprint of a creator.
5. A God who fine-tuned the laws and constants of physics
for life, in particular human life, fails to agree with the fact
that the universe is not congenial to human life, being
tremendously wasteful of time, space, and matter from the
human perspective. It also fails to agree with the fact that
the universe is mostly composed of particles in random
motion, with complex structures such as galaxies forming
less than 4 percent of the mass and less than one particle
out of a billion.
6. A God who communicates directly with humans by means
of revelation fails to agree with the fact that no claimed
revelation has ever been confirmed empirically, while
many have been falsified. No claimed revelation contains
information that could not have been already in the head
of the person making the claim.
7. A God who is the source of morality and human values
does not exist since the evidence shows that humans
define morals and values for themselves. This is not "relative
morality." Believers and nonbelievers alike agree on a
common set of morals and values. Even the most devout
decide for themselves what is good and what is bad. Nonbelievers
behave no less morally than believers.
8. The existence of evil, in particular, gratuitous suffering, is
logically inconsistent with an omniscient, omnibenevolent,
omnipotent God (standard problem of evil).
Ja sitten mahdollisia löydöksiä, jotka olisivat viitanneet jumalan olemassaolon mahdollisuuteen:
Hypothetical Observations That Would Have
Favored the God Hypothesis
1. Purely natural processes might have been proved incapable
of producing the universe, as we know it, from nothing. For
example, the measured mass density of the universe might
not have turned out to be exactly what is required for the
universe to have begun from a state of zero energy, which
we assume is the energy of nothing. This would have
implied that a miracle, the violation of energy conservation,
was required to produce the universe.
2. Purely natural processes might have been proved incapable
of producing the order of the universe. For
example, suppose the universe were not expanding but
rather turned out to be a firmament (as the Bible says it
is). The second law of thermodynamics would require
that the universe always had total entropy less than maximum
in the past. Thus, if the universe had a beginning,
that beginning would have to be one of order imposed
from the outside. If the universe had no beginning but
extended indefinitely into the past, then we still would
need to account for the source of the ever-increasing
order as we go back in time.
3. Purely natural processes might have proved incapable of
producing the complex structure of the world. For
example, the age of Earth might have turned out to be
too short for evolution. Simple processes might not have
been able to produce complex structure.
4. Evidence was found that falsified evolution. Fossils might
have been found that were inexplicably out of sequence.
Life-forms might not have all been based on the same
genetic scheme. Transitional species might not have been
observed.
5. Human memories and thoughts might have provided
evidence that cannot be plausibly accounted for by
known physical processes. Science might have confirmed
exceptional powers of the mind that it could not plausibly
explain physically. Science might have uncovered
convincing evidence for an afterlife. For example, a
person who has been declared dead by every means
known to science might return to life with detailed stories
of an afterlife containing information he could not
possibly have known and is later verified as factual, such
as the location of the nearest planet with life.
6. A nonphysical channel of communication might have been empirically confirmed by revelations containing
information that could not have been already in the head
of the person reporting the revelation. For example,
someone in a religious trance might learn the exact date of
the end of the world, which then happens on schedule.
7. Physical and historical evidence might have been found
for the miraculous events and the important narratives of
the scriptures. For example, Roman records might have
been found of an earthquake in Judea at the time of a
crucifixion ordered by Pontius Pilate. Campsites might
have been found in the Sinai Desert.
8. The void might have been found to be absolutely stable,
requiring some action to bring something rather than
nothing into existence.
9. The universe might have been found to be so congenial
to human life that it must have been created with human
life in mind. Humans might have been able to move
from planet to planet, just as easily as they now move
from continent to continent, and be able to survive on
every planet without life support.
10. Natural events might follow some moral law, rather than
morally neutral mathematical laws. For example, lightning
might strike mostly wicked people; people who
behave badly might fall sick more often; nuns would
always survive plane crashes.
11. Believers might have had a higher moral sense than nonbelievers
and other measurably superior qualities. For
example, the jails might be filled with atheists while all
believers live happy, prosperous, contented lives surrounded
by loving families and pets.
But none of this has happened. The hypothesis of God is not
confirmed by the data. Indeed that hypothesis is strongly contradicted
by the data.
Vastaukset 1
Vanhimmat
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