And I believe it's true.
Believe First, Then You'll Know
I get told time and again from believers in God, if I would only accept the signs that their particular deity exists, I'd be able to believe it. If only I would believe first that mysteries could be answered with "god did it", then I can know "god did it" when I get have questions.
Ken Ham said several times in his recent debate with Bill Nye that he starts with the bible, and if you do that, you can claim you know:
He and many others who belong to this faith chant that same mantra: believe in god, and seek him, then you'll know god exists.
The reason we shouldn't do this should be obvious simply by looking at the logic in that statement, but we can further illustrate it with a little experimentation. If you first believe that fairies exist, then you should be able to see evidence of them. You'll probably one day be missing a sock, or the remote, or your car keys.
That's evidence of the fairies.
Have you ever been wondering where you sat that thing you were holding, and asked aloud, "now where did I put that"? And then you have a gut feeling to look in the very place you find it?
That's evidence of the fairies -- you just have to ask and they blow invisible dust on you that draws you toward the object you desire. It's similar to siren magic, only not as potent.
Ever known who was calling before you looked at the phone? Or how about when you almost choke on a soft drink or a piece of candy, but then you don't.
That's evidence of the fairies.
So Open-Minded Your Brain Falls Out
We can even have different factions, similar to differing religions: maybe it's not exactly, fairies. Elves? Maybe spirits of dead relatives? It works with anything, but the point is, see how far down this rabbit hole we can go? At this point, we have no explanatory power -- we're explaining with mysteries. If you look at some of the arguments made by those who believe in "higher powers", it see something very similar. If you would only first believe that there is an infinite creator god trying to speak with you, you'd see evidence of that in rainbows and babies eyes. Just like if you would only first believe that there are fairies who want to help you find your car keys, then you'd see evidence of them when such an event happens.
Turn on the TV and find a preacher -- I'll guarantee you at some point he'll tell you to seek God. From local youth pastors to your religious grandmother, you'll be told to read your bible, trust in God first, then you'll gain understanding of him. But then don't question that belief, or the whole thing falls apart because it's all built on simple belief.
It happens in religious contexts because theists base everything on a certain perception, a certain preconception, a starting-point that is taken for granted. Instead, we should start with a blank slate, and build only on top of things we can demonstrate. Block by block, we move higher and higher into better understanding. When we make jumps in that stepladder of understanding by inserting appeals to unexplained or unexplainable things, we don't do justice to the institution of knowledge.
Those of us who don't believe things without first having a reason to are often told we are being "close-minded", that if we would just allow for the possibility of [insert whatever supernatural or metaphysical thing you wish], then we would be able to see what they see.
Translation: believe first, even if just a little, then find things you can claim as evidence to grow your belief.
Further translation: seek and ye shall find.
-STA
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