Evidence for the Existence of Love

[Koldo]

Not exactly.

But it does demonstrate that love, like god(s), is a subjective personal experience that cannot be made objectively evident regardless of requests for evidence of its existence, no?

When you say gods are subjective personal experiences, your conception of gods excludes the conception that the vast vast vast vast vast majority of people have about gods.

 

[Trailblazer]

Do you really think he'd be using his real name in the register?

No, because as we all know He is playing hide-and-seek.

 

[sun rise]

Here are a few...

Is the “God Spot” Rooted Far Below Our Brain’s Thinking Cap?

Beyond a single "God Spot," a new study identifies neural circuitry buried within a primal part of the human brain that may be tied to hyper-religiosity or a lack of spirituality.

www.psychologytoday.com

The neuroscience of religious and spiritual experience

Have you ever wondered what happens in the brain when you believe in God? We take a look at neuroscientific studies that may explain spiritual experience.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Clearly when God created humans he put in a receptor so that we'd recognize and worship him. Prove me wrong

 

[Trailblazer]

Clearly when God created humans he put in a receptor so that we'd recognize and worship him. Prove me wrong

If God did that the receptor is malfunctioning in lots of people.

 

[Heyo]

There is currently an absence of evidence of life beyond earth. So that must be evidence that there is no life beyond earth, no?

Do we reasonably expect to have evidence with our limited equipment?

What we can say due to lack of evidence is that there most probably is no highly technological civilisation in our neck of the woods. We should have picked that up.

 

[Heyo]

The absence of peer reviewed studies on God is evidence that God doesn't exist?
Now I've heard everything.

If god was real, i.e. physical, measurable, wouldn't you expect there to be physical evidence?

 

[Heyo]

So if there is life beyond earth why can't God exist beyond earth?

If god did exist beyond earth, it would have the same properties other life beyond earth is expected to have. I.e. it wouldn't have any measurable influence on us. But that is not what the believers tell me about god.

 

[Heyo]

If there was evidence for God I certainly wouldn't expect it to be in peer-reviewed journals.

Why not?

 

[Trailblazer]

If god did exist beyond earth, it would have the same properties other life beyond earth is expected to have.

Why do you think that?

I.e. it wouldn't have any measurable influence on us.

Why do you think that?

 

[Trailblazer]

Why not?

How would people who wrote the journals know anything about God? Where would they get their information?

 

[Heyo]

If God did that the receptor is malfunctioning in lots of people.

Maybe that is due to evolution. A function that isn't conducive to the survival of the species (any more) is expected to disappear.

 

[Heyo]

How would people who wrote the journals know anything about God? Where would they get their information?

They would use the scientific method. They'd form a hypothesis based on the claims of the believers. They'd see what predictions the hypothesis makes and they'd come up with an experiment to test the hypothesis.

The absence of any paper could have different reasons.

• There is not enough interest in the question so that they don't get funding.
• The proposed effects are so minuscule that they are beyond current technology to measure.
• There is no consistent god hypothesis.
• All of the above.

 

[sun rise]

Trailblazer said:

How would people who wrote the journals know anything about God? Where would they get their information?

Ask scientists who are believers. It's perfectly possible to use most rigorous methodology in research projects while at the same time believing in the immeasurable God. Glaze; A Walk within Two Worlds: Faith, Science, and Evolution Advocacy for example:

I do not believe in evolution, because evolution is not a matter of faith; it is a process that occurs whether I believe in it or not. Rather, I accept evolution as the best possible scientific explanation for the diversity and unity of life on this planet, and I do so based on evidence supporting evolution. My faith is reserved for my beliefs, particularly my belief in God and His promise for those who follow Him. I can, and I do, love both science and God. The idea that we must choose one or the other is a false dichotomy. What is necessary, however, is an understanding of both science and religion as distinct from each other, a sort of “cognitive apartheid,” if you will.

As a scientist, I see science as the explanation of events in nature based on physical evidence that is falsifiable, self-correcting, and measurable. I have had many conversations with people around the country who feel that science exists to try and show that God is not real. What many don’t understand is that the basic premise of science is that God (or any other metaphysical/supernatural entity) cannot be considered as a scientific explanation, as there is no way to scientifically “test for” the presence of God. As a Christian, I see God in the beauty of the world around me, in the interconnectedness of all life (as demonstrated in evolution), and through the ever-complex nature of the universe. My acceptance of evolution is based on empirical evidence. My relationship with God, however, is steeped in my faith, which comes from my upbringing but also has connections the small-ness and wonder that I experience daily through my growing understanding of the world around me.

 

[sun rise]

No, because as we all know He is playing hide-and-seek.

Many years ago I wrote a poem entitled "Divine Playmate"

Dancing barefoot in the dew
with open heart nets
we chase after God
who flits here and there
teasing us.

Laughing, twirling
we try to catch Him
as He winks at us
and hides behind trees.

We race to the trees
and find him behind us
tapping us on the shoulders
flashing a big grin.

We try to surround Him
and find to our surprise
He's raining sunlight upon us
from above.

We sit and sigh and pine
and He dances over and
asks us to join a
heavenly waltz.

We ask Him to stay
and He says
"Catch Me if you can"
and races off again.

This game is so much fun
that we play it for ages
until He catches us
when least expected.

Who can ask for
a better game than this
and a better playmate
than our Divine Friend.

Come! Join us.
All can play this game.
He loves it when we try
as one
to catch Him in our heart nets.

 

[RestlessSoul]

The only evidence is that God only dwells conceptually in people's minds and imagination and is absolutely nowhere else.

That’s not evidence, that’s a statement of your unsupported belief.

 

[SalixIncendium]

When you say gods are subjective personal experiences, your conception of gods excludes the conception that the vast vast vast vast vast majority of people have about gods.

What conception to the vast vast vast vast vast majority of people have about gods aside from being subjective personal experiences?

 

[SalixIncendium]

Do we reasonably expect to have evidence with our limited equipment?

Yes. In fact, are currently plans for NASA to send a craft to Europa to gather samples from geysers that erupt from the frozen surface to determine if there is life or an environment conducive to life under the ice.

What we can say due to lack of evidence is that there most probably is no highly technological civilisation in our neck of the woods. We should have picked that up.

I said "life" not "highly technological civilisation."

 

[Koldo]

What conception to the vast vast vast vast vast majority of people have about gods aside from being subjective personal experiences?

Discrete entities that exist objectively (independently from the human mind).

 

[RestlessSoul]

Discrete entities that exist objectively (independently from the human mind).

What entities are humans capable of perceiving, independently of the human mind?

 

[Koldo]

Yes. In fact, are currently plans for NASA to send a craft to Europa to gather samples from geysers that erupt from the frozen surface to determine if there is life or an environment conducive to life under the ice.


I said "life" not "highly technological civilisation."

And Europa is pretty close to us. Considering how we have a hard time exploring other planets even within the solar system, it is no wonder that we have no evidence... In other words, it is to be expected that even if life does exist elsewhere, we wouldn't find it. In this case the absence of evidence is not evidence.