I'm happy if you want a claimant to define their terms. I'm equally happy if you want a claimant to have their terms defined for them. What I'm not so keen on is when you demand both at once.
There is no conflict between:
1) defining your terms
2) not playing definition games
An example of playing definition games is by defining god into existence via a tautology in an effort to claim god exists. E.G., the universe is part of god. The universe exists therefore god exists.
Another example is by using obscure definitions and then equivocating. E.G., God is love.
I'm not saying you are going to do such things. I'm just letting you know up front I'm not going to waste my time debating such things.
Pick one, and we can continue - I'm not going to do all the defining while you sit back and look for semantic holes to shoot.
I can't define god myself because then i will be accused of making a strawman because every person has their own personal variation on what they think god is. Its only reasonable to have theists present their notion of god so as not to be accused of attacking a strawman.
As for the definition of universe, the dictionary definition works well:
the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena
throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm.
Now can you answer the question:
What does "outside the universe" actually mean in reference to a god?
You believe that there is evidence of the non-existence of God? What would that be?
1) i don't want to get side tracked by this tangent. So i will post a response here. If you are interested in more details then start a new thread and PM me.
2) I did
not say i have evidence for non-existence, as in, I have some piece of evidence that can prove non-existence of something. What I
did say--that you paraphrased inaccurately--is "there is adequate justification for taking the negative position based on what we KNOW from science, psychology, culture, history, and humans frailties. "
3) The main problem is that the response is dependent on which "god(s)" is being proposed. There is no one-size-fits-all argument against gods.
Take the typical Christian god beliefs. There are a vast amount of reasons people believe the christian god exists. Some of those reasons are addressed below.
1. The religion is based upon tales in a storybook written by HUMANS -- religious promoters, fanatics or writers thousands of years ago. There is no evidence that “god” wrote, directed or guided the writing.
2. Stories were written decades or generations after the supposed events are said to have occurred, and NONE of the “miracle” stories can be verified
3. The identity of authors of bible stores is unknown; therefore, their veracity and accuracy cannot be evaluated.
4. Writers were reporting hearsay. They were not witnesses but were repeating stories told to them by others. There is no way to evaluate the accuracy of those who told tales to bible writers – or how far removed they were from events reported.
5. What has become known as “the bible” was produced hundreds of years after the supposed death of Jesus – by government / church committee – selecting writings that conveyed desired point of view (and discarding other items).
6. There is no evidence that Jesus or the Apostles ever lived – other than bible stories. No civil records of the time mention the phenomenal teacher / healer / miracle worker or his companions. “Historians’ mention” (such as Josephus) often cited by apologists, is widely accepted by theologians as being falsified.
7. There are numerous errors (statements that are known to be incorrect) and contradictions (saying one thing in one place and something different elsewhere) in the bible. Such inaccuracies and conflicts cast doubt upon the accuracy of what is told. (How many times do you have to catch someone being wrong in what they claim or contradicting themselves in what they say before you begin to doubt what they tell you?)
8. The bible contains preposterous stories about donkeys conversing with humans, dead bodies coming back to life, people walking on water, people levitating into the sky, storms being calmed by command, a star leading people to a specific location and stopping, the Earth ceasing rotation (“sun stood still”), etc, etc.
9. The bible was then translated (by unknown people) through and to many languages, with disagreement about meaning of words, and available in many different “versions”.
10. The bible has been revised, edited, and completely rewritten numerous times, often by anonymous people.
11. None of the claims, promises or threats used to promote the religion can be verified as truthful. Even such critical issues as the supposed “divinity of Christ” and “resurrection” can NOT be verified as literally true in the real world. They are only reported in bible stories (religious promotional literature) and cannot be shown to be anything more than myth or legend.
12. An “afterlife” cannot be shown to exist – let alone “heaven” or “hell”. There is no evidence to support the existence of a human “soul” that survives death.
Let's stick to the topic and stop making personal attacks and snide comments, mmmkay.