I could spend a lot of wasted time bashing them down with other premises and valid syllogisms, and still your objections, whether logical or not, will continue springing up like mushrooms.

We’re just going round in parallel circles “and ne’er the twain shall meet “.

At this point you’re probably thinking that I’ve given up on finding better arguments than yours, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The thing is I have been through all that you’re presenting me with and more, years ago, and I’ve already processed it thoroughly and reached my own conclusions.

Regurgitating the whole business again is not where I am in life at the moment – for me it’s a case of ‘been there,done that’.

What I can guess at from all this, is that you’re younger than me and still at a place I left long ago .
I hope you will find the answers to all your questions. Good luck.

People are not programmed during their formative years to think on the same lines ever after as if they were robots.

Later on in life they may study logic and syllogism that would enable them to consolidate, to modify or to reject previous notions intelligently.

As a result, some abandon religion others are strengthened in it.

P.S. I have to admit that not many writing in these blogs display any proficiency in making correct deductions.

I don’t think anything. I just comment and argue on what you write here, seeing that I don’t know you from Adam.

As you’ve been advised by others, pick your quotes carefully and choose the ones you’re least probable to backtrack on when you’re challenged.

So now we know that Chesterton is nothing more than your favourite cuddly teddy bear.

Which is fine, but that doesn’t seem to square with the vastly read not-just-stuck-with-the-Old-Masters-Of-Philosophy-you-know self.

“1) None of these illustrious people have scientifically proven that God does not exist – and that includes Hawking – perhaps you’ve come across the latest scientific treatises about his work.”

Well now, I never expected THAT from anyone beyond the Old Masters Of Philosophy, but suit yourself.

The stand that anything can exist because it cannot be proven that it doesn’t is absurd.

So absurd, in fact, that even if Hawking and others will someday find the natural origin of the universe, your position will always be “Aha, but God created THAT. Prove me wrong, now.”

So let me cut your search for the truth short: stop searching now, for you’re only wasting your time. You’ve had the God you’re looking for all this time, and you didn’t even realise.

You might just as well be living in fantasy world, along with Alice. No one can prove THAT doesn’t exist. If fact, it DOES. In our imagination. As real as you or me. I’d go further and say as physical as you or me, the IMAGINATION of Alice, that is, not Alice herself, but let’s leave that out of this argument.

“the eternal and indescribable grandeour of God and His creation is behind it all.”

Care to add a few superlative adjectives to the list? All knowing, perhaps? All good? All loving? All perfect?

Well now, all it takes is a good look around you, you don’t need to go too far really, to realise that God’s creations are far from perfect. It doesn’t take much schooling to see that his creation was purposely made to be as inhospitable to any form of life as possible, from the galactical scale, down to the microscopic.

And what about the personal God? Oh, that one’s even more fantastic. If I had to switch to being Catholic right now, I’d be singing all kind of praise to the Almighty God, for all the blessings he’s showered me with: good health, nice family, financial stability … “GOD! YOU LOVE ME! AND HERE’S LOVING YOU BACK!”

Then I’d come down from the clouds for a second, and soon find myself asking “How does my neighbour’s 2 year-old daughter dying from cancer see HER personal God?” Oh, but she’s been indoctrinated to offer her suffering to God, and told that this will only increase her worth in God’s eyes.

And I find myself asking “What the f*** is wrong with you, God Almighty? I’m feeling good about my life, and I’m happily looking forward to come join you one day because you’re such a loving God, and yet you do THAT to poor Jennie? What the hell has she done to YOU to deserve that? You call that LOVE? What the f*** is wrong with you?”

But then I meet the village archpriest, and he assures me that God acts in mysterious ways.

Which makes me realise that all is fine. Jennie’s fine. The more she suffers, the better off she’ll be. I needn’t worry. No need to raise funds to give her the best possible care. This is all God’s doing. In fact, this is God’s gift to Jennie. Who am I to deprive her from God’s gift? Let her be.

Gosh, what’s wrong with MY kids? Don’t they deserve a gift just as much as Jennie does? Then I remember what the archpriest said, and soon realise that all this is pointless, raise my hands in the air, and declare “What will be will be. It’s all God’s doing. Let him worry about all these spirit-numbing thoughts. He knows what he’s doing. The archpriest told me so. And the archpriest knows.”

“I hope we can now join forces in our common ideals on Daphne’s blog.”

It would be puerile to think otherwise. I don’t understand why you even find the need to say this. But then perhaps my inferior level of schooling prevents me from doing so.

“This is my last post on this subject.”

That’s alright then. Everything’s settled.

This happens both with totalitarian politics and religion.

Table manners and decent behaviour do not fall under this category.

Suit yourself. I am not expecting anything from you.

Come on, you can do better than that.