So, I've a hypothetical for you guys that I am curious about. I maintain that my atheism is a premise, not a conclusion. When I say, "God does not exist", I am presenting a falsifiable premise that is only awaiting objective, verifiable evidence.
Now, with that in mind, let us say that evidence is discovered tomorrow. Now only do we have absolute proof of the existence of God, but we even have absolute evidence that the Christian version of God exists. Could you just "fall in line"? Could you just "become" a Christian.
See, I don't think I could. If we suddenly had the objective evidence necessary to prove that the Christian God exists, that would mean that we, also, have to accept that the Bible is not just a book of stories, and is, in fact, an accurate record of the nature of that God. And that record indicates that he drown the entire race, as far as man understood it to be at that time. This God demanded his favourites to commit genocide...twice. This God chose one person, and intentionally made his life miserable, just for sport (a wager with Lucifer). In short, the Bible portrays a God that is a sociopath.
I don't know that, even with irrefutable evidence that the Christian God exists, that I could become a follower of that God.
I have always said that, given evidence,. I would change my position from atheism to one of theism. However, if I learned that the Christian God was the "God of Creation", I don't think that theism would be a respectful one. I think my position would have to be, "Okay. God exists...and he's a dick," and would accept whatever consequences taking that position would engender.
So, what about you guys? If we suddenly had evidence that Christians had it right all along, could you just become "Good Little Christians"?
I presented the same premise before myself. Would those who didn't believe in God or a specific book suddenly change course with irrefutable evidence? Think of all the fake news going on today, that is how people would react. They could see a man in person performing a miracle and they would scoff at it "there's some trickery going on here".
I wouldn't be surprised if the Messiah was tossed into prison as some sort of fraud, charged with a crime. This is why Faith is just that, Faith.
See, I'm not actually talking about belief, though. I mean, in the face of evidence, belief isn't really a question, any more than belief would be a question in regards to gravity.
Rather it's a question of decisions. Does acceptance of existence require worship? And I am coming to the realisation that it doesn't. I can change my position as an atheist, with sufficient evidence, without agreeing to join a religious movement.
I see. You would view this as submission and a loss of self identity. I suppose it would depend on my place in the universe and how I viewed it. I used to think the same when I was an Atheist, "why would God create me simply to worship him!?"
Personally, I wouldn't view it as submission but simply as the reality that in fact, yes, I am inferior in the grand scheme. Maybe if you found out that you only exist because of the sheer power of God to give you life, you might believe in some worship, if that is even the right word. Even moreso, if God were in fact more direct and threatened to take your life away! Or, deny your soul entry to heaven.
To me worship is a strong word even as a believer. I think believing and following the word of God is worship enough. There is a royal family across the pond that have historically demanded submission. That I could not do, but of course, I could certainly feign submission in the face of personal danger. I have always stated I would refuse to bow to the Queen or anyone on my own volition. This isn't a sleight against those who do, or her place in society, it's my personal belief in treating all humans with equal respect, until proven otherwise.
The Book of Job reminds me slightly of your situation in that God does many cruel things to Job, but he still accepts him. If you were Job you would take a stance and say "I refuse to follow you because you are evil". it's the most controversial of books, many believe it was a test of Job, others say it was to illustrate to Job that he is just a peon in the grand scheme and could not possibly understand Gods motivations.
Meh, this is a heavy subject, the whole universe, theology discussion. I need my morning tea yet
I do understand your point though, this is really the kind of situation that's difficult to address in theory, because in practice, who knows how we might react in the face of such overwhelming and unbelievable facts. Imagine, the most daunting question civilizations has struggled with since the dawn of time and you now have your answer...it would have to change our complete outlook on life and even our own value system.
