Atheism

[meinhoonshia]

Salam Brother and sisters, Tohfa Ya Ali Madad, i need some answers,

The Questions are:

1: what would you say if, i as a scientist, proved there was a sentient being living on the planet Saturn, and I found a way to communicate with it, and he told me he was the real god, and offered me a wealth of information and data proving such?

I then take that data, and show it to the world and give them means to communicate with this being. one god absolutely proven, and its not yours, what would you do?

2: if you think god is unseen, than how has anyone translated what he deems correct human behavior?

if humans cannot comprehend a god's presence, how has your 'prophets' done so?

doesn't it seem a tad bias to claim "god talks to me, and only I can hear his words."

well some atheist guy asked me these questions,, and obv am not a scholar, nor i have enuff knowledge to answer his questions...

so i kinda looking for help... Please reply :) thanks

[Abbas.]

Salams

1) There are plenty of claims re God on Earth so you don't have to go to saturn to make a point. I believe reasoning has to be the source of extracting such principles i-e belief in God. So if you bring forth a message from a God on Saturn, you (being His representative) should be able to answer every sincere question to it's satisfaction. And if you succeed in doing so, you may end up having a following of your own. However, as far as Shia school of thought is concerned, we will reject your God as being just another creation since a Deity, mean't to be perfect in all aspects and beyond our comprehension, cannot be similar to any physical thing or being, nor can He be limited to a certain time and place.

2) If there is a God and He wills to communicate with us, He can do so directly or through an intermediary. In case of Abrahamic religions, specifically Islam, God communicated with us through His Representatives (Messengers & Prophets). Now surely, one has the right to be skeptical and question those who claim to be receiving revelations from God. If our Messenger was alive, He may have shown miracles to those who sought them (as He did in the past) and He could have debated with those interested. However, none of these methods genuinely serve as a means to complete satisfaction. We always tend to find other excuses. For example, the people of the past who demanded miracles from our Prophets later on called them magicians. And those who debated, sometimes did not follow out of mere stubbornness. That is why our (Shia) Islamic Leadership (Messenger & Imams) stressed on the importance of understanding religion through reasoning so as to gain satisfaction and remove doubts. Therefore, we derive our Principle of Prophethood by firstly understanding it's need and importance, and secondly considering the teachings and the role model of our Prophet. These are much better ways of determining the authenticity of Hazrat Muhammad's Messengership.

[Servidor]

I am not a Muslim. But my answer to 1 would be - demon. It would not surprise me since the planet itself is named for a demon. Perhaps it is the impious child devourer himself. What would I do? Exorcise the planet Saturn. Or have the planet exorcised. I am serious here.

To 2 - no. Not biased. Biased would imply selection irrespective of merits. The prophets were men worthy of hearing the Living God and the main virtue that made them worthy was faith. Men who have that same virtue do not need to hear a direct revelation for themselves once they know they have that of the others, add humility and they do not expect it. The prophets were men of faith who deserved to hear the things of God and they heard and received them for all men like to themselves for all time. Only men of like faith to the prophets, receive the prophets. If the prophets had not been prophets, but other different particular men of faith had been chosen - Moses and Isaias would have believed what those men had received. And that is why they deserved to be prophets. Such is providence.

It may also be worth pointing out that his scenario 1 essentially involves the same thing, just replace "prophet" with "scientist". If 2 holds of prophets, 1 falls as well. Why should we trust the scientist? More than Moses or Isaias? What would the data be? Is not revelation data? And the means to communicate - is that not what prayer is?