“So you don’t believe in God, Heaven or Hell. Do you believe in anything?”
That’s the question posed by theists, probably implying that believing in something that is unbelievable is something that ought to be done. While I don’t think that is true, I also don’t think I am prepared to argue the point. It just seems to me that when other people tell me I should believe something, I am not obliged to do so.
But the question can be answered and I will not avoid doing so. I believe possibly hundreds of millions of things and cannot reasonably write them all down. To narrow the field somewhat, I will select an example from those things believed but for which I have no direct sensory experience.
I believe in Australia. I have never seen Australia and have not smelled its desert air nor felt the sand on its beaches. Yet I am as sure as I can be that if I truly wished to do any of these things that I could do so. I do not claim certainty. It is conceivable that I am the victim of a hoax perpetrated by a world-wide conspiracy, but to live my life on that basis is not likely to be satisfactory.
It is instructive to explain how this belief is supported. I have seen many maps and globes which all show the same shape, location, environment and name for this country. Not one has ever shown it to be in the northern hemisphere. Pictures taken from space show no departure from these representations.
I have seen countless photographs of Sydney Harbor and the iconic opera house. The only photographs lacking the opera house have been taken prior to its construction.
I have met people who claimed to be from Australia and nothing they said ever contradicted what I had learned about their homeland.
In short, everything I have ever seen or heard about Australia is consistent and places no strain on my credulity. If these details were inconsistent and contradictory, I would have serious doubts concerning Australia.
Contrast this with world-wide descriptions of God, Heaven and Hell. Not only are they radically different, even from a single perspective they are not coherent. The concept of the Trinity, three gods are actually one god, for example. Or all things must have a cause, except gods. Aren’t gods part of “all” things?
These are, without exception, assertions that do not even rise to the level of a theory. Theories are propositions that are, in principle, verifiable or falsifiable. Faith based beliefs are not testable, verifiable, or falsifiable.
Their only virtue seems to be the comfort provided to those lacking the courage to accept truth.