• Question: Does God Exist?

    Asked by Hasafan to Áine, Ciarán, Eoin, Lydia, Victoria on 19 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Ciarán O'Brien

      Ciarán O'Brien answered on 19 Nov 2014:


      Well, the evidence in his favour isn’t great: Some folks will point to the bible, but it’s got plenty of mistakes in it and a lot of the books say stuff that contradicts the other books. Also, not a single mention of dinosaurs in the bible. You’d think God would have mentioned those, they were a pretty big deal…

      Some folks will say that the universe had to come from somewhere, but as quantum physicists are finding out, that’s not always true…

      And then of course there are hundreds of different religions, so which God do you mean? Vishnu? Zoroaster? Odin? Osiris? Everyone who believed in them was sure the other gods were just fairy tales… 🙂

      Whether or not whatever god you believe in exists or not, it’s not really a question science is interested in. Science is great for answering questions about things we can see and touch, and since a key feature of every god anyone has ever believed in is that you can’t see or touch them, they’re not much use in answering questions about how the world works. “God makes flowers grow” isn’t as useful as learning about photosynthesis (which has resulted in some nice advances in developing sources of energy) or genetics (which has been amazing at figuring out and treating a whole load of diseases).

      Some people will try to tell you that there’s a big fight going on between religion and science, but that’s just rubbish. About 51% of all scientists are religious in some way, and really, we just want to get on with our jobs asking questions and finding answers. What we get up to on a Sunday morning is nobody’s business. Although I do enjoy the Sunday morning lie-in you get from not being religious. 🙂

      The answer to your question is something you’ll have to decide for yourself, I’m afraid. So ask loads of questions, read about different people and cultures, and make your own mind up. 🙂

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