"Is There a G-d? ...or a Santa Claus?" 'Davis Danizier'

Guest blogger Davis D. “3D” Danizier began life as a political and religious conservative, even entering into formal Seminary studies. Gradually, he became troubled by inconsistencies in factual assertions and values in both political and religious conservatism and, after deeply traumatic soul searching, reversed course in both areas. After retiring from a career in commercial property and casualty insurance, Dave has had the free time and flexibility to share with others some of the thoughts that led to his life-altering epiphanies. His book “Betrayal of Jesus” presents unorthodox (believers might say heretical) perspectives on the Christian mythology. Dave currently resides in Oceanside, California. Enjoy Dave's blog...

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When I contemplate the question, “Is there a God?” I hear echoes of an innocent, doe-eyed child looking up and asking, “Is there a Santa Claus.”
In its childlike naïveté, which is endearing for the child but simplistic for adults, the child envisions a specific, real, tangible jolly old man who magically fills all the Christmas stockings in the world in a single night (without considering that [most] Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and atheist children are not included).

The adult may respond truthfully that there “is” a Santa Claus, but may mean something far less literal than the child's youthful and imaginative expectations.

So, in the same spirit, echoing the words and spirit of Francis Parcellus Church to young Virginia O’Hanlon, one can say: “Yes, Virginia, there is a God.”

However, it is not the Middle Eastern monotheistic [simultaneously triune?] sky god of scriptural mythology nor is it the anthropomorphic deity in whose image the legend says we were created.

Is there intelligence and energy in the universe greater than that of humans? I hope so!
Is there energy and power greater than that of humans? No doubt.

Is there something that was here before everything else? Well, something had to be first. In the interchangeability of matter and energy, was matter/energy first expressed as matter or energy? When and how did consciousness emerge out of non-consciousness matter/energy?

Is it OK, if one does not know the answer to any of these questions, to say, “I don’t know” instead of feeling compelled to concoct an answer?
So: Yes, Virginia, there is a God.

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Sometimes those questioning the existence of god cite the example of children who outgrow a childish, naïve belief in Santa Claus, a mythical character for whom there is no evidence.

But is there really a Santa Claus? As with God, it is impossible to absolutely disprove that somewhere in the Universe a Santa Claus does not exist, but the inability to disprove it doesn’t make it so, yet we could all agree that it is not a “50/50” equal probability for or against the existence of a Santa Claus.

Yet we should also agree that it is NOT naïve or misguided for the child to believe in Santa Claus — in fact, the child does have good reason to believe in Santa Claus. There is, indeed, much evidence! He (or she) wakes up Christmas morning and there is a pile of presents. He innately understands that they did not just get there by themselves (something akin to understanding the argument of Prime Cause). Moreover, trusted authorities (parents) who have generally been proved to be reliable, assure him that they didn’t put the presents there and further assure him that the identity of the gift-giver is known, and it is Santa Claus. It is not at all unreasonable for a small child to therefore accept this as credible evidence.

Further, even when the details of the ruse become known, the child’s basic assumption was valid. The giver of the gifts was not Santa Claus, but still they did not get there by themselves. There was, as to the gifts, a “Prime Cause.” It just turns out that, instead of being the “Supreme Being” (magical Santa) it is merely a “superior” being — Mom and Dad — who, at least at the time of the gifts being given, had greater physical strength, knowledge and autonomy than the dependent child. (And as a further note, one could argue whether or not “Santa Claus” is real even “just a myth,” depending on how you define the magical feeling that inspires strangers to give anonymously to those in need at a certain time of the year, but that is further off topic than I want to drift....)

The historic debate as to the existence of some kind of deity, whether it be a supreme being who is all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful or merely a superior being who is just further along the evolutionary spectrum, has incorporated a number of attempts by religious philosophers to “prove” the existence of god.

For those interested, I have examined some of the key theories, tried to reduce them to understandable terms, and addressed them in the website that can be found at:
http://danizier.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/is-there-a-god/