Sometimes a god believer will say something like “you are just too closed-minded”. And maybe that’s true. I have been an atheist for 50 years and I can’t even imagine being tempted to believe in a god. Ricky Gervais says he wishes there was a god. I don’t. The world and everything I see would become nonsensical. For example, if there really is a heaven and you can live in it forever (ignoring how boring that sounds) it means this life really has no purpose. There is no reason to help others. The world, this world, becomes a more brutish place.
Yet I feel I have to leave an “out”. What is the thing that would make me seriously question my atheism? If the sky suddenly turned purple with green polka dots and a booming voice from far above me said “Hey Paul, you jackass, get with the program” I would assume it was some kind of magic trick or a promo for a new Star Wars movie.
Have you heard of the million-dollar challenge? The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) for several years had a program where they offered one million dollars to anyone who could demonstrate supernatural abilities. It didn’t have to include any religious content. Water dousing was a frequent subject but there were other claims such as the ability to make a person pee in their pants just by looking at them. Not only did no one come close to getting the million bucks but no one really got past the first round of testing.
Ah, but what if someone did show they had such powers? That would force me to at least entertain the idea that there are supernatural powers and maybe, just maybe, there is a god involved as well.
Despite this, I’m still open to the charge of being closed-minded. It is still preferable, in my humble opinion, to be so open-minded one’s brain falls out.
BTW, looking for a discussion about the spelling of “closed-minded”? See https://grammarist.com/spelling/closed-minded/
