Here is a nice little paradox:
Statement S: If S is true then God exists
Logically, statement S must be either true or false.
1. Suppose S is false.
2. If S if false, then any statement that starts with "If S is true..." is true *(see note)
3. Specifically, the statement "If S is true then God exists" would be true
4. This is exactly what S says, so S would have to be true
5. This is in contradiction with 1., so S cannot be false.
6. Therefore S is true.
7. So the statement "If S is true then God exists" is true.
8. By modus ponens, since S is indeed true, then the second half of that statement is true.
9. God exists.
Note of course that you can make the same argument to prove that God doesn't exist, or anything else.
What, if anything, is wrong with this proof?
*Note: This is the part that I expect most people will comment on. It is one of the standard logical rules that if something, A, is true, you can say "If (~A) then..." and that will always be true. For instance, I could say "If George Washington is alive then the moon is made of cheese" and that would be considered true in natural logic.
(In reply to
re(3): statement 2 by donnmike)
The whole premise... "if S is true (or even false)... then God exists" has got to be one of the most humorous sentences that I think we (mankind) have ever uttered. I can only imagine God shaking His head from heaven (and probably chuckling softly)... And in fact, I shudder to think where we would all be without His grace.
But to continue on after that and go through steps 2-9 is just the punchline to a much deeper (and far dumber) joke. No insult to the real intellects (and my apologies to you all for this post) who really analyse such things, but here I must take leave from all of the logicians and respectfully defend my faith--albeit an unphilosophically simplistic one. And here it is, folks:
God exists.
As this statement is unconditionally true (and I believe entirely supportable by the preponderance of evidence that exists out there), to make it rely on any such conditional claims is absurd. In fact, even if no such evidence were given, the truth of God's existence would still remain an unconditional fact, unverifiable though it is.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Be kind to me in your replies. And remember: I'm not a logician!
God bless,
Jordan
God's existence:
