RE: The Tao of Paradox | Part 1: The Only Thing I Know For Sure
You can compare that to a claim of a creator that comes with zero measurable evidence to substantiate it. So even in the most generous of evaluations, you couldn't reasonably give it more than a 50% chance and even that would be absolutely unsubstantiated.
When it comes to claims of whether God is real, I keep in mind that approximately 95% of the humans on planet earth have some form of spiritual belief. I also want evidence and refuse to believe without it, as you do, however I am not so quick to dismiss the opinion of 95% of the human species. Some might consider this evidence of a kind however I'm not going that far. What I do believe (with a small b) is that all religions have their roots in someone, somewhere having what is commonly described as a personal mystical experience. It's easy to dismiss this and scoff at it, however we must take extra care not to do so out of cultural programming.
Reports of direct personal experiences of mystical experiences can be found throughout human history through to the modern day.
Of course science wants repeatable experiments and empirical evidence, however it could be one of those Carl Sagan 'flatland' type problems. How does a 2D being from flatland describe a 3D being when their only experience is 2D?
My suggestion is for science to look to a chemical produced by the human brain and found throughout nature called 5-MeO-DMT which is reported with extremely high frequency to cause people to experience these mystical states with astounding reliability.
If there is a chemical technology that can be studied to examine the human belief in god then sceinctist who wish to finally dismiss or confirm this endless debate should be looking here.
On god in general, I personally like Carl Sagan's stance of approaching these matters with a respectful tone instead of taking a position of ridicule. Though I've only seen the film, I also love the ending to Contact which depicts a science having personally experienced something unverifiable by science suddenly understanding what it is to KNOW something, and not be able to present any evidence. Carl Sagan exemplifies the fact that compassion, consideration and respect do not have to be left out of science. He demonstrates a clear attempt at understanding the mind of the 'enemy' of science aka religion, without feeling compelled to become reactive and attack it.
I agree that respectfulness is important to any discussion in any topic, but it should also not impede honesty. There are certainly aspects of some major religions that deserve to be confronted like misogyny, homophobia and purposeful misinformation. When religion actively tries to impose itself on society (and it does that on regular basis), it warrants a pushback.
Having the feeling that you know something just inside yourself should not be a sufficient reason to believe it. We could all fall victims to delusions, false memories and hallucinations. It's like the stereotypical institutionalized mental patient that believes themselves to be Napoleon. That's why it's important to not just have faith in your sourceless internal knowledge fueling the "I just know" argument, but to compare notes with reality.
The protagonist of the movie contact does not need to rely solely on her own experiences. The device that she used to travel can be build again and can continue to be tested until there is more conclusive data. Even in the movie's fictional universe, she should not be 100% sure of the truthfulness of her own experience until there is more evidence.