I just think of things like:
- The distance of our planet from the sun (sustain life)
- The angle of our planet
- The speed our planet rotates (gravity)
- The weather (plants and crops to grow etc)
- The way nature produces oxygen and other gases required for life
All are too finely balanced to be by chance. Far easier for me to believe God created it but ultimately we choose whether to believe in God or not. Freewill.
Believe what you want, mate, that is your God... err... right
The items you mentioned above are indeed the absolute pinnacle of perfection. Add on the millions of explosions of evolution (should you believe in it) and chances to create intelligent life, and you may find it hard to believe. Something like "oh my God - intended - there must be an ultimate benevolent creator of all of this". I completely understand this pov. The fact is, I believe it is wrong.
We are one of billions/trillions of star systems where life has been able to create itself - or at least we haven't found any.
I am sorry because I haven't read the countless pages of back-and-forth. The first two pages were enough to make me stop reading.
I personally don't believe in a higher power. I think although we have been derived from countless and almost unbelievable odds from the microscopic to the macroscopic, this is the way of a Universe driven by physical and explainable laws. Ultimately I cannot fathom a higher power that has let the thousands of years of pain, greed and evil that we have witnessed actually happen and continue to do so. If that higher power does exist, He should have ended this horrid existence years ago or stepped in. The argument then comes "humans have free will". Well in that case, an almighty God should be outside of normal Time and saw what would happen, and not even spunked out life.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you are alone and the only - and I mean only - point of life is to try to continue in a Universe that is heading to disorder [laws of thermodynamics].
Finally, I personally try to live my life by avoiding evil. I believe anyone should be able to do anything if they are not hurting others. This applies equally to which God they worship or how they take their coffee.
<3 OCUK and <3 your debates
Please respect everyone's right to believe what they believe.