Earth Week Debate

"Is God possible in a dying environment?"

My debating opponent, like me, is on record denying the existence of a creator God.

I don’t believe in a God who created the universe, chose the Jews, gave us Torah, a Promised Land, and 613 mitzvot (commandments). I believe in a nondual reality evolving toward greater levels of complexity and higher levels of consciousness that ultimately gives rise to beings such as ourselves who can begin to understand this reality, and fashion meaning and purpose that promote justice and compassion for all beings. 

So, either one of us will have to defend a proposition he does not accept, or we'll spend too much time debating definitions ("God," "Atheism," "Possible") OR we'll have to change the subject. I vote for the latter. How about:

• Is God-talk relevant or constructive in guiding our response to the climate crisis? 

• Can religious piety make us better eco-citizens?

• Are "higher levels of consciousness" and "meaning, purpose, justice and compassion for all" inevitable?

Or:

• Is the environment (the planet) really dying, anytime soon? Or is it us?