“I don’t know how to calculate the probability of a nation that is not a superpower (or even a superpower) to remain a recognizable, cohesive unit for 3,000 years, but I imagine it’s pretty small, since only one of each has done so. I also don’t know how to calculate the probability of a nation remaining recognizable and cohesive despite hundreds of years of dominating countries attempting to eradicate them. To me, that makes less sense than a God who does things I don’t understand.”
IceNogle makes the point I was going to make, but I thought I could add to it with some terminology.
You are looking back from now, but that’s called cheating. That’s like looking at a field with an arrow in the ground far from the starting point, and it’s hit a perfect bulls-eye in a target drawn in the grass. But if the arrow is shot first and the target drawn around the arrow, it’s no longer impressive.
A world without a God would look identical to the one we have now, and that’s because God does not manifest himself in any obvious fashion. This is different from a world where, say, Batman actually exists, because in that world, there’d be one difference, as I see it...we wouldn’t see Batman comic books or action figures the way we have them now. Now, these comics and toys are seen by kids as representing something that they may not understand to not exist, but all adults know that they are just toys and stories, and that Batman doesn’t actually exist.
I don’t know that that’s clear at all. There is no absolute morality, and for some, they either disagree with this (and see religion as absolute morality) or they agree, but they see their religion as a good guide to morality.
So I disagree with you...truth ought to be paramount, not morality.