OK, last atheist post for a while, I swear.
I've listened to about 30 debates, many with Christopher Hitchens, in the last month. More than anything they have given me a thirst for understanding the Socratic method. Like all good thirsts I've taken a few massive gulps and cannot stomach any more until I've digested what I've taken on board. On an aside, please take a moment to look at this effort, which I totally support.
The best debates seem to have an opposing theist who starts off by saying that they won't be debating from scripture. That is to say, they'll be using argument based on reason to explain the existence of God. The most commonly used argument seems to be the intelligent design argument of "The universe is so finely balanced, one tiny change to the strong force or gravity would have caused us to not exist. It is designed for life. Ergo, god made the universe". Dinesh D'Souza uses this argument often.
If you found a round hole with a round peg which nicely fits into the hole it would to fair to say "it looks like that peg was designed to fit into that hole". It is also fair to say "It is the only peg that will fit into that hole". It is then you look around and notice millions of square, triangle and octagional pegs littered around, with scuff marks around the edges where someone has tried to jam them into the round hole. Guess what, they didn't fit.
The universe is a round hole, and we are a round peg. We are the only sodding shape that fits. It does not mean we were designed to fit - we just couldn't be any other way. There are trillions of possible pegs (think silicon lifeforms or life made of pure energy) that cannot fit into our universe because of it's physical properties.
I bet the god of silicon lifeforms is pretty pissed off about that one. Now he's going to have to wait around for infinity to create a new universe that allows silicon life (or maybe multiverses really do exist and they're crunching their way through some other universe with a irrational belief in a silicon god?).
Just because we fit, does not mean it was designed just for us.
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