Thorn's Metaphysical Challenge

Bible-believers claim that the universe came into existence through an act of divine consciousness. They claim that God spoke a commandment, apparently to non-existence, and existence resulted. This is the doctrine of creation ex nihilo, and assumes that consciousness has the power to produce matter where before there was none.

This is quite a feat, to say the least.

It is a feat unparalleled and unprecedented in nature. Indeed, nature is said to be the result of this act of consciousness, this act of divine will let loose.

My metaphysical challenge to theists, then, is to demonstrate this power of consciousness. I lay it down before any individual who might insist that I accept as knowledge the claim that there is a God and that this God created the universe, that he demonstrate how an act of consciousness can result in the existence of physical matter which did not exist prior to the act of consciousness.

In order to fulfill this challenge, theists will have to meet three basic criteria:

1. The only causal agency to be used is to be a form or act of consciousness. This may include wishing, willing, desiring, commanding, speaking, meditating, dreaming, praying, uttering, stuttering, chanting, trancing, prating, etc. The consciousness employed may be one's own consciousness, or that of another personality, real or imagined. Fasting may be employed if the believer thinks it will help.
2. No existing material existents can be used, with the following exceptions:

3. The resulting product cannot have been in existence prior to the demonstration. Its existence must have a beginning, (just as Bible-believers claim about the universe), and the cause of its existence must be an act or form of consciousness (just as Bible-believers claim about the universe). The existent produced by the theist's demonstration will have to be verified by science before the demonstration can be declared a success.

I personally will not offer any sum of money as a reward for this demonstration. Indeed, why should I? Validating one's own god-beliefs should be motivation enough for anyone who accepts this challenge. Besides, if one could create existence by an act of consciousness, one could simply wish whatever sum of money he desired into existence as his reward. So any offer of reward money I could make would be moot.

Then again, assuming this believer were a Christian, he would have to be prepared to part with any money wished into his hands, for Jesus commands his followers in Matthew 5:42 to "give to those who ask of thee." If a Christian could conjure a sum of cash out of thin air, it would be extremely likely that many would have their hands out. Christians would have to be prepared to part with any sum of money in their possession, or they will be deemed hypocrites.

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