In response to:
For God to "allow" Sandy Hook to happen, there would have to be an active, involved god. While there obviously is some generative force that begat the universe we live in, I've seen no evidence of any supernatural force watching over us or caring what we do or do not do, or whether we're happy or miserable.
We're here, at least for a while. For our lives and our societies to function well, we need to figure out for ourselves what best works for that to happen. The only "natural laws" are those of physics, chemistry, etc. The laws that regulate human interaction are all man-made and subject to change. We need to work very hard to test the efficacy and relative fairness of all such regulation.
As a Christian, it can be difficult to reconcile all the evil that happens in the world with an all knowing, all powerful loving God who could stop it if He wants, but chooses not to do so. If our hearts break for the innocent children who were senselessly murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, how can a God who loves us not feel the same way? If any of us had known what Adam Lanza was going to do, we would have done anything in our power to stop him, so why didn't God? All too often we tend to quote...
Typical early 21st century American thinking. No suffering or misfortune happens in life to us. We are to be spared the indignities and realities of life because, yes, we are special. Unlike the billions of persons who have lived and died before us.
No misfortune must be allowed to sully our otherwise tranquil existences.
I know. I know. You can lead an atheist to reason but you can't make them think.
Answer this: is it evidence for God or no God? There are no other alternative explanations. You must choose one or the other.
I don't know where everything came from any more than you do. I'm not an atheist (which should be evident from my original post). I'm agnostic, meaning I can't answer such questions, don't expect to be able to, don't expect anyone else to do it for me, and that the fact that I do not know does not particularly concern me.
Though I remain infinitely curious, I am not willing to accept made-up answers. My personal hope (as opposed to belief) regarding heaven is that it's the place where after we die we get all those answers that are not available to us in this life.
Evidence for What, exactly, am I refusing?
"Cleo,
I don't know where everything came from any more than you do."
How do you know I don't?
Are you saying you know for sure where everything came from? If so, how? Are you in possession of knowledge no one else I've ever met has? If that's what you are saying, how did you come by this amazing knowledge?