Evidence of God Isn't Necessary to Live a Good Life | Bill Nye / Big Think

Emeera: Hi Bill Nye. My name is "E". I’m 16 years old and this is my question. Is the mainstream concept or definition of God self-defeating? And if it isn’t, is it possible for a god to exist within space and time without disregarding the loss of nature?

Bill Nye: Emeera. If I understood your question, is the idea of God self-defeating? I don’t think so. A lot of people around the world believe in God, and they seem to conduct affairs pretty okay. Can a God exist in space-time? Well, according to all my friends who are deeply religious, yes. And that would be – the trouble with it is, if I understand your question, it’s hard to provide evidence for that.

It’s hard to provide evidence for a God that you can’t see or detect and then to draw conclusions about what that God, he or she, did based on phenomena that people (on my side of it) can explain without this supernatural influence. That’s where I think your question arises. You’re asking a deep philosophical question. I don’t know the answer. Is there a God or not that exists in space-time?

But I always ask myself and others is what would you do differently? How would it change the way you would live your life if you knew that there was no God, or if you knew that there was—what would you do differently? Would you start committing crimes? Would you stop committing crimes? Would you quit your regular job and help people everywhere as hard as you could, living a very modest life?

Or would you try to accumulate as much wealth as possible without regard to others? Like, what would you do differently if you knew the answer to your question? As for me, I wouldn’t do anything differently. I just try to lead a good life, be responsible for my own actions, and leave the world better than I found it. Those are my goals. You can decide whether or not I’ve been successful. Great question Emeera. That’s cool.