I think we’ve made some progress on the “antitheism” front. I’ll put it like this.
(1) I am glad x exists (where “I” is any human being able to grasp (1) and x is the best human being “I” has ever known or known of).
(2) If God exists then God is infinitely better than x .
(3) If I am glad that x exists then I ought to be glad if any agent infinitely better than x exists.
(4) Therefore I ought to be glad if God exists.
This argument demonstrates that any reasonable person must be glad if God exists.
So what do we do with all the acrimony that remains?
First the problem: There is a long set of predications that are made of God (the “thick descriptions” that are found in a formalized religious system like Christianity) which seem prima facie incompatible with (2). They are of the “Well I wouldn’t allow that so why would God?” type. What do we do with those predications?
The religious adherent who seeks to maintain that thick description of the most perfect being has one of two possible solutions. Either concede that that particular predication is false or offer a defense of how the predication is compatible with (2). (Of course there is a third possibility: refuse to offer any resolution. Technically speaking, there is a fourth possibility as well. Claim that God is not perfect after all. However, the fourth “possibility” is impossible for anyone who takes the Anselmic definition seriously. The third possibilty is a back-up option like a safety net, but it isn’t one of which you automatically avail yourself. First you do your best to span the tight-rope and see how far you get by considering which predications should be rejected or revised and which can be defended with an apologetic.)
Regardless, the defense of the thick description is a secondary issue which falls on the shoulders of every adherent to a thick description. The primary issue, for this post at least, is that antitheism cannot even get a toehold in rational discourse because every rational and minimally moral person who understands what “God” means should be glad if God exists.
