Can Belief in God Be Properly Basic? | Michael Tooley

*Why should belief in God require less evidence than belief in anything else?* Michael Tooley challenges arguments from necessary existence and properly basic belief while asking why, if God exists, God's existence could not simply be made unmistakably evident. 0:00 Tooley and Plantinga Debate Knowledge of God 3:10 The Ontological Argument and Its Contradiction 7:41 Evil Becomes Evidence Against God 9:47 Proper Function, Basic Belief, and Religious Disagreement 15:48 Tooley's Empiricist Alternative 19:52 God Could Make His Existence Evident 23:33 Tooley and Plantinga Question Divine Simplicity *Michael Tooley* is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder. He received a Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Research Award in 1998 for his book _Time, Tense, and Causation,_ and is the author of the new book _Causation: A Defense of a Non-Reductionist Approach_ (Oxford, 2026). *More from Michael Tooley on Closer To Truth:* * Closer To Truth: The Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pLLkP0kHQKL9nZh35UkgkR_ * The Case for Atheism - Closer To Truth - Core Topic: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pJCNqQicnlwQvQtuKpYkLMj * What Things Really Exist? - CTT Interview Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pL23EJxiJggorKB66CHSAU- * Closer To Truth contributors: https://closertotruth.com/contributor/michael-tooley/ *Subscribe to Closer To Truth:* https://www.youtube.com/@CloserToTruthTV *Join the Community:* * Membership (5,000+ videos): https://closertotruth.com/register/ * Audio Podcast: https://closertotruth.podbean.com * Support the Show: https://closertotruth.com/donate/ * Official Merchandise: https://www.bonfire.com/store/closertotruth/ *Follow Us:* * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CloserToTruthTV/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/closertotruth/ * X: https://twitter.com/CloserToTruth Closer To Truth, created and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, presents the wo