Can we suspend judgment on belief in God?

John Loftus sent the following note to me.

Richard Feldman makes the argument that if two "epistemic peers" with "shared evidence" disagree on an issue, then what both people should do is "suspend judgement." Yes. Again, we have no trouble affirming gravity for we all agree about it (no one wants to bet against it, levitators aside for the minute), we were all taught to believe it, and we can test it for ourselves. Therefore we can be assurd that there is gravity.


My response to this is Jamesean. We either have to act as if God existed or act as if he did not. We have to decide whether to attend church on Sunday, whether to think of our fellows as headed for an immortal life or headed for extinction, etc. We must decide not only what can we know, but what must we do and what can we hope.

Let's ask this question. Could you suspend judgment on the question of whether your wife is unfaithful? You have a choice to make. You have to act as if she is or act as if she is not. Suspense of judgment may be a legitimate option temporarily, but sooner or later you've got to make up your mind.

And you have made up yours on both the God question and the question of your wife's fidelity. You are not suspending judgment, are you? So why ask me to suspend judgment?