Do you feel that the burden of proof is on the claimant?

Question

Everytime I ask a believer for evidence of their god(s) they give me two things, faith and the bible/koran/etc. None of which is proof of anything except their belief.

Atheists do not claim that we do not believe in god.
We claim that there is no god to believe in.

What's our proof, you ask? How do you disprove something that hasn't even been proven yet?

Belief/faith does not equal fact.

I care because of the christian need to force their "morals" into our laws

How do you disprove the unprovable.

Answer 1

In matters of the intellect, the burden of proof is certainly on the person who formulates a hypothesis of existence.

And yes, it is an (logically) absurd proposition to ask someone to prove something doesn't exist. You can try that with anything you want, Easter bunnies, the sister you don't have, etc. There is no way to "prove" they don't exist. (Of course if you wish to entertain someone who poses this, just ask them to prove that 23,678 different gods don't exist.)

What the skeptic says to the question: Do you believe in God?
"No. I have never been offered, nor have I ever encountered, any evidence for the existence of a god or gods."

Answer 2

Christian "morals" have everything to do with law, or rather judeo-christian morals do. The laws the world is based on tghese days is based in old testament laws, from the commandments, which basically state, behave in a civilized manner, and you will get along just fine.
But, yes, the burden of proof of the (non)existance of god is on the claimant, when trying to dispute the opposite.

Answer 3

It is ALWAYS upon the claimant to prove what they say.
For example, if I were to say that I had a magic orange squirrel in my yard, would you believe it? No, of course not. Only the profoundly stupid would.
You'd ask for proof wouldn't you? You'd want to see this squirrel wouldn't you?
Same goes for god or any other magic sky-pixie. Show me some proof and i'll believe too. So far, not a single shred of credible evidence has ever been brought forth. Ever.

Answer 4

Your question, not your rant is answered here:


BURDEN OF PROOF - The obligation of a party to prove his allegations during a trial. Typically, the plaintiff must prove whatever allegations he included in his complaint in order to win his case. The defendant is given the opportunity to submit evidence to rebut the plaintiff's case. To rebut generally means to contest a statement or evidence presented by another.

The duty of a party in a lawsuit to persuade the judge or the jury that enough facts exist to prove the allegations of the case. Different levels of proof are required depending on the type of case.

This phrase is employed to signify the duty of proving the facts in dispute on an issue raised between the parties in a cause.

The burden of proof always lies on the party who takes the affirmative in pleading.

In criminal cases, as every man is presumed to be innocent until the contrary is proved, the burden of proof rests on the prosecutor, unless a different provision is expressly made by statute.

Answer 5

I do feel the burden of proof is on the claimant, I also say that hearsay is not acceptable evidence and cannot be considered proof of anything.
As the Bible is merely hearsay accounts written by anonymous persons (attributed to saints for extra oomph) writers who were not themselves eyewitnesses...it can hardly be proof of anything.

Answer 6

Depends.
If I go to you and assert that there is, indeed, a God, you have every right to ask me for my proof.
But if you come to me and assert that "there is no God to believe in", then, I would say, the burden of proof is on you.
I can admit that my belief is based on my faith that God is.
Can you admit that your belief is based on your faith that there is no God to believe in?

(I'm sorry, but your assertion that there is no proof for God is not enough, not unless you can produce proof that there is, indeed, no God.)

Answer 7

Poor Bob

I'm sorry to hear that you are an atheists.........if you are still looking for proof that GOD exist, you must be really young.
The reason I say this........it's proof of GOD's existence EVERY TIME you wake up, EVERY TIME you avoid an (possible fatal) accident. EVERY TIME you get paid from your job or EVERY TIME or EVERY TIME the sun shines or wind blows.......should I go on?
People (such as yourself) don't believe in what you don't see and you think that good things happen because of luck.

Wise up my friend, and realize that GOD IS REAL AND THERE'S PLENTY OF PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE

Answer 8

You cannot prove a negative. So the best way to prove that there is no god(s) is to attempt to prove that there are.

And I agree with you. Faith does not equal fact. A spiritual experience, no matter how intense, is subjective. It may convince the person it happens to utterly, but it can't convince anyone else.

Answer 9

The burden of rests with the person who has an interest in convincing the other.

Answer 10

to believe in God it requires faith. This way NO one is forced to believe in him if it was plainly obvious. God gaves us free will and wants us to voluntarily want to know God before we can "see" him.