This is for those who argue, not those who honestly question. You know which one you are:
Why is it that some athiests play the "prove there is a God" card, and then base their belief (or non belief on that)? To put it another way, how is "Prove God exists" an argument?
For one, there is plenty of proof out there. If you choose to reject it, that's fine. It's up to you what you decide to believe.
But consider this. If YOU choose to make the claim that God doesn't exist, then why don't YOU take responsibility and prove it to yourself. Because it's YOUR claim, the burden of proof is on YOU. Therefore why do I need to prove anything? It's not my claim, it's yours. Why should your belief depend on me? Who am I to have that kind of authority?
Is it not your decision? So how is it logical to argue or base a belief on what I can or can't prove. Why not prove your own ideas yourself?
2006-09-20 16:29:26 · 13 answers · asked by Consuming Fire 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Keep in mind, proof has been presented. There's evidence in the Bible, in history, and in countless people's lives. Plus there's all of creation and the fact that you exist. Also science is still questioning, but there is no scientific proof that God does not exist. So yes there is plenty of evidence to suggest God exists. But what about evidence to prove He doesn't? Where is it?
2006-09-20 16:46:17 · update #1
Big Drew,
He gave you feee will to decide for yourself. It's still your responsibility what you choose to believe, not His.
2006-09-20 16:55:39 · update #2
Chewie and I KNow Nothing,
You both have some interesting points. Thanks.
2006-09-20 16:59:45 · update #3
J.T.
You kind of illustrated my point.
2006-09-20 17:00:52 · update #4
Now that I think of it, do athiests have any other argument other than what this question describes?
2006-09-20 17:11:11 · update #5
That's exactly right. All creation is proof of God's existence. That's why they want to claim that evolution is the origin of life, because they want to deny that creation is evidence. You have to have a mind blinded by the evil one to not see this.
If you are predetermined to not listen to truth, then no one can provide you with acceptable proof. I disagree with people who say, "you can't preach the Bible to people" because the sower sows the word. It may fall on stony places, it may fall among thorns or get eaten by the birds, but some will (just statistically speaking) fall on good ground and bear fruit. Jesus said so Himself. However, there are also the stony places...that's what you are addressing here.
I also feel that it is important to note, that these people stubbornly refuse to entertain the notion that God exists because they refuse to live their lives responsibly before Him. So it really is a refusal to live in subjection to His unquestionable authority. That's what they have the biggest problem with. Someone that is happy to worship themselves and give themselves everything they desire without restriction, certainly doesn't want to worship Him instead, having to pay a price to do so. So it's better to them to pretend He doesn't exist and act like the inevitable is not really going to happen.
2006-09-20 16:33:38 · answer #1 · answered by chewie_says 2 · 2⤊ 3⤋
I only claim that the God of the Hebrew Bible is a myth, no less mythical than Zeus or Thor. I am as certain of that as I am of anything in life.
You're welcome to believe in God. But have you really read the Hebrew Bible?? That God is a petty, fickle, jealous, irrational God. Do you really think that the all-loving God of your imagination could have made the laws listed in Leviticus??
If you want to believe in a higher power, go right ahead, just please don't let your life be dictated by the myths created by fearful desert nomads 3-4 thousand years ago!
If you relax your definition of God enough (and exclude most the the Hebrew Bible!) then I have to admit I am agnostic. Yes, I can't prove that there is no God. That is a logical impossibility. But I don't waste any time thinking about the promise of heaven, and I certainly don't think about hell! I stopped thinking about the Santa Claus and the Boogie monster a long time ago.
If you can believe in God and not suffer from the rest of the baggage that comes with organized religion and irrational beliefs and the denial of scientific knowledge, then go right ahead! I know some Christians that are open minded to Science and seem to live very happy and lives. It just seems that they are now the exception rather than the rule.
2006-09-21 00:52:31 · answer #2 · answered by Jim L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If i were an Athiest and you tried to sell your religion to me,
(because lets face it Christianity costs money)
i would say Prove that God exists.
I do not have to prove that he does not. you have to prove that he does. and if all of your proof is summed up in 2 lines that are subject to debate then you have no proof.
1, the Holy Bible says that it is true.....
your religious text is not proof.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote the Necronomican as a religious text, and today over 100,000 people believe that it was written by the Mad Arab. it is a standing religion. but it is proven that the original book was a farce.
your only differance, is that your authors are died before they could be questioned, and you have many more people that follow your Book. the existence of a book taht was printed my a man does not prove that God exists. now if there were something special about the book that could not be explained by science. then you would have something...something like being made out of materials that we do not have on ths planet, or being scribed in paper thin sheets of ice that would never melt. or burning the hand off of a Pagan when they touch it..(i still have my hand by the way) then it would be proof.
2, all of Creation is proof that god exists.
NO, all of creation is proof that seeds under the right conditions will grow into plants, and that animals reproduce.
All of the great artifacts of the Christian religion, have conviently been lost ot taken to heaven. the Arc of the covenant, the stone tablets bearing the 10 commandments, the holy grail,
even the shroud of turin is under question. and none can prove that the spear of destiny is actually the spear that killed Jesus. if they could it would be proof of Jesus not of God.
You do not have to prove to me that God exixts, i know that he does, (i just do not like him much)
******************************************************
now let me flip the coin.
I am Pagan, Christianity says that all of my gods are false and do not exist. however i can show you ancient examples of things that early man accomplished that should have been impossible.
and many of them claim devine help aided in the creation of the structures.
you prove to me that my gods do not exist, and that yours does, and that he is worth worshiping. and you have a convert.
as this is impossible for you to do, you do not have a convert.
Rev. Chris J
2006-09-21 00:02:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The point is it should be easy to prove that something is there but it is not easy to prove that there is nothing anywhere. In fact, what am I saying...it is impossible to prove that anything is not somewhere. For example, if we were face to face, I could easily prove that I had a dollar in my pocket, I could show it to you, BUT you could not disprove that I had a million dollars, it could be in a bank anywhere or buried somewhere.
I find it hard to believe that you can prove that God exists. For you to just say, "There's plenty of proof out there." is no proof at all and it's just begging for me to ask you ....well what is your proof that God exists? Atheists are not asking for, and are not about to accept, anecdotal evidence like.... I know somebody who knows somebody who prayed for something...and guess what ...it happened!!!
The burden of proof is on you to show me evidence for your God just as much as the burden of proof is on the prosecutor to show that you WERE at the scene of the crime.
Looking all around you at the pretty mountains and the pretty blue sky etc. is NOT proof of an invisible guy in the sky. So I challenge you to type in your "Plenty of proof" and ask atheists to explain exactly what is wrong with your proof. I'm sure that they will be more than happy to oblige!
2006-09-21 00:00:50 · answer #4 · answered by eantaelor 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Non-existence cannot be and does not need to be proven. Non-existence is proven when those who claim something exists fail to prove it exists with credible evidence.
Atheists have to prove nothing other than theists cannot prove their claims. Which is easily done since theists cannot prove their claims.
Atheism is the only logical choice. And your question is illogical.
Evolution is totally irrelevant to the argument that God exists. If there was no theory of evolution, that would do nothing to advance or prove the claim God exists. Atheists existed long before evolution became a theory and atheism does not rely on evolution. It relies on the fact no one has ever proven God(s) exist.
Response:
You made no logical point to be proven.
Atheism literally means theists failed to prove their claims. If there were no theists making claims, there would be no atheists. Atheism is not a belief that needs to be proven, it is the affirmation that theists cannot prove what they claim.
2006-09-20 23:34:33 · answer #5 · answered by Left the building 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
There is no debate to be had unless you just like to argue. Religious systems, even athieism, are based on faith. (Or lack there of) Faith is something you have no matter what the evidence is for or against. If you agree with that then would you also agree, based on that statement, that all religions(faiths) have equal worth, or are equally worthless, depending on the faith invested? I'm not condemning any religion, in fact I admire people who are able to put that much faith in something as intangible(in my opinion) as a religion. Personally, I need something I can grasp. Don't say "What about the Bible?" It would be different if the Bible wasn't put together by man. If it said "The Bible, by God" it may be a different story.
2006-09-21 00:28:57 · answer #6 · answered by Jim T 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please forgive me for answering this, but I like to think I honestly question. I am an agnostic.
It is my position that it is ridiculous of anyone to demand that someone else prove the existence or non-existence of God. It is fundamentally impossible to prove either of these things to another person. If God does exist, I believe that one could prove it to oneself through the act of faith. However, if God does NOT exist, it is completely impossible to ever be certain of this fact, regardless of how much faith you have in it.
If one accepts that God does exist and expects that people take said existence on faith, then you must also accept that God would take great pains to not make this obvious (not litter the Earth with obvious proof). If the existence of God were proven, then faith would be impossible because the two, by definition, cannot co-exist.
2006-09-20 23:35:46 · answer #7 · answered by I Know Nuttin 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I rarely play such an argument. But the thing against religion is it is unprovable. I could say, hey, the Invisible Pink Unicorn exists, you just choose to reject all the evidence around you. You can't prove it doesn't exist. Can I base a faith off of it?
2006-09-20 23:35:24 · answer #8 · answered by valkyrie hero 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
U are free to believe in what u think is OK. However please don't confuse belief with truth. Some believe in god some believe in Allah. Nobody dies if he she does not believe in god or allah or Buddha. BELIEF is only in ones mind.
However truth or fact is different. EVERYBODY needs OXYGEN - TRUTH.
Everybody dies without oxygen. Truth therefore is common to all.
An atheist is one who is convinced according to his thinking that there is no god. In case god wants to prove otherwise he can create a human in front of an atheist and it's done.
May u have peace.!!!!
2006-09-21 00:07:07 · answer #9 · answered by dam_amasing 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you claim that something exists but you can't prove it, or show it, then the burden of proving is on YOU, not on the person who says they cannot accept your claim because there is no proof. It is obvious that there is no god because there is no such entity that you can prove or show. Show me the god. You cannot. Therefore, there is none. The nothingness of nothing is plain. The absence of god means 'there is no god.'
2006-09-20 23:41:21 · answer #10 · answered by Bronweyn 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋