Burden of proof?

Question

Who should the burden of proof really be on?

The christians, proving something that cannot be seen, touched, smelt, tasted, or heard?

or atheists, proving that which already shows no signs of existing, doesn't exist?

Answer 1

You are the one who says that there is no evidence of Gods Existence. Others find plenty. Its interesting that nowhere in the Bible does God EVER offer proof, or argue for His existence. He just says, "The fool has said in his heart there is no God". Apparently, He assumes that no one should be foolish enough to deny that He IS THERE. It speaks volumes, that God actually gives you more credit for having brains, (as He should, since He gave you all of your reasoning power) than you give yourself. Think about it.....theBerean

Answer 2

Scientifically, the burden falls upon those who claim God's existence.

(I know this is old but still)
eg: If I were to claim that a purple unicorn lived on the opposite side of the Sun to us and orbited at the same rate as us and could therefore never be seen by us, who would the burden of proof fall on? Me, who is making such bizarre claims? Or you, who has zero ability to disprove me based on the way I made my claim (eg. if I said it cannot be seen through a camera it becomes impossible to disprove without directly observing)?

And btw, you CAN prove a negative in many circumstances. You simply cannot prove a negative in this situation as statements have already been made to prevent this -

"God does not exist within this plane of existence" - this automatically prevents anyone from disproving his existence as there is no credible way to see other "planes of existence" as it is not even known if they exist and technology is incapable of this.

Am I making sense or just confusing people?

Answer 3

The religious must prove their god exists because its THEM making that claim. Just as those who advocate Evolution have the burden of proof for evolution. There's alot more proof for evolution than there is for religion. The religious just choose to ignore the proof or say that there is none because they don't understand the science.

Ignorance is no excuse when the only person you have to blame for your ignorance is yourself. And no person should EVER graduate high school thinking that evolution says we came from monkeys.

Answer 4

It really should rest on neither party. Personally, I don't see proof of God's existence to be as important as we make it out to be. Rather, I think the effort to prove or disprove God is a manifestation of our own pride and arrogance....of our desire to be right.

We as Christians err when we seek to prove God's existence to the non-believer. God does not ask that of us. Instead, He asks only that we go into all the world and preach the gospel of salvation....God will take care of the rest. The bible says that there will be many who will regard the word of God as foolishness. Low and behold, there are. Our job is not to argue with them. Our job is to place our faith and trust in God, follow His commandments, and preach His word. Anything beyond that is human pride.

Similarly, I think atheists err when they try to disprove God to Christians. When someone has truly had a personal experience with God, you will not dissuade them with any amount of evidence or argument because it is something they know in their heart to be true. Much the same as my trying to convince someone that they do not love their mother or father. They cannot prove to me that they do, in fact, love them, and I will never prove to them that they don't because it is something they know without question.

Furthermore, the atheists err in that it is impossible to conclusively prove that something does not exist unless you first know all things. Based on what we know today, we would be inclined to say that a flying pig does not exist. However, that assertion is based only on our current understanding of the world around us....we cannot conclusively say that flying pigs do not exists because we do not know everything there is to know about this world.

It seems to me that the world would be better off if both camps would put pride on the sideline and let each other live in peace.

Answer 5

The burden of proof lies with the person who insists something DOES exist.

One cannot prove something doesn't exist. It doesn't exist because it doesn't, that's plain and simple.

I know this because no one else can prove there isn't an invisible purple pixie dancing on my computer monitor.

Answer 6

Make the burden of proof upon yourselves, atheists and theists alike. If you cannot prove your case to yourself, how then do you expect to prove it against any opposing beliefs? I believe God exists and I am comfortable in stating that with reasonable certainty that it can be proven that he exists. Regardless if questioned by an atheist, as a theist, to gain a deeper understanding in my God, I would seek a philosophic proof to his existence.

-Kerplunk!

Answer 7

You cannot see air..does that mean it is not there?

You cannot see where the wind comes from or where it goes but you can see what happens when the winds blows..you see the results.

You tell me... who has the burden of proof if the Bible you could be reading isnt in your hands being searched for the answers which you seek?

Thats like wanting to know whats showing on TV without turning it on...

Answer 8

Come on, the only place God exist is in this place called a bible. Religion only wins through indoctrination of the masses. It is hard to shake a belief that was hammered into your head before you even knew about gravity or stars or planets.

Answer 9

Burden of proof? Why? Why bother? Why do we have to prove anything? What says that we have to prove anything? You wanna believe then go ahead believe. You don't wanna believe, then don't believe. Nobody owes anyone any proof.

Answer 10

Burden of proof is a requirement of the accuser.

The accused is considered innocent until proven guilty.