Everyone here would agree that exraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Right?

Question

I mean that if I were to say that I can balance a chair on my nose, someone would say "prove it" and if I wasn't able to do so, they would know I was lying.
Similarly, if I were to say that I believed that the universe was created by a giant mutant star-goat and that I knew he was real, I'd have to prove it wouldn't I?

So, why do people simply shrug and say "you have to have faith" instead of actually providing proof when they say "god is real".
That's a fairly direct statment. They say that this imaginary sky-pixie called god, is real. Real is defined thusly in the dictionary; "being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary."
So someone MUST have objective evidence to support the existence of this god right? But if they do, why hasn't ANYONE been able to provide such proof? Ever.
The fact is; god is imaginary. Extraordinary claims that god is real MUST be followed by extraordinary evidence or proof.
And there isn't any. Why? Because he's imaginary that's why.

And if any of you DO have such proof (it had better be credible) then why not post it?
Better yet, why hasn't ANYONE been able to give us a single, solitary shred of credible evidence to support the existence of god?
(and by the way, outdated books of bronze-age jewish mythology do NOT count as credible evidence. Just so you know.)

Starynight,
Wow, you really convinced me there. Now that I think of it, reality and science have nothing on a bronze-aged set of jewish myths and legends!
WOW I'm SO converted!
/sarcasm off/

Justintime,
Translation? "there is no proof and I can't provide you with any. So I'll just toss out a red herring and hope you don't notice".
Busted, pal.

Answer 1

Absolutely.... we call those who make claims they cannot prove *liars* Why should any religious claim not be held to a standard of evidence?

Although, to date, my favorite bit of nonsense has been the banana bit... lol

Answer 2

I get the feeling (this is just a hunch) but I think you don't believe that there is a God. I respect your opinion but I don't agree with it. I'll just get this out of the way and say that I am a christian but I'm not gonna try to prove you wrong. Instead I'll just give you some possible scenarios for your consideration. First off, lets say, hypothetically speaking, that there is a God and that He really is the creator of...well everything. Obviously if there was any proof of his existence, it wouldn't be all that simple. But how can you expect a mortal to find proof if that was not God's intention for he/she to find it? That being said, the reality is that it is I'mpossible to prove His existence with out any disbelief. Any proof, and it would ruin the purpose of life. Everyone in the world would devote their lives to God and since His divine plan is ruined, it will surely bring on the apocalypse. From my stand point that would actually be a good thing cause since everyone believed in God, their souls would be saved. But I imagine from an atheistic point of view, this case wouldn't be so nice. So respectfully im warning you that if you keep asking for proof...you might just end up getting it! If that ever does happen I pray that you'll believe cause if you don't...well...lets just say proving that God exists, proves that OTHER places do exist. Ciao!

Answer 3

I understand your logic. I agree with what you say.

I also must inform you that I am not Christian and my concept of The Divine is nothing I can prove. It's what I feel. I don't stand and shrug and tell anyone that I have faith. I don't use that word when describing what I believe spiritually.

My idea of god is The Divine or The All or The Collective Consciousness. I believe that all living things have energy and energy is connected to itself. The Divine is that energy.
*snicker* Sort of like The Force.

Can I prove it? I don't know. Do I care to? No. Would I claim to have blind faith? Nope. I've worked it out - thought it through - discussed it with friends and family - some who are spiritual and some who are borderline agnostic.

If my beliefs are based on imagination - then so be it. It's my reality and that's all that really counts.

Answer 4

Of course there is no extraordinary proof. I think the complexity of life proves evolution. For others it proves a creator. It's kind of silly when they say well look at a car. some one had to have created it. That proves a creator for life. Emmm. No it doesn't. Life is very different from a car. I think life is much more tenacious then we give it credit. It is every where on earth. It survives in places that we couldn't. Why would god do that? Did he just go make life crazy one day and thought of billions of different life forms? Naw.. I don't think so, Evolution answers that. Not godidit.

Answer 5

I'm not a religionist, as the merest glance at my scribblings will confirm, but .... and this is a big butt, there is something that I feel drawn to suggest.

This section of Y ! A is the Religion and Spirituality section, it is not the Biology section or the Stamp Collecting Section, or the Train Spotting section. Thus the burden of 'proof' holds no sway here, this is an area of conjecture, intuition, feeling and yes, even the dreaded 'faith'.

It is inherent in human belief systems that ultimately it is what we all, individually, believe to be the 'truth' that matters, not that anyone can 'prove' it. I can only offer my perceived 'Truth' on various aspects of the human experience to others, who are free to find them interesting, helpful, or relevent, as they may deem appropriate.

Those experiences that I have had in this realm are not, in any case 'provable', nor do they need to be, as eventually we must all find our own truths to live by.

You seem to be enamoured of 'facts', well let me assure you that in this relative 'Universe' there are no immutable 'facts', only transient truth that lasts only until it is surpassed by the next 'discoveries' of our 'science'.

'God', should such a concept have any collective 'reality' at all, is not going to be a thing that, unfortunately for both the religious establishment, and the 'atheist' hordes ( just kidding ), will ever be an objective 'fact', enforceable on us all.

That wouldn't be the point at all.

In 'science' extraordinary claims should meet the extraordinary evidence test, in matters of the spirit, for the 'time' being, and until matter catches up with energy again, it will have to be content with 'I believe'. ;-)

By the way, you seem to be locked into some kind of misapprehension with regard to 'Judeo-Christian' 'history', a mistake you have in common witrh most 'Christians' too, you wrote :

"(and by the way, outdated books of bronze-age jewish mythology do NOT count as credible evidence. Just so you know.)"

There are no 'Bronze Age' Jews. The proto-Hebrews ( Habiru ) at the estimated time of Exodus ( around 1400 bc +/- ) were a hotch-potch collection of semitics being thrown out of Egypt after about 200 years of Hyksos ( Desert Princes ) rule. The Bronze Age in what is now called the Middle east lasted from approximately 3,000 bc to 1,000 bc, when the Iron Age took over. At this time King David had only just settled Jerubus as his capital, and the 'House of Judah' didn't strictly exist, even at that time. Solomon built his Temple in about 980 bc, and it wasn't really until the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, over 400 years later that the Israelites started to become known as the 'Jews', that is after they were led into the 'Captivity', which was where and when they started to write their 'histories', much of which they filched from the creation myths of other nations, Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian and so on. It should also be remembered for strictest accuracy that, according to these 'histories' Abram, later Abraham, came from Ur of the Chaldees, i.e. he was alleged to have been Sumerian in origin.

Thus all of the 'semitic' races could claim to be of Sumerian origin.

And even those aren't strictly speaking 'facts', just the best assessment given the materials we have to work with at this time. =+0

Answer 6

There is no proof and never will be.

They will always have no choice but to play the faith card. The ludicrous answer about emotions is another example of how truly ignorant believers have to be.

Emotions are chemical responses to brain stimulation, I believe that is high school biology. Your average 16 knows that. Unless of course that 16 year old has been indoctrinated into a religion.

Answer 7

There is none, and I think most of them realize this. That's why they bend over backwards to assert that blind faith is the highest of virtues.

Nevermind the fact that, when all you have is faith, you might as well believe anything anyone tells you. You know, as long as it allows you to not be afraid of dying, and pass judgement on those who don't live their lives like your old book says they should.

Answer 8

First of all, the Bible is not mythical. All of the events that happened can be found in history at some time.

Second of all, if you do not believe in God in Heaven with Jesus as his son, what do you believe in? Other idolistic gods cannot be proven in, either.

Lastly, I would just love to see the extraordinary proof you have for evolution, the big bang, and for that fact global warming.

You and your kind have faith in evolution being correct when you know the very man who came up with it, Charles Darwin, prayed on his deathbed to God in Heaven because he knew that everything he had said about evolution was false.

Your proof is as good or bad as mine. It is simply the lengths of stupidity you are willing to go to set your belief in the human's amazing body coming from a single cell that happened to blow up and create the earth we are living on and the air we breathe.

Answer 9

I don't have proof of God, but I can soundly refute evolution with 1 axiom. This in turn supports Creation which supports (but doesn't prove) the existence of God by restating the question "how did we come to be?". As a devout Christian I know that any question that hasn't yet been answered is in fact answered by God. This may sound like an obviously false paradox, but it's really not. I know this for a fact. Just don't argue with me.

Now pull up a chair son...

-Evolution cannot possibly be true. If Christians evolved from monkeys, why are monkeys more intelligent than Christians?

Eh? Who's the smart guy now?

Answer 10

style of. yet, there's no info that god exists; any so-called 'info' of god might nicely be attributed to nature or something, or defined with a scientific theory (or an undeveloped scientific theory) in lots an analogous way that many scientific questions (how did the universe start up, etc.) might nicely be defined via announcing "god did it". i'm christian, and superb claims the two require superb info, or superb perception, that's what i think of. take care

Answer 11

To the believer, no "proof" is necessary, to the non-believer, no proof is sufficient.
If you see tiger tracks in the dirt, but don't see the tiger, does the tiger exist? You have evidence, but no proof.
Your logic is flawed in saying "we have no proof, therefore he's imaginary". Proof and evidence are not the same thing. We have evidence, and we have a hypothesis.