Atheists, what would it take for you to believe in God?

Question

For those who think they need to talk to God in order to believe in Him - Are you really telling me that you would believe the voice you heard was God? Most times when someone says they hear voices, they are considered to be insane.

For those requiring physical proof - Do you think the God of the universe would be some kind of trained monkey that needs to perform tricks for us in order to prove His existence?

Atheist - "God, show me you are real. Make that mountain disappear.”

(mountain disappears)

Atheist - "Wow. That might have been some kind of strange natural phenomena though, like a tear in the fabric of space-time. God make a chest of gold appear at my feet.”

Do you really think that God would be some kind of genie in a bottle?

For those who would want some kind of repeatable, scientific test that could show God's existence - Is it logical to think that a God of the universe, who created the laws of the universe, would not be above the laws of the physical universe?

If He is able to perform miracles, then he would need to act contrary to the physical laws of the universe.

If God was bound by laws in such a way that we could perform tests on him, he would be no kind of god.

Will any Atheists will admit that they don't believe in God because they don't want to?

So far, most answers do not have a specific example of what kind of proof is required.

Answer 1

In reality, I doubt that anything could make people who don't believe in God believe in God, no matter what occurs. Now, that statement might be wrong of course, maybe if the second coming occurred EXACTLY according to scripture, then atheists might actually take God seriously, but I doubt that will happen.

Answer 2

"Atheist - "God, show me you are real. Make that mountain disappear.”

(mountain disappears)"

Atheist looks about ans says that would be a lovely scenerio if IT HAD ACTUALLY HAPPENED!

I don't ask for god to do trick or be a trained monkey, what I ask for is that if he exists that he should be consistent i.e. if he says that the sun stopped moving, I expect that at least one other culture would have noticed that and recorded it. I expect that the civilizations around at the time of his son's birth would have noticed the star and would have recorded it, even if they didn't understand it, espcially since some wisemen supposedly saw it and travelled a great distance. I would expect that an extended period of darkness would have been recorded by any and all historians writing at that time as well as something to indicate that the temple curtain was replaced before it was redorded as been destroyed in 70 CE.

Off of the "infallible word of god" and onto to other reasonable expected proofs. I'd expect that man would not be so poorly designed nor still have the recessive gene(s) for a tail - seriously, we are created in his image, but he didn't put the same effort into us as he did into designing the physics of the universe? I'd expect that all people would "instictively" know about their creator so they wouldn't have to guess about right and wrong, they still could choose, but there would be no gray areas or questions. I'd expect that animals would be monogamous instead of most species not being monogamous. I'd also expect a clear line between man and animal instead of the blur that exists.

This could go on and on. It all adds up to the more you know about our universe and world the more likely it is that either god does not exist or that he is lying.

Answer 3

Perhaps they * shouldn't *. If God truly gave everyone free will, then atheists, for whatever reason, have decided not to believe. As someone above already said, "arguing" for God's existence is relatively moot. In the end, someone will believe because the Holy Spirit finally convicted them of the truth. If one does not believe in the Holy Spirit, I don't see that happening. If an atheist decides their current life doesn't feel "right", they will seek something else. Do Christians have a "better" life because of God? Look at Paul, he was beaten, whipped and run out of town for his beliefs. Christians may say Christianity brings them comfort. An atheist would retort that they need no such crutch. Christians may say they sin less. Ha! Neither has a lock on morality. You mentioned that we cannot use "the afterlife" as a support for why Christianity is better. If such a limitation is placed on the response, then we have to stick with experiences on this earth. In that case, if we limit our response to life on earth, we may find that the atheist would * always * think their life is better as an unbeliever. It isn't until you become a believe that your perspective changes to include the afterlife. --- added ---- I noticed you said both "in the long run" and "disregarding the afterlife". To a Christian, the two are inseparable.

Answer 4

"Do you think the God of the universe would be some kind of trained monkey that needs to perform tricks for us in order to prove His existence?"

Um, wow, you aren't right in the head are you? By the way, if this then occurred, "Atheist - "God, show me you are real. Make that mountain disappear.”

(mountain disappears)"
Would probably make a believer out of me, having seen a mountain disappear with my own two eyes. There is always the possibility that if I have seen that I have gone crazy, but I suppose that wouldn't matter anyway, because I probably wouldn't notice.

I don't think that "god" would be a trained monkey or some kind of genie in a bottle, but I also don't think he would be an anti-social trickster, who is fond of genocide, rape, murder, torture and slavery.

"Will any Atheists will admit that they don't believe in God because they don't want to?"
I don't believe because I have no more reason to believe in God than I have to believe in Zeus, Apollo, or Santa.
Proof, real undeniable proof, it would take for me to believe.

Answer 5

I don't believe in god because I also don't believe in any other supernatural invisible beings. To me it's not logical. Of course, I would believe if there were proof, but there's never been proof. So I have absolutely no reason to believe. You've been taught the "trained monkey" reply your whole life. Do you really think that shows reason or intellect? Your God is supposed to be all powerful...and he can't do one thing to help people believe? Then why should I bother? What voice are you talking about? The only inhuman voice I've ever "heard" is my conscience telling me that belief in an invisible, omnipotent yet non-participating, judgmental, demanding god is absolutely non-rational, unreasonable and ridiculous.

atheist

Answer 6

Actually, it would be nice to believe in eternal paradise, and believe that some all powerful being was doing things for me. So, your idea that I'm an atheist because I don't want to believe in God is false.

So what evidence would convince me?

It's hard to say. There is no absolute idea on what God is, so that would certainly be a stumbling block to be overcome. For instance, if there is a God, but one that can't do miracles, then asking for miracles as proof isn't going to achieve anything.

For the sake of argument, let's assume I'm seeking proof for a christian God.

An irrefutable miracle would certainly help. I'm not asking him to be a performing monkey, just a little demonstration. Surely if he really wanted me to believe in him, that's not beyond him. A mountain disappearing in front of my very eyes would certainly get my attention.

Answer 7

I used to believe in god and religion. Then, I flatlined at the hospital. There's nothing, just nothing. Like deep sleep. The notion of god and religion has been a work of fiction. Created for those that need some re-assurance of after death, to create self-discipline. To help ease the fear of death. Churches profit from creating this belief and serve a social agenda. Believe me, when you fall out, and die you will realize. Until then, you will grasp ahold of whatever you can that will explain the unknown.

Answer 8

If there is a God, where is he now in these times of need? People are suffering from poverty, illness, and war, yet he refuses to lend a hand. You've prayed for help. And where is he?

That's because God is non-existent. The Bible is just a sci-fi/fantasy epic novel or a fairytale book of some sort.

The only way for an agnostic like me to believe in this God is if he shows himself (and by that, I mean his PHYSICAL self), and does something to end capitalism, environmetal pollution, and all these problems we have IN JUST A BLINK OF AN EYE. He is all-powerful after all, isn't he?

Answer 9

It's funny that you are claiming atheists think God should be a monkey in a genie bottle when we aren't the ones that get down on our knees and pray for God to cure mom's herpes.

We need evidence. Not disappearing mountains. Go find some.

Answer 10

If god was even remotely plausible, I would believe in him.

He is not, however. And anyone who says otherwise, I'm sorry, is a bit uneducated on some rather key elements.

Edit to your edit- What would it take for me to believe in god? If ANY book that has ever been written, that described said god, was not proven to be false, then it would be plausible. However, every single holy book that has ever been written has been proven false.

If you want to believe in some kind of higher power, with no description, no personality, no mind of its own to speak of, fine. But that is not a "god". That is simply "nature". The "god" that you're talking about is something else entirely. And that is why I do not believe in such a thing.

I can't be much clearer than that.