It may sound like a silly question, but doesn't a proof of God's existence require that God actually exist?

Question

Put another way... How can you prove that God exists if He doesn't?

Answer 1

In my experience, those who want God to exist will accept any proof given and those who do not want God to exist will not accept any proof.

When you deal with God you deal with faith. You either have it or you don't.

Answer 2

How do scientists prove that dark matter exists? Because of the influence it exerts on other objects. God is proved in a similar way IMO.

Answer 3

Or put it this way:
How can you prove that He doesn't exist if He does.
Your logic is flawed and futile because you are missing a key element in your search to proof, or dis-prove.
God is a Spirit, according to the Bible. And since we are not, faith is required.

Hebrews 11:6
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Answer 4

Actually, your question is far more profound than most readers give you credit for. If God actually doesn't exist and someone manages to prove that He does, it proves that the whole concept of truth is inherently flawed. I'm not too concerned about this possibility because history clearly demonstrates the actual truth will eventually become obvious.

What troubles me far more is that those who assert God exists seem unconcerned with substantiating their claim. Since it is always impossible to prove a negative assertion (God does not exist.), it is the responsibility of those who do believe to provide evidence to support their own assertion (God exists.). Since the required evidence is obviously not forthcoming, only two possibilities remain:
1.) It is highly likely that God actually does not exist.
2.) God exists, but some circumstance prevents believers from substantiating their own assertion.

Actually, it turns out the second possibility is true. God does exist, in the subjective experience of those who believe in Him. If an object can be said to exist, it must be present within the framework of that which is accepted as real. This is the ultimate source of the confusion. Humanity has re-defined what constitutes reality.

Two ancient Greek philosophers laid the foundations for Western Civilization, including Christianity. Plato's Idealism and Aristotle's Solipsism dominated how people understood the world around them for nearly twenty-five-hundred years. It was universally accepted that human perception was the basis of all reality. It was also widely believed that thinking required telepathic communication with the gods (or God). Jesus Christ, all His followers, the founders of the early Church, the men who wrote the books of the Bible, and prominent theologians such as St. Augustine and St.Thomas Aquinas were all adherents of Idealism and Solipsism. Everything about Christianity was developed by and for people who thought of the world from Plato's and Aristotle's perspectives.

The physics of Galileo and Newton proved that the physical realm, and NOT human perception, was the actual basis of reality. The invention of the vacuum tube led to the Electroencephalograph (EEG) which proved that all thoughts, emotions, memories, and perceptions arise from the self-contained neurological structures of a living brain. Modern educated humans view the world around them from a completely different philosophical perspective than our bronze age ancestors and this change of perspective is the root of the disagreement between believers and non-believers.

Modern thinkers look at believers and can resonably conclude that they don't know the difference between their own imaginations and objective (physical) reality. Meanwhile, Christians (believers) look at modern atheists and are shocked to discover that they completely reject all of religion as irrational delusion. God's existence seems obvious to believers, they "feel" Him within their own perception. To avoid unnecessary conflict, it is critical for both sides to realize that very little has actually changed. God still exists where He always has, in the subjective experience of believers. God does not exist where He never has, in the physical realm. Only the working definition of objective reality has been changed, and that was necessary for knowledge to remain consistent with observation.

So the answer to your question, "How can you prove God exists if He doesn't?" depends on the "wisdom" of the ancients. They simply defined reality to include God's realm, human perception. Thus, those of us who absolutely know that the basis of reality is the physical realm are forced to choose between being atheists, or being hypocrites.

Edit: "Eric_Putkonen" Well put, except you've resorted to the typical Christian word games and again redefined reality to suit your purposes. For something to "exist" it must actually be part of objective reality. Referring to your analogy, I must point out that neither love nor God can be said to literally "exist." Both are concepts and are merely abstractions. They are simply ideas and contain neither matter nor energy -- thus, they not part of objective reality and cannot be said to actually exist.

Answer 5

God exists...so there is proof. It is experiential...kind of like love...you have to experience it to know it exists.

~ Eric Putkonen

Answer 6

irrelevant. Bad logic too. You assume that he does not exist and then claim one cannot prove that he does. Your logic is circular.