Is there any proof God exists?

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Religion gives you a reason because, as has been pointed out before, "... if that's true, then which god?"

Religionists specify a singular divine origin for "Creation", yet provide no proof that they are right.

I don't see that as being relevant to the issue of God's existence. That's something only a seeker can really answer.

Well, once again, it's evidence vs. proof. As I've often been reminded, if something is "proven," it's not science. You can reasonably conclude "God" or "THIS God" based on evidence. But proof? Nah…that's a whole different set of standards. You're looking in the realm of math and logic, not the realm of perpetual inquiry.

As to which god, why is that relevant? I don't see why that even enters into the discussion. It's an entirely different topic.

Word games ... I ask for proof, and all I get is word games ...

Show me your God!

I'd say it was extremely relevant, especially seeing as most religions specifically state that it you believe in the "wrong" god, you'll burn forever in an eternal fiery pit of damnation...

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me"
- Exodus 20:3 = Deuteronomy 5:7)

via Imgflip Meme Maker

Word games? Nah…but the thing is, even if it were a word game, join the club. I've had people pull the same stunt on me a number of times. If it's a word game, you just learn to ignore it and move on something that's actually important. Demanding proof is unreasonable, even in empiricist circles. That's not how it works. I'd think you of all people would know that!

No, because for someone to have to decide which god or God is the right one, one must accept that there even is some Supreme Being(s) to trust in the first place. For the sake of THIS discussion, do you even know that such a being exists? If you can't get past that, there's no point in discussing Yahweh, or Zeus, or Thor, or Ra, or anyone else. You can't make which god is God part of the discussion on whether there is even a divine to believe in at all. You're comparing apples to oranges.

Thanks for your time and effort to clarify and to be crystal clear while I love being wild and free, A mix of science and technology is ALSO my Love as well.

I'm thinking AND FEELING keeping A balance in mind AND HEART, no matter what one does in the physical, creative, and emotional aspects of life is important, and to be clear I use dance here as a metaphor for all of that, as certainly NOT everyone is cut out to dance.

I didn't think I could ever ever do ballet or even martial arts for that matter but at 230LBS of muscle I am surprising more than one person in my metro area when I do it freely in public with my stoic law enforcement/military look, BEFORE THEY SEE ME MOVE.

BUT ANYWAY, I am having a grand old time being wild, FREE, AND JUST ME..

AND TRULY part of that is escaping illusions of religion and CULTURE, AS IS.

Fair point, I guess - I suppose if 'god' were substituted for fruit, and the question was Is there any evidence that fruit exists?", I wouldn't matter if we were talking about Bananas, Apples or Gooseberries.

But still, the burden of proof is on anyone who asserts there is a god, regardless of which one. I do not believe because I am yet to hear a valid reason to think otherwise that can not be explained by other means. The same applies to Ghosts, BigFoot, The Loch Ness Monster and anything "Supernatural".

Fnord, while I realize you made a pledge to ignore me, since YOU stated you are a THEIST, I too, am just dying for YOU to show us YOUR GOD, PLEASE, AND prove IT EXISTS. That WILL truly be fascinating to me.

I can prove my GOD exists, how about YOU.

And here's my Proof for MOTHER NATURE TRUE!

IN LIVING COLOR!



OH MY GOD, SHE IS BEAUTIFUL!

Carl Sagan. Legend

Amen.

He's like my Pope.

Fred, did you (watch and) like the new series of Cosmos, with Neil DeGrasse Tyson?

Not yet, and I hope to catch it in the future, maybe through Blu Ray or Youtube, if available.

I rarely have time for T.V. but I do like to make the time to watch fascinating shows like this.

Well, the burden of proof is on anyone making any assertion, whether someone is making an assertion that God exists or God doesn't exist. I prefer to stay out of those discussions and rather challenge the way in which one arrives at one conclusion or another. My issue is that while you "yet to hear a valid reason" in favor of God's existence, I can just as easily posit that I have yet to hear a valid reason in favor of God's non-existence. If we're going to demand proof, then I need proof that God doesn't exist in order for me to not believe in Him. If we're going to argue evidence, then I need something extraordinarily compelling in order to believe the same evidence used to argue against God doesn't actually AFFIRM God. In my mind, the natural universe affirms a Creative Mind outside our known physical reality that caused it to come into being. You might point to the same nature I point to as evidence that an intelligent Creator isn't necessary for the existence of the same universe. It's amazingly predictable and uninteresting. Which one of us is right? How do we know?

And I don't think those are really answerable questions. Ultimately, I think you have to either assume that there is a God or assume there isn't. Using nature as evidence in favor of God might very well be confirmation bias…but it would also be confirmation bias to make the opposite argument in the same way. Which is why I don't like getting into these kinds of debates. There's no winning the argument. And even if I were to shout you down and "win" simply by getting in the last word and you had no rebuttals left, would you actually change your mind? Nobody actually wins these arguments. We all tend to just pick sides and go with it, and I wonder if we (yes, WE) actually ever think about it much. Most Christians I know don't, and it's largely because Christians don't tend to deliberately expose their faith to attack. Obviously this doesn't really bother me very much. What disturbs me is how often Christians allow opponents to go for the jugular and try to rehash the same arguments that have been around for thousands of years, or how often experienced Christians go for the jugular and can't seem to figure out why they failed to convince someone after the most epic of apologetic argumentation. It's simple: You can't convince someone who doesn't want to be convinced. If a fellow Christian were to ask me about it, I'd ask him or her whether anyone could, in reality, persuade them to abandon their faith. If they answer "yes," then they don't have a very grounded faith in the first place. If they answer, "no," I'd tell them that atheists feel exactly the same way.

Same goes for atheists. Is it really possible for someone to convince you otherwise, i.e. are you really open to the possibility that there might well be a God? If not, you're closed-minded and stubborn, because these debates never get anywhere…and Christians have made some impressive cases for God throughout our history. If it IS possible for you to change your mind, what's holding you back?

Why do we (believers/non-believers like) choose to believe the way we do? I suppose there are as many answers to that as there are people with adequately functioning brains.