davidm wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2017 7:05 pm
As has been discussed, no one can prove a universal negative.
And since Atheism is a universal negative ("There is no god(s)), it is without proof. Hence, it is irrational.
Can you prove that Santa Claus doesn't exist? If so, please provide your proof.
I know of no one who is aiming at proving this. If you find them, let me know.
I can't prove that no evidence for god exists. What I can reasonably do is ask that a theist show the evidence that he claims he has.
Yes, you can. And if you find he
has evidence, there are only two ways you can go. One is to change your mind. The second is to deny that the evidence is / should count as evidence. And it is this latter that Atheists try.
They know of the existence of evidences. All they have to do is google "evidences for God," and they'll get a whole bunch. And for those who are fair-minded, there will be more than enough for them to contemplate. They'll see that Theists aren't nuts...that they have good reasons to at least
think they have evidence for God.
To an agnostic, that sort of open-mindedness is possible. So is even the recognition that some of the evidence is very good. And still, the atheist may rationally waver; but at least he's being fair.
But for the Atheist, no such open-mindedness is possible. Let one evidence be genuine, and his worldview collapses. There may be evidence; but whatever it is, it just doesn't matter to them, because having closed their minds on the subject already, NOTHING will count as evidence to them. Nothing CAN count as evidence, for even one iota of it forces them to become mere agnostics...and they won't accept that, because it stops them from being able to dismiss the whole question.
I do not say that no evidence exists for God, still less that no evidence CAN exist for god. I've said nothing like this. I've said I don't see any such evidence -- certainly not evidence that would meet what I would regard as a minimum standard of evidence.
Even that is fair enough. But if you are open, you will at least see strong arguments that require complicated explanations for you to continue to dismiss -- not a bunch of simpletons believing in a "Santa Claus" level fantasy.
So really, what you see will be up to you. The evidence is there.