Question:
What would atheists accept as evidence of the existence of God?
?
2019-06-17 14:22:27 UTC
1. World peace? That will happen when people behave morally, Atheists deny that morality comes from God.

2. An end to world hunger? Since, we actually do produce enough food to feed everyone, the fact that we don't get it to everyone is also a moral issue.

3. And end to disease? Medical breakthroughs.

4. A scientific experiment? The only way that a scientific experiment might work would be if they accept our potential nonexistence as a null hypothesis.

5. God making a personal appearance? I will book the sound stage and the effects crew.
22 answers:
2019-06-17 14:48:02 UTC
Nothing. Once, a man walked on water, he turned water into wine, he raised a dead person back to life, all in order to convince folk that he was doing God's work. Did they believe him? No, they murdered him.
Huh?
2019-06-17 19:52:11 UTC
A clearly miraculous event, with plenty of reliable witnesses, that could only have happened as a result of divine intervention.



Examples: Visible, verifiable apparition of God or Christ. Some otherwise impossible event such as a city being bathed in sunlight at midnight. Someone who is clearly and unmistakably dead coming back to life.
?
2019-06-17 17:46:20 UTC
Man can only be subjective. Objectivity must originate from an objective source. An objective source must be omniscient; anything less is subjective. If there are no objective absolutes then nothing is absolutely immoral. Rather an act or law becomes based on either individual preferences or in the case of the law, majority agreement.
Jeremy
2019-06-17 16:52:14 UTC
Evidence that is repeatable, testable, independently verifiable. Evidence that makes God evident, unequivocally known, not just one where you must presuppose a hypothetical God that could fit under your proposal. Evidence that isn't so vague that it could be used to argue just as easily for other gods incompatible with yours.
Brian
2019-06-17 15:46:20 UTC
God Himself is what they will accept.
the internet
2019-06-17 15:16:48 UTC
"What would atheists accept as evidence of the existence of God?"

Probably anything that might convince you that the story about your own god is made up nonsense and that the ancient greek stories about their gods are actually true documentaries of reality, would probably convince me too.

Something similar, just for your own god, would probably do as well.



Good evidence for a god:

The followers of one certain religion/god live significantly longer, healthier and with less suffering than all other people. That advantage goes away, for people who leave that religion.



Priests healing people faster and more reliably than medical doctors.

Hospitals going out of business for that reason.



A car that uses the power of prayer as its only source of energy.



Now to your suggestions:

"1. World peace? That will happen when people behave morally, Atheists deny that morality comes from God."

People do not behave morally since at least 6000 years. That is a strong indicator that your god hypothesis is wrong.



"2. An end to world hunger? Since, we actually do produce enough food to feed everyone, the fact that we don't get it to everyone is also a moral issue."

No. That would not be evidence for god. That would be evidence that people finally get themselves organized.



"3. And end to disease? Medical breakthroughs."

No. People are working in the medical field. Breakthroughs are obviously peoples work. No gods involved.

Your idea here is that god made all these diseases and now people find out how to fix them, and you try to claim their work as evidence for the one who caused the problems???. Your line of thinking is embarrassingly stupid.



"4. A scientific experiment?"

Scientific experiments are scientific. Gods or other kinds of magic are not scientific. You might as well design a scientific experiment to show that Gandalf is an actual wizard.



"5. God making a personal appearance?"

I don't know. That would probably be some kind of show.

I would certainly not assume that it might be an actual god.
2019-06-17 14:44:03 UTC
Lets start with anything that can be tested, falsified and examined.



"Like our existence. It can be tested, falsified and examined.

Climate Realist · 10 mins ago"



All that proves is that WE exist, not your god critter.
2019-06-17 14:34:00 UTC
Sad to say but atheist/fools will not accept any evidence that supports the existence of God and yet the proof exists:

The proof is there if you seek Him. No creditable evidence against the existence of the Christian God but allot for His existence: Francis Collins, the original leader of the Human Genome Project and the current director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), had this to say at a 2015 healthcare conference when asked about junk DNA:

“We don’t use that term anymore…It was pretty much a case of hubris to imagine that we could dispense with any part of the genome—as if we knew enough to say it wasn’t functional.”9 In other words, what was once thought of as “junk” we now know is nothing short of MIRACULOUS. Werner Gitt, Ph.D., has great insight on this idea. He’s an information specialist and was the former director and professor at the German Federal Institute of Physics and Technology. And he states that a coding system (such as DNA) is always the result of an intellectual process—and thus requires an intelligent originator:10 “The information encoded in DNA far exceeds all our current technologies. Hence, no human being could possibly qualify as the Sender, who must therefore be sought outside of our visible world, since the original Sender: (1) ingeniously encoded the information into the DNA molecules, (2) must have designed the complex bio-machinery that decodes the information and carries out all the processes of biosynthesis, and (3) created all the details of the original construction and reproductive capacities of all living things.” Dr. James Tour—another great scientific mind of our generation and believer in God mocks the idea that DNA and first life could accidentally form itself. He was listed in “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” by Thomson Reuters and named “Scientist of the Year” by R&D Magazine.14 He’s currently the Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University in Houston Texas, and has over 640 research publications and 120 patents.

In a 2016 university lecture, Tour stated the following about the first life on earth, which would of course require a genetic code:15 “We have no idea how the molecules that compose living systems could have been devised such that they would work in concert to fulfill biology’s functions. We have no idea how the basic set of molecules, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins were made and how they could have coupled in proper sequences, and then transformed into the ordered assemblies until there was the construction of a complex biological system, and eventually to that first cell. From a synthetic chemical perspective, neither I nor any of my colleagues can fathom a prebiotic molecular route to construction of a complex system. We cannot even figure out the prebiotic routes to the basic building blocks of life…Chemists are collectively bewildered…

That’s how clueless we are. I asked all of my colleagues—National Academy members, Nobel Prize winners—I sit with them in offices. Nobody understands this. So, if your professors say it’s all worked out, if your teachers say its’ all worked out, they don’t know what they’re talking about.” (Emphasis added). Or perhaps you’re a math person. You may be impressed by the work of two gentlemen: Dr. John Barrow, a former Professor of Astronomy at the University of Sussex and recipient of the prestigious 2016 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society; and Dr. Frank Tipler, a mathematical physicist and cosmologist, who is a professor at Tulane University.

Together, they state in their popular book, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, that the odds against assembling the human genome (genetic code) spontaneously are between the fraction of 10 to the trillionth power multiplied by 106 and 10 to the septillion power multiplied by 106.16. Job states, in speaking of God, that "He stretcheth out the north over the empty space, and hangs the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7). That, of course, is a well-known fact today. The earth is literally "hanging upon nothing." But we must remember that this was not the concept of Job's day. Isaiah says, "It is he [God] who sits upon the circle of the earth " (Isaiah 40: 22). The Hebrew word Isaiah used for "circle" means literally something with "roundness" or "spherically." Of course, the people of Isaiah's time (and for many generations to come) thought the earth was flat, not spherical.

Psalm 19:5-6 In speaking of the sun, the psalmist says that "His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and the circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." For many years, Bible critics scoffed at the Bible stating that this verse taught the old false doctrine that the sun revolves around the earth! Then, it was recently discovered that the sun is, in fact, moving through space. It is not stationary, as was once thought. In fact, it is estimated to be moving through space at about 600,000 miles per hour, in an orbit so large it would take an estimated 200,000,000 years just to complete one orbit!

In three places the Bible affirms that the earth is wearing out. Isaiah 51:6, Psalms 102:26, and Hebrews 1:11 all say that "...the earth will wear out like a garment." This is precisely what the Second Law of Thermodynamics says: everything is running down, wearing out; energy is becoming less and less available for use; entropy (a measure of randomness, disorderliness, lack of structure) is increasing! Genesis 3:15 says, "...between her seed and thy seed," revealing that a female (as well as a male) possesses the seed of life. Such, however, was not believed in Moses' day, or even until recently. The worldwide flood of Noah's time (Genesis 1:2,6,9; 7:11-24) has been ridiculed often. In 1885, Edward Suess was one of the first geologists to publish a study based on the geologic framework of all countries. His research, especially in his observations of the world's mountain ranges, led to his discovery that all land surfaces had been under water. This explains why you find shells on the tops of mountains. Coincidence? Many huge fossil beds have been found where great numbers of many different types of animals were together. The Flood explains this. As waters rose, animals sought higher ground and eventually were all together, then were swept off together where currents deposited them along with loads of sediment. The Bible is filled with references to actual cities, places, mountains, rivers, and civilizations. Archaeology (the study of history by means of uncovering ancient ruins) has confirmed the Bible record time and time again. In 1882, Ivan Panin, a Russian immigrant, had just graduated from Harvard. A brilliant mathematician, multi-lingual scholar (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), and a literary figure, he had traveled as an agnostic and had lectured often on atheism. He began studying the Bible in the original languages, of which he was fluent. Now, both Hebrew and Greek are unique in that they do not use special symbols for their numbering system, but instead use the letters of their alphabets to represent numbers. Each letter can actually represent a number, too. Aware of the numerical values of the Greek and Hebrew alphabets, Panin experimented one day by replacing the letters with their corresponding numbers in the scriptures. Suddenly, his trained mind saw a mathematical pattern. The verses he had studied bore unmistakable evidence of "an elaborate mathematical pattern, far beyond random chance, or human ability to construct!" This study marked a turning point in his career, and from that time until his death in 1942, he devoted his entire life to the study of Bible numerics. He later supplied the Nobel Research Foundation with over 43,000 sheets of his studies accompanied by his statement that this was his evidence that the Bible was the Word of God. The Foundation acknowledged, "As far as our investigation has proceeded, we find the evidence overwhelming in favor of such a statement." Panin found that patterns of prime numbers, such as 11, 13, 17, 23, "but especially 7," were found in great clusters. When you add up the sum of all numerical values for different words, sentences, paragraphs, passages, and whole books, you find the same pattern in each of these forms. For other proofs of God’s existence go to worldtocome.org.

Enough said?
2019-06-17 14:33:02 UTC
nothing would, so save your breath and let them brood in peace.
2019-06-17 14:30:52 UTC
I have far better morals than most Christians.



If you cannot live a moral life without your imaginary friend, that's not my problem.



I don't believe in your god, period.
?
2019-06-17 14:28:01 UTC
I exist. I am God. Goddess to be precise.
?
2019-06-19 00:02:55 UTC
there is no evidence they would accept.
rrosskopf
2019-06-18 16:35:06 UTC
I'm pretty sure the reason they demand evidence is to get people to shut up about God. They have already considered and ignored all the evidence that is out there.
?
2019-06-18 14:29:32 UTC
The first person to produce a single tiny little piece of verifiable evidence for any god will become world famous and mega rich!



Academia states that in the absence of any sort of evidence of the existence of something it must be deemed not to exist until verifiable evidence is found - thus god is held not to exist pending some sort of verifiable evidence.



The bible is what is called "Faction” A fictional story set in a factual time and place. Thus the time, place and real historical characters are all correct but the fictional characters and stories are not!



There is not one single mention of Jesus in the entire Roman record - that is right - not one! At the same time as he was supposed to have been around there were a number of Jews claiming to be the messiah - all of whom are well recorded!



There is not a single contemporary record from any source and even the bible mentions of him like all other references were not written until many years after his supposed death!



He was supposed to have been a huge problem to the Romans and produced wonderful miracles but still not one contemporary record?



Even the bible mentions of him like all other references were not written until many years after his supposed death!



Pilate is recorded in the Roman record as a somewhat lack luster man but no mention of a Jesus, a trial or crucifixion that would surely have been used to make him look brighter!



At best he was an amalgam of those others but almost certainly never existed!



Not one word of it is contemporary with the period and was not written until several hundred years after the period the story is set in!! How did the apostles write their books more than a hundred years after they would have been dead?



Christianity is an invention of the Italians and that is why it came from the Holy ROMAN Catholic church!



Please realize that those claims for the Old historians are worthless since they were not even born until long after everyone in the stories would have been so long dead!



Josephus AD 37 – AD 100

Tacitus AD 56 – AD 120

Suetonius - 69 – 130 AD

Pliny the Younger, 61 AD – 112 AD

Justin Martyr (Saint Justin) AD103–165 AD

Lucian - AD 120 -180 AD but he was hostile to Christianity and openly mocked it.

Pamphilius AD 240-309 AD

Eusebius AD 263 – 339 AD

Photius AD 877 – 886 AD



Thallus - But there are no actual record of him except a fragment of writing which mentions the sack of Troy [109 BC] Showing that he was clearly not alive in biblical times.



Some even try to use Seneca. 4 BCE – 65 CE but as a Stoic Philosopher he opposed religion yet made not a single mention of a Jesus or Christianity!



Even funnier is trying to claim Celsus AD ? – 177 AD Who said that Jesus was a Jew who’se mother was a poor Jewish girl whose husband, who was a carpenter, drove her away because of her adultery with a Roman soldier named Panthera. She gave birth to an illegitimate child named Jesus. In Egypt, Jesus became learned in sorcery and upon his return presented himself as a god.





Research shows whilst education reduces religious belief each year of further education reduces religious belief by up to 10%!
2019-06-17 19:50:49 UTC
If any of these things really do happen, that would be at least circumstantial evidence of some deity.
2019-06-17 15:42:19 UTC
If a god exists, it would know what it would take to convince me it exists and could provide such evidence.



Why hasn't it?
?
2019-06-17 14:58:31 UTC
God is allegedly supernatural and the bible is full of alleged "miracles" - show us a miracle that we can test using scientific methods and if it can't be explained you would have a sound argument that the supernatural is a reality.
?
2019-06-17 14:39:26 UTC
None of the above, or nothing after that. Nothing, nothing, nothing etc.
?
2019-06-17 14:35:39 UTC
I don't know what it would take, I wish I did.

I do Pray for everyone on this site.

And try to show God's love, and that he loves each and everyone of us.

I can tell them that I've been an up an down Christian all my life.

I rejected God most of my life. Looking back over my 60 years;

I can say when I was living close to God, things were much better.
Lord Bearclaw of Gryphon Woods
2019-06-17 14:30:11 UTC
An instantly regenerated amputated limb - matter from thin air.

A mountain literally getting up and moving.

An actual angelic manifestation with clearly defined physical proof.



That's a good start.
Fantom
2019-06-17 14:26:04 UTC
Your God-thingy should know what would convince me. I don't have to tell you.
Cogito
2019-06-17 14:25:46 UTC
I honestly cannot imagine anything which would make me believe God exists.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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