Atheists and proof

[Kdtym10]

On several threads, some atheists have said they would believe in God/the Divine if they had proof. If you’re an atheist what would that proof look like to you?

Actually, if you look across time and geography gods being only benevolent and kind has been the story for only a very small fraction of that! As you know I’m not really into the Good God narrative.

Yes men (and women) can be evil they all have their public justifications. Sometimes it’s religion, sometimes it’s science sometimes it’s something else.

Nothing more than an interesting debate and insight into why someone would believe in a mythical made up creature without absolutely any evidence.

Neither heaven or hell exist. No one gets saved.

It’s both. Religions contain ethical teachings and make claims about the nature of the material world, such as how the Universe began.

Why? Easter = time off work and Easter eggs - nothing else.

Mmmm-the Milgram experiment (see a bit of science) says differently!

gods being only benevolent and kind has been the story for only a very small fraction of that! As you know I’m not really into the Good God narrative.

So if God isn't even kind but rather evil then why on earth would I pray and look up to such a creature?

How the universe began had nothing to do with religion. People aren’t more ethical because they have faith.

Well yes - not sure what you are answering though

George’s Lemaitre indicates otherwise😀

Well is he evil or good?

Absolutely this. This also goes for gods of all three abrahamic religions.

Agreed. Religions make certain claims about material reality. There is no evidence to support some of these claims. We also know enough to know that some of the claims are false e.g. the virgin birth. And, yes, you do not need a religious framework to be ethical.

It does not work this way and God does not bow down to humans

Maybe he should! He actually sounds quite arrogant and uninterested in humans.

How do you know?

Because there is absolutely no evidence to support this

100% agree region does not inevitably lead to morals and morals do not necessarily indicate religion. I know some complete twats of Christian’s and atheists and some lovely Hindus and Satanists

Common sense - I have it bucketloads! What someone believes or how they behave whilst alive has no relevance when they’re dead. You die - you’re dead - end of!

So there’s a lack of evidence for something rather than evidence against something

How do you know?

For the same reason that lack of evidence of there being asparagus in the refrigerator is evidence that asparagus is absent from the refrigerator

Why is that “common sense”? Surely common sense indicates the understanding most commonly held by humans. Across the existence of civilised humanity I would think more people have believed in the after life than not, so surely a belief in the afterlife is common sense

So there’s a lack of evidence for something rather than evidence against something

Because lack of evidence for anything, provided there’s no other good explanation for that lack of evidence, is evidence for its absence. It’s a basic principle of reasoning, it works nearly all the time, and we all use it several times a day. Every time you look to see that there are no cars coming before you cross the road, you are reasoning from absence of evidence to absence. Every time you add ‘butter’ to the shopping list because you can’t find any in the fridge, you are reasoning from absence of evidence to absence.
We all do it. All the time. And the justification for it is that it works. Any theist who wants to assert that it doesn’t apply to gods (or rather, to their god; they’re usually quite happy to apply it to other people’s) is obliged to explain why. They need to tell us what the relevant difference is between gods and butter.
And so far no theist has satisfactorily done so.

But what if the fridge and the asparagus are both invisible. How do you know then?

Sorry, you’ll need to explain that differently, or is it the asparagus? I’m vegan so I’d never buy butter

There is no evidence to support it. The onus is on the person making the claim to substantiate it. Most atheists would also go further and say are good reasons to doubt the existence of heaven or hell. Most will say there is probably no God.