Why Does It Seem That Atheists Are Expected To Back Up Their Beliefs With Proof That God Doesn't Exist? Doesn't It Seem More Logical That The Proof Rest With The Believers?

[goodlife]

(proverbs 6:6)

[vulcan42]

How is it proof there is a God if a lazy person goes and studies the ant?
enlighten us, O Holy one.

[EDDIE51]

Atheists do not back up their beliefs by proving that God does not exist.
It is up to those who believe in God to prove he/she/it does exist .
Which is what you are saying.
Prove to me that God exists and you will have an instant convert .

[pixie374]

That made total sense, goodlife!

[naomi24]

Goodlife, why do you bother to phrase your posts as questions? You know as well as the rest of us that you don't want genuine answers and you're not looking for discussion but are simply intending to copy and paste a load of guff in order to preach to us.

[Old_Geezer]

Yes: and no. The main thing is to support a claim. If postulating the existence of a deity answers a question, and can not be shown to be wrong, then folk are entitled to believe it is so. If someone insists it isn't do then the same criteria for support applies equally to that claim. But not many will be convinced of something unless there is proof forthcoming.

[andy-hughes]

It's impossible to prove that something doesn't exist, only to prove that it does.

Absence of proof that there is a God allows atheists to believe that God does not exist.

Belief in God without proof is the definition of faith.

I am sure you don't need these simple facts to be pointed out to you goodlife, but your OP indicates that a refresher may be in order.

[pixie374]

Not quite, og. You can't prove things negative. It's up to those making the claims to provide the proof.

[Old_Geezer]

... isn't SO ......
>>>>>:-(

[RATTER15]

I will fall at your feet when you prove that God exists!!

[andy-hughes]

I cross-posted with all but the first post.

I am well in support of Naomi on this one - goodlife you don't want to discuss or debate, you never do.

[Old_Geezer]

If you can't prove it then you can't know you're right. A claim is a claim.

[pixie374]

He's got something right here- give him a chance... We may have a convert ;-)

[pixie374]

Atheism isn't a claim, og. It's fact until proven otherwise- as I said, you don't prove things negative.

[Old_Geezer]

As you said you can't prove it so you can't know you're right.

Anyway I've already proved God here in the past, as long as you start with a basic assumption. Everything has a cause. So all we see must be caused by something. This includes concepts/ tools such as maths. We don't know what caused maths so we put a label on whatever it was. The label we use is "God". Ergo God exists (or did at the start of everything at least).

[pixie374]

I haven't got anything to prove. Nobody would ever say "there is no God" unless someone has first claimed there is. Otherwise it wouldn't even be a concept. That's why it's "faith" and not "fact".
Nobody has ever proven it.

[pixie374]

Why should there be a cause?

[andy-hughes]

Old_Geezer - //Anyway I've already proved God here in the past, as long as you start with a basic assumption. Everything has a cause. So all we see must be caused by something. This includes concepts/ tools such as maths. We don't know what caused maths so we put a label on whatever it was. The label we use is "God". Ergo God exists (or did at the start of everything at least). //

You'll have to excuse me, and I suspect any other atheists on here, from that 'we' in your observation.

I don't use the word 'God' to explain anything.

[andy-hughes]

Old_Geezer - //If you can't prove it then you can't know you're right. //

As an atheist, I don't waste a nanosecond of my time even thinking about 'proving' that God does not exist, I have far better things to do with my time.

It is Christians who saddle themselves with the notion of believing in a 'loving God' when the evidence is all around them that if we are 'his' people, he quite clearly hates us with some force.

[Old_Geezer]

You can reject the argument by dropping causality if you wish. It's a courageous move.

Nice to see atheism is a question of faith which one need not waste time proving.

[naomi24]

OG, assuming that something you call God created everything falls far short of Goodlife’s interpretation of God. His bloke sets down very strict rules, promises salvation to his sycophants, and condemns the rest of us to death. Bit of a difference, don’t you think?