What evidence do you have that God exists?

[KWCrazy]

I have yet to encounter a Christian who has sufficient evidence to believe that God exists.

Sufficient to whom?
Obviously, if a person believes in God, then he has had sufficient evidence to prove to him that God exists. Would someone believe in God or in anything else without such proof?
Your statement is foolish. All who are of a belief had enough evidence to convince them of the belief as evidenced by the fact that the belief exists in the first place.

So I am curious what evidence the Christians in here have to justify their belief that the Christian God exists.

Justify to whom? To you? Who are you? Why should anyone have to justify their beliefs to you? We only have to justify our faith to one God and you're not it.

Perhaps you could ask something like, "What evidence could you provide to another person to convince him that God is real?" It would probably generate a different response. As it stands, based on the OP and your behavior toward those who were kind enough to respod to it, I would say that you're simply looking for a sounding board to challenge whatever anyone else has to say on the matter. You haven't offered constructive debate. You are simply acting like a naysayer.

 

[MyLordMySavior]

I was asking for evidence, not whether or not you think the evidence you provide would satisfy me.

That's why I continued talking in the next paragraph.

How is this evidence of God's existence?

If God gives me His Love and Grace, and I can FEEL this Love and Grace, then I know that He is true and exists... I'm not sure how I could have been anymore blunt.

What evidence do you have that your prayers are being answered?

Well...I pray to God and then either overtime, instantly, or in the next couple of days, whatever I prayed for is given to me. Hence, the fact it was answered is evidence that my prayers are being answered....

What evidence do you have that when you believe your prayers are being answered, that they are being answered by God?

When I Believe my prayers are being answered? No... it is very matter of fact that it IS answered. It is not as much as believing then it is knowing. For lack of a better analogy, it is like looking in the mirror and seeing you have blonde hair. It is not as much believing you have blonde hair then knowing you have blonde hair because it is bluntly seen that you do have blonde hair. Same with my prayers, it is not as much believing it was answered then knowing it was answered because it is bluntly seen that whatever you prayed for was given to you. How I know they are from God? My God tells me He'll hear my prayers, so when they are answered I know they are from Him. But from God specifically? My prayers are silent prayers, generally no one else knows what I pray about, and they are answered so perfectly that, to me, it only could be from an intelligent being, my God, who heard my prayers and so specifically answered them.

What precisely do you feel by your side that provides you with evidence that God is always listening?

It's hard to explain, as insufficient of an answer that is. I can't tell you what I feel.... I'll try I guess. I feel a presence, but one of Love and Kindness, sometimes even an overwhelming joy that I know is the HS, and it is not as much of the feeling that lets me know God is always hearing my prayers, but the fact that God says He does hear all my prayers and then feeling this Love and Kindness at my side supports it.

What evidence do you have that what you are calling God's goodness and love is really God?

The evidence? Well, this goodness and love, It couldn't come from anyone else, the feeling of this Love is greater then I have experienced from anything or anyone on Earth. It is beyond this World. Once again, it is hard to explain because you do not know nor experienced it. It is more Faith for me, I have faith that it is God, plus it couldn't be explained sufficiently any other way for me.


Remember, this is evidence FOR ME. It might not be adequate to you, but it is proof beyond reason for me.

 

[Munising]

Munising,

Do you believe there is no Christian God?

I do not believe that a Christian God exists.

 

[Munising]

When I was 13teen years old and died, my spirit was leaving my body, but Jesus was there smiling and pushed my spirit back into my body.

How is this evidence that God exists?

When I was 29years old, God sent my best friend of 23 years to me from heaven to stop me from killing myself.

What evidence do you have that this best friend of yours was sent by God?
What evidence do you have that this best friend came from heaven?

God has given my dreams that always happen. Two months God prepared me for my youngest daughter’s death, even though she was healthy, she just suddenly died four days before her 19th birthday.

What evidence do you have that it was God who prepared you?

And for two months after she died, God made me feel like I was his only child. Me the worst sinner I have ever known, God talked to me all the time. He got me through the worst time of my life. He heeled me from a terminal disease. Yahweh is not only my lord he is my best friend!

What evidence do you have that God talked to you?

 

[Munising]

Sufficient to whom?
Obviously, if a person believes in God, then he has had sufficient evidence to prove to him that God exists. Would someone believe in God or in anything else without such proof?
Your statement is foolish. All who are of a belief had enough evidence to convince them of the belief as evidenced by the fact that the belief exists in the first place.

Justify to whom? To you? Who are you? Why should anyone have to justify their beliefs to you? We only have to justify our faith to one God and you're not it.

Perhaps you could ask something like, "What evidence could you provide to another person to convince him that God is real?" It would probably generate a different response. As it stands, based on the OP and your behavior toward those who were kind enough to respod to it, I would say that you're simply looking for a sounding board to challenge whatever anyone else has to say on the matter. You haven't offered constructive debate. You are simply acting like a naysayer.

What evidence could you provide to another person to convince him that God is real?

 

[Orbitalightning]

If there was evidence, it would not be faith would it?

 

[golgotha61]

What evidence is there that a fulfilled prophecy indicates that a god exists?

God owns the prophecy, the prophecy is fulfilled, God exists.

What evidence is there that the creation of the nation of Israel was predicted in a prophecy?

I didn't make this claim.

 

[golgotha61]

I'm not in a position to know the answer to that question. What evidence do you have that God does exist?

I detect some dishonesty here. This is the OP: I have yet to encounter a Christian who has sufficient evidence to believe that God exists. So I am curious what evidence the Christians in here have to justify their belief that the Christian God exists.

This was the question asked of you: If YHWH existed, what evidence would you expect that we are lacking?

The OP implies cognizance of the various arguments for the existence of God and a development of judgement concerning those arguments, yet you contend to have not made a judgement. This means that your contention of ignorance is a logical fallacy, and it seems that you are less than honest.

 

[KWCrazy]

What evidence could you provide to another person to convince him that God is real?

If you're looking for irrefutable proof of God's existence, I can promise you that He will never provide it until you stand in front of Him. We are to come to God through faith. Faith is our salvation. If something is proved to you conclusively then there is no faith, and therefore no way to avoid damnation. God doesn't reveal himself to non-believers. He does reveal Himself through the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him. Some of them have told you how they KNEW God was real and how their faith was confirmed by God's presence. You choose to simply be a naysayer and criticise what they said to you.
Understand this.
You are lost.
You are damned.
You will go to Hell when you die.
Your sins are NOT forgiven.
There is one pathway to Heaven and you chose to mock it rather than to intelligently explore it. Your posts in this forum indicate someone who just wants to claim there is no God and nobody can prove to you otherwise.
If your heart quits beating before you find salvation you WILL go to hell. The Bible makes that very plain.
Rather than simply sit there saying "What evidence do you have? What evidence do you have?" maybe you should ask, "What must I do to be saved?

It might interest you to know that 92 percent of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit -- including one in five of those who call themselves atheists. More than half of Americans polled pray at least once a day. Over 80% believe that miracles still exist. You may proclaim that God does not exist, but you are still in a tiny minority.

Consider this:
(1) Whatever begins to exist must have a cause for its existence.
(2) The universe began to exist.
(3) Therefore, the universe must have a cause for its existence.
(4) The attributes of the cause of the universe (being timeless, existing outside of space, and so on) are the attributes of God.
5) Therefore, the cause of the universe must be God.

The earth in orbiting the sun departs from a straight line by only one-ninth of an inch every 18 miles—a very straight line in human terms. If the orbit changed by one-tenth of an inch every 18 miles, it would be vastly larger and we would all freeze to death. If it changed by one-eighth of an inch, we would be incinerated. The sun is burning at approximately 20 million degrees Celsius at its interior. If the earth was moved 10% further away, we would soon freeze to death. If it was moved 10% closer, we would be reduced to ashes. Are we to believe that such precision “just happened”? Think about it: the sun is poised at 93 million miles from Earth, which happens to be just right. Did this happen by chance or by design?

There are 1,093 prophecies in the Bible that refer to Jesus and His Church, and each one of those prophecies was fulfilled! The Old Testament contains 48 prophecies that pertain to the crucifixion of Jesus. When applying the laws of probability to calculate the likelihood of several events taking place at or near the same time, all probabilities have to be multiplied together. For example, if the probability of a single event occurring randomly is 1 chance in 5 and the probability of a separate event occurring is 1 chance in 10, then the probability that both events will occur together or in sequence is 1 in 5 multiplied by 1 in 10, which yields 1 in 50.

In considering the fact that several different prophets who lived in separate communities over a span of a 1,000 years made predictions of Christ 500 years before His birth, the odds against these prophecies coming true are simply beyond our wildest comprehension. For example, the chances of one man (Jesus) fulfilling just 8 of the prophecies attributed to Him are one in 10 to the 17th power (that’s a number 1 with 17 zeroes).
source

I could list a number of evidences that point to the existence of God, but until you're ready to seriously seek Him you will never find Him. Nobody can stop you from your own blind ignorance. You can proclaim your entire life that God doesn't exist, but when your day of judgment comes you'll believe. Let's just pray for your sake that it won't be too late.

 

[Munising]

That's why I continued talking in the next paragraph.



If God gives me His Love and Grace, and I can FEEL this Love and Grace, then I know that He is true and exists... I'm not sure how I could have been anymore blunt.

What evidence do you have that there is a god that can give love and grace?

Well...I pray to God and then either overtime, instantly, or in the next couple of days, whatever I prayed for is given to me. Hence, the fact it was answered is evidence that my prayers are being answered....

What evidence do you have that your prayers being answered is not just a coincidence.

When I Believe my prayers are being answered? No... it is very matter of fact that it IS answered. It is not as much as believing then it is knowing. For lack of a better analogy, it is like looking in the mirror and seeing you have blonde hair. It is not as much believing you have blonde hair then knowing you have blonde hair because it is bluntly seen that you do have blonde hair. Same with my prayers, it is not as much believing it was answered then knowing it was answered because it is bluntly seen that whatever you prayed for was given to you. How I know they are from God? My God tells me He'll hear my prayers, so when they are answered I know they are from Him.

When your god tells you something, what evidence do you have that it is your god that is telling you something?

But from God specifically? My prayers are silent prayers, generally no one else knows what I pray about, and they are answered so perfectly that, to me, it only could be from an intelligent being, my God, who heard my prayers and so specifically answered them.

Are your prayer requests always granted?

Why do you pray silently?

It's hard to explain, as insufficient of an answer that is. I can't tell you what I feel.... I'll try I guess. I feel a presence, but one of Love and Kindness, sometimes even an overwhelming joy that I know is the HS, and it is not as much of the feeling that lets me know God is always hearing my prayers, but the fact that God says He does hear all my prayers and then feeling this Love and Kindness at my side supports it.

When God says he hears all your prayers, is this communicated to you audibly?

The evidence? Well, this goodness and love, It couldn't come from anyone else, the feeling of this Love is greater then I have experienced from anything or anyone on Earth.

What evidence do you have that goodness and love come from a god?

It is beyond this World. Once again, it is hard to explain because you do not know nor experienced it. It is more Faith for me, I have faith that it is God, plus it couldn't be explained sufficiently any other way for me.

Do you agree that faith is belief without proof?
Why do you feel you have a good reason to believe a god exists?
How would you go about showing a non-believer that God exists?

Remember, this is evidence FOR ME. It might not be adequate to you, but it is proof beyond reason for me.

How would you go about showing this proof to a non-believer?

 

[Munising]

If there was evidence, it would not be faith would it?

Are you saying you believe God exists, but have no evidence?

 

[Munising]

God owns the prophecy, the prophecy is fulfilled, God exists.

What evidence do you have that a prophecy has been fulfilled?

 

[KWCrazy]

What evidence do you have
What evidence do you have
What evidence do you have
What evidence do you have
What evidence do you have

What evidence do you have that your parents are actually your parents?

What evidence do you have that the universe could create itself from nothing in violation of the laws of physcs, which govern the universe? Science has never discovered a theory of origination that doesn't violate physical laws.

What evidence do you have all living things could have come about with their incredible complexity and design by random duplication errors form a single original life source that could not have come into existence without some external force?

What evidence do you have that you will exist for another day? The only certainty in life is that it will end and you will die. If you die, what evidence do you have that you will escape judgment?
John 3:18 states; "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

What evidence do you have ALL of the people who have reported that their spirit left their body when they were clinically dead were lying? When they saw glimpses of Heaven or glimpses of Hell, what evidence do you have that the life changing experience was not real? If it was real and you died today, what evidence do you have that you will not be eternally damned?

What evidence do you have that it's worth the time to even reply to your childish bantering?

 

[lesliedellow]

Should I take this to mean you don't have evidence that the Christian God exists?

No, you should take it to mean exactly what I said.

When atheists say "evidence," what they really mean is something so water tight it would compel belief. As long as nobody can supply that, they can continue to tell themselves that their unbelief is justified - which is why they are forever asking for "evidence" - not because they have got a genuinely open mind. Not the new atheists anyway.

 

[leftrightleftrightleft]

Why is what is written in the Bible evidence that a God exists?

Because the Bible talks about God and has God saying things and acting and doing things etc. So if the Bible is deemed to be a reputable source of information, then you would conclude that God exists based on the writings within.

I don't see this as evidence. If something cannot come from nothing, then you are defining God as a 'something'. And since something can't come from nothing, then you are on the hook for where God came from, as by definition, he can't come from nothing.

The argument forces a conclusion that either the universe is eternal, or some other "thing" must exist that is eternal which was the cause of the universe. Essentially the argument implies that some "eternal entity" must exist which provided the "first cause" of a non-eternal universe.

It does not point conclusively to the Christian God per se, but not all pieces of evidence must directly implicate the guilty in a court of law....pieces of evidence can build on other pieces of evidence to paint a conclusive picture of the truth.

Why is fine-tuning evidence of the existence of a god?

Unless you invoke a multiverse theory (which is just as faith-based as belief in God), then you are left with the conclusion that there is only one universe which we live in. And this universe so happens to have a variety of physical constants and numbers that govern the physical workings of the universe in such an elegantly, simple mathematical way. There are many examples, the similarities between Coloumbs Law and Newton's Law of Gravitation comes to mind; or the Rydberg Equation. Or the famous, exceedingly simple, E=mc2.

What personal testimony provides evidence of the existence of a god?

Personal testimony is generally a fairly unreliable source of evidence. However that is no reason to throw it all out as complete rubbish because personal testimony can still be valuable (even though it is "unscientific"). There are many factors in determining the legitimacy of a personal testimony: motives, external verification, legitimacy of previous testimony, etc. So if you have ten people telling you that a car is coming up behind you and is about to hit you, that is evidence that a car may be coming up behind you. It is your choice whether to trust the legitimacy of the people and take their evidence as valid.

The same goes for testimony of a God and Creator. You have billions of people describing some aspects of God and even if the people yelling about the car disagree about whether the car is green, red or yellow, that doesn't negate the idea that a car may still be coming up behind you.

Wrong. See my thread on "is this a reasonable request of God".

I read that thread and was involved in it (even if I was only lurking ). And I still don't agree with you on that thread and I don't agree with you now. If you throw out all the evidence, then it is self-evident that there is no evidence.

I've just provided you a list of pieces of evidence and various arguments for the existence of God. You have asked me some clarifying questions. Now, if you conclude that my evidence is not "really" evidence, then you will throw it all out. And surprise! You no longer have any evidence....because..... you threw it all out.

It's self-evident. If you throw out the evidence, then you have no evidence.

If God has revealed himself to people, then why wouldn't that count as physical evidence?

That could indeed count as physical evidence. But you'll likely rely on personal testimony to describe it to you (see above). Unless it happens directly to you.

What about the miracles performed in the Bible. don't those count as physical evidence?

Sure, but that's only if you take the Bible as a legitimate form of evidence (see above).

 

[Hawkins]

What evidence do you have that your parents are actually your parents?

What evidence do you have that the universe could create itself from nothing in violation of the laws of physcs, which govern the universe? Science has never discovered a theory of origination that doesn't violate physical laws.

What evidence do you have all living things could have come about with their incredible complexity and design by random duplication errors form a single original life source that could not have come into existence without some external force?

What evidence do you have that you will exist for another day? The only certainty in life is that it will end and you will die. If you die, what evidence do you have that you will escape judgment?
John 3:18 states; "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

What evidence do you have ALL of the people who have reported that their spirit left their body when they were clinically dead were lying? When they saw glimpses of Heaven or glimpses of Hell, what evidence do you have that the life changing experience was not real? If it was real and you died today, what evidence do you have that you will not be eternally damned?

What evidence do you have that it's worth the time to even reply to your childish bantering?

Very well put.

They failed to realize how reality is operated.

Faith through human witnessing by far is the most efficient way to approach a truth in this reality. It is also the most employed way to approach a truth in this reality.

However, people are living under the Tree of Knowledge to think that they can judge correctly about good from evil, right from wrong. They are educated to be delusional to think that humans should rely on EVIDENCE to decide whether to believe.

In the very contrary, most things humans choose to believe is never evidenced. This is specially true before the creation of videos.

Humans get to know the world since their childhood from books written by other humans. They gain knowledge through books written by others. This is a process of human witnessing. Even today humans rely heavily (like more than 90%) on human witnessing to approach the reality, not evidence. The creation of TVs and videos only make human witnessing more powerful. Humans choose to believe the media of which the reporters act as human witnesses to report what our daily world is and or other humans to choose to believe.

History is never evidenced. This is the nature of what history is. The more distant the history is, the more impossible for humans to dig up the evidence. History again by nature is a product of human witnessing. Humans in majority in their life time almost never examine evidence of history. Instead, they choose to believe or disbelieve what was written by the historians (they are human witnesses of history).

To ask evidence of history (especially the distant ones) makes not much difference to asking a male to give birth to a child. It is because in nature male humans don't give birth to children. And in nature, history is not evidenced.

At last but not least, even science exists in the form of human witnessing. Is the earth really revolving around the sun. Humans in majority don't actually acquire evidence about it. They rely on what is written and said by the scientists (they are the human witnesses in this case). By the way, you need an extremely good telescope and other precision equipment for "earth running around the sun" to be evidenced to you.

So it is a joke, it is a delusion in reality to think that humans are actually relying on evidence to approach to the truth of this reality. In contrary, humans need faith all the times.


To put it another way, if event "A" truly occurred 2000 years ago (an assumed truth in history), what can be done for this truth to be carried forward to today's humans ?

1) A witness will have to write it down
2) this witness is willing to die for what he has written down

That's already the best way the truth to be conveyed. This approach is the same human witnessing approach mentioned above.

The gods of other religions never understand this trick of human witnessing. Only the true God of Bible put emphasis on human witnessing! As a result, only the Bible God can be a true God. It is thus very reasonable to believe that He's the only true God.

 

[Munising]

Because the Bible talks about God and has God saying things and acting and doing things etc. So if the Bible is deemed to be a reputable source of information, then you would conclude that God exists based on the writings within.

Why do you deem the Bible to be a reputable source of information?

The argument forces a conclusion that either the universe is eternal, or some other "thing" must exist that is eternal which was the cause of the universe. Essentially the argument implies that some "eternal entity" must exist which provided the "first cause" of a non-eternal universe.

Why have you ruled out the possibility that there was no "first cause"?

If there was a first cause, upon what basis would you believe that it must still exist?

It does not point conclusively to the Christian God per se, but not all pieces of evidence must directly implicate the guilty in a court of law....pieces of evidence can build on other pieces of evidence to paint a conclusive picture of the truth.

Unless you invoke a multiverse theory (which is just as faith-based as belief in God), then you are left with the conclusion that there is only one universe which we live in. And this universe so happens to have a variety of physical constants and numbers that govern the physical workings of the universe in such an elegantly, simple mathematical way. There are many examples, the similarities between Coloumbs Law and Newton's Law of Gravitation comes to mind; or the Rydberg Equation. Or the famous, exceedingly simple, E=mc2.

Personal testimony is generally a fairly unreliable source of evidence. However that is no reason to throw it all out as complete rubbish because personal testimony can still be valuable (even though it is "unscientific").

Why does personal testimony always have to be unscientific?

There are many factors in determining the legitimacy of a personal testimony: motives, external verification, legitimacy of previous testimony, etc. So if you have ten people telling you that a car is coming up behind you and is about to hit you, that is evidence that a car may be coming up behind you. It is your choice whether to trust the legitimacy of the people and take their evidence as valid.

What if you don't know the credibility of the people? Perhaps the people have something to gain by making up a story that a car is about to hit you. How can you know that isn't true?

The same goes for testimony of a God and Creator. You have billions of people describing some aspects of God and even if the people yelling about the car disagree about whether the car is green, red or yellow, that doesn't negate the idea that a car may still be coming up behind you.

What people witnessed God creating the universe?

I read that thread and was involved in it (even if I was only lurking ). And I still don't agree with you on that thread and I don't agree with you now. If you throw out all the evidence, then it is self-evident that there is no evidence.

Correct. If you have no evidence, then you have no evidence. I haven't yet seen any evidence that the Christian God exists - yet all my senses are wide open.

I've just provided you a list of pieces of evidence and various arguments for the existence of God. You have asked me some clarifying questions. Now, if you conclude that my evidence is not "really" evidence, then you will throw it all out.

What you're providing doesn't qualify as evidence.

And surprise! You no longer have any evidence....because..... you threw it all out.

I didn't throw it out. You disqualified the evidence because what you provided wasn't really sufficient evidence.

It's self-evident. If you throw out the evidence, then you have no evidence.

That could indeed count as physical evidence. But you'll likely rely on personal testimony to describe it to you (see above). Unless it happens directly to you.

Sure, but that's only if you take the Bible as a legitimate form of evidence (see above).

The Bible is only evidence of the Bible. Please explain how the Bible is evidence of a supreme being. Humans are known to make up stories. How can you be sure the Bible isn't just a made up story?

 

[Joshua260]

Originally Posted by Joshua260

Munising,

Do you believe there is no Christian God?
​

I do not believe that a Christian God exists.

I think you misunderstood my question. I'm not asking about what you DON'T believe, I'm asking about what you DO believe. (Mind you, I'm not asking what you KNOW--I wouldn't think to ask you to reply concerning something for which you couldn't possibly know for sure). Maybe it would be easier if I put it this way...

Do you believe:
a) there is a Christian God, or
b) do you believe there is no Christian God?

 

[Munising]

Originally Posted by Joshua260

Munising,

Do you believe there is no Christian God?
​

I think you misunderstood my question. I'm not asking about what you DON'T believe, I'm asking about what you DO believe.

Since I don't hold a belief that there is a Christian God, if I were to give you a complete list of everything I do believe to exist, the list would not include the Christian God.

(Mind you, I'm not asking what you KNOW--I wouldn't think to ask you to reply concerning something for which you couldn't possibly know for sure). Maybe it would be easier if I put it this way...

Do you believe:
a) there is a Christian God, or
b) do you believe there is no Christian God?

Since I don't hold a belief that a Christian God exists, the answer would be neither.

What you're really getting at is:
Does "I do believe that no God exists" equal "I don't hold the belief that a god does exist"?

The answer is that they are not equivalent.

 

[ChristianT]

Since I don't hold a belief that there is a Christian God, if I were to give you a complete list of everything I do believe to exist, the list would not include the Christian God.

Since I don't hold a belief that a Christian God exists, the answer would be neither.

What you're really getting at is:
Does "I do believe that no God exists" equal "I don't hold the belief that a god does exist"?

The answer is that they are not equivalent.

How aren't they equivalent? It's the same idea.