‘Lots of Evidence For God’ - I’ll Bite

I recently left a comment somewhere on the interwebs that there is no valid evidence for any deities. It is a frequent comment I make to start a conversation and challenge religious believers. One religious believer commented back that there was lots of evidence for God – to which I laughed out loud.

After I was done laughing my ass off, I replayed back, “I’ll bite; present your evidence.” I mean this genuinely. If there is actual evidence for the existence of any god or for the Christian God in particular, I would love to see it. I happen to agree with fictional doctor Gregory House that it is always better to know. I want to know. As ridiculous as I think the concept of a deity is and as ridiculous as I think Christianity is, I would believe in a moment if someone presented some valid evidence for the existence of a deity.

Interestingly enough, I also recently read an article in Christianity Today from an ex-atheist. The writer mentioned that after listening to several sermons from Tim Keller, she became convinced that there was more evidence for the existence of the Christian God than there was for the atheist position. She however failed to present that evidence in her article.

The Christian I mentioned in my first paragraph also failed to present his “lots of evidence.” Instead, I was told that he didn’t have the room in the comments section and that I should do my own research. I am a big fan of doing my own research and for over a decade I have looked for evidence for the existence of God. All I have found were lame arguments that have been easily refuted by a five minute Google search. In fact, just this morning, I had a Christian present “facts” in the comment section of a previous post that were easily refuted.

Arguments aren’t evidence. Religious believers love to point out the apparent design of the world, the concept of beauty or love, the idea of a first cause, the existence of human morality, word games, and various other poor arguments, but none of this is evidence. They are just poor arguments. Evidence would be producing the entity in question. Supporting evidence would be presenting an angel or a demon. Hell, I’ll even settle for a burning bush. Evidence is something that we can test and analyze in a lab under scientific conditions.

If a theist wants to say that they have good arguments for their belief in a deity, that’s fine and I would love to hear them and Google search them for five minutes, but when they say there is lots of evidence, that’s just bullshit. There is no evidence – valid or invalid – for the existence of any deities. That’s just a fact.

Personal experiences are not evidence either. We can’t test your personal experiences in a lab. You may believe they are real and you may make a compelling argument, but that is all it is. It is not evidence. As a point of fact, there is zero actual evidence for any deity. That’s zero as in none, zip, zilch, nada, nippo, squat, the big goose egg.

But I am an open minded sort, so if any theist believes they have some actual testable evidence for the existence of their deity of choice, present it or forever hold your piece. Don’t tell me that I need to do my own research without at least pointing me in the right direction. Don’t tell me that you don’t have to room to present that evidence. Send me an e-mail as long as you like (contact information is at the top of the page). Don’t tell me that I’m not open to the evidence. I genuinely want to know. I follow the evidence and if you have that evidence and it is valid, I would change my position on a dime. In fact, I have already shown a willingness to change my position on many important issues in my life – not the least of which was the existence of God. I could surely change my position right on back if the evidence was valid and pointed in that direction.

If there is some guru or spiritual leader who you think has actual evidence, point me in his or her direction. Send me a book if you like (I’ll e-mail you a snail-mail address). I will try to read any book a religious believer sends me. I have previously received and read quite a few already and found them to be less than compelling. But I’m always open to new evidence and even new arguments.

So I’ll bite. As ridiculous as I think Christianity is and as ridiculous as I think the concept of a deity is, I am willing to change my opinion based on the evidence. If a theist has actual evidence, present it. No bullshit. No excuses. Here is your opening to convert an atheist. It’s easy; all you have to do is present the evidence. I’m not even looking for “lots of evidence,” just one piece of valid evidence that can be tested an analyzed under scientific conditions. That’s it. That is all it takes and I will believe your God exists… although I still may not worship such a deity. That is a different issue entirely.