Hi! I was wondering if anyone might be able to help me find evidence of God's existence? Any god, really, or anything supernatural.
I have some criteria for what counts as evidence in my book, to help thin out the kinds of responses I'd be getting to this:
1) I can't use another person's experience. As much as I want to believe others, there are too many factors at play that can and regularly do interfere with how experience is perceived, recalled, and conveyed. Unless the experience was of something physical, and it was recorded (audio, video, whatever makes sense), then I probably can't use it.
2) I can't use quotes from scripture. Each claim an ancient document makes needs to stand or fall on its own merits. The same way I wouldn't take everything in an old textbook as fact, I'd need to be sure of each individual fact as claims were made. This is especially true for claims about the supernatural, including but not limited to: beverage transmutation, demigod properties, resurrection, feats of conjuration and healing, and more. So if you tell me anyone performed feats of healing, I'll need evidence outside of scripture before I can entertain the thought.
3) I won't use prayer any more than I already have. At this point, it'd be redundant. That avenue will either yield results in time or not at all.
4) I can't use eyewitness testimony as evidence, including and especially from an uneducated populace. If I went back in time and performed card tricks or coin tricks in front of them, I would be labeled a user of magic. Uneducated witnesses in the ancient world can't tell the difference between nature and the supernatural.
5) I can't use attacks on biology, physics, geology, or any other field of science. Even if you were to somehow demonstrate that it was all false, you wouldn't have bolstered any other position. I want to know you might be right first, starting by attacking other positions is just starting at the wrong end.
6) I will not entertain logically fallacious arguments or scientifically unsupported claims.
7) There are probably other criteria I'm forgetting right now since it's 1 am here, so please be patient with me if I happen to hold your response to a criteria I haven't listed above!
Oh, and feel free to PM me since I can't actually ask followup questions to anyone who answers here in this thread.
Thank you!
