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{"id":22394,"date":"2014-03-21T08:41:50","date_gmt":"2014-03-21T12:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=22394"},"modified":"2014-03-21T08:41:50","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T12:41:50","slug":"proof-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/03\/proof-of-god.html","title":{"rendered":"Proof of God?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

While some religious believers argue against the Big Bang, others have seen it as proof of God<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Such language is problematic. It is one thing to say that our universe seems to point beyond itself to something that came before it. It is quite another to try to use that as proof that one\u2019s own\u00a0ideas about God<\/em> are somehow validated thereby.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there are far worse things that people can point to as \u201cproof of God.\u201d While most of us can appreciate the sentiment that is expressed through talk of the \u201cmiracle of childbirth,\u201d treating it as \u201cproof\u201d of something is problematic. Hemant Mehta pointed to<\/a> an article in\u00a0The Onion<\/em><\/a> which pokes fun at this:<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, both he<\/a> and Jerry Coyne<\/a> shared this cartoon from\u00a0The Far Left Side<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/p>\n

While some definitely respond to scientific discovery in this way, others, coming from a religious perspective<\/a>, find that discovery enhances their sense of awe and wonder, rather than finding it in any way threatening.<\/p>\n

It is basically another side to the issue that I\u2019ve been discussing in my Sunday school class recently. While some see everyday events as \u201cproof of God,\u201d others find that very language to actually trivialize God and to turn God into something extremely problematic. Note for instance the story about a Bible which survived a fire which killed 8 people<\/a>. Treating that as \u201cproof of God\u201d makes God into a moral monster who prefers to save a copy of a printed volume of which there are plenty of other copies, rather than eight irreplaceable human beings.<\/p>\n

Please think before you talk about \u201cproof of God.\u201d The very \u201cproof\u201d you offer may convince someone not<\/em> to believe.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"