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by tiffany bowen on October 2nd, 2005

tiffany bowen

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How do I know that Jesus and God are real?

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  • by bbumgarner on October 2nd, 2005

    bbumgarner

    Short answer: you cannot "know" that Jesus/God are real. You can only believe that they are real.

    Most religions -- certainly, Catholicism/Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism -- are built upon their followers willingness to accept the tenets of the religion without proof that it is either the "one true religion" or based upon historical fact.

    Sigh. I don't know why I bother to try to answer religious questions. "False conclusion"? Exactly how? You can only "know" that Jesus or God is real because you have faith that they are real. There is no actual, real, verifiable proof that either are real.

    Nor is there any real, actual, verifiable proof that Jesus and God do not exist.

    To know that they are real is to have faith that they are real. Nothing more, nothing less.

    And by answering this question this way, there will -- no doubt -- be comments from folks who think that the above indicates I do not believe in God. That would be a false conclusion and one that, if drawn, indicates that the person making the comment needs to re-assess their position.

    Flynn: That would be the point. I am not saying what concept of "God" I might believe in, only that the answer is not intended to imply anything about my beliefs one way or another. The answer very specifically addresses the original question. And, to that end, there is no way to prove the existence of God (christian sense), God (in any other context), Jesus, Gods, Deities, Satan, or any other supernatural forces given the current state of the art of human knowledge and science. As it stands, belief in God and Jesus comes down to a question of Faith and while complete faith is effectively equivalent to knowing for those with said complete faith, it is not proof.

    Comments

    • good impartial answer . we try because we wish to share our insights in the debate

      Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog

      by Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog on October 16th, 2005

    • False conclusion. Assumes there is no experiential relationship possible with Jesus. Doesn't factor personal ignorance.

      TulsaDavid

      by TulsaDavid on October 12th, 2005

    • DO answer religious questions- it stops the categories from becoming over-biased.

      Anonymous

      by Anonymous on December 8th, 2005

    • This is true. Christians, prove God exists. Non christians, prove he doesn't. If it could be done, by now it would have...

      Shabba

      by Shabba on January 10th, 2006

    • Just because virtually no amount of proof is enough for those set against believing in God, doesn't mean there is no proof

      Joshua Zambrano

      by Joshua Zambrano on January 28th, 2006

    • This is a moderately useful answer, but remember, the burden of proof is on the one making the assertion of something's existence. Your reasoning helps no one believe in your concept of God. It could be applied to Zeus belief.

      Flynn444

      by Flynn444 on September 29th, 2006

    • flynn, in a dichotomous argument, there are two sides, both of which make a claim. In this case 1.) that God exists, 2.) that God does not exist. The burden of proof falls on both sides. Whatever you say, you have to substantiate it.

      kingky21

      by kingky21 on December 20th, 2006

    • by that same token, conclusive proof as we conceive of it does not exist for either side as bbumgardner has already stated. Don't think that just because you place your faith in something other than God, in this case, the faith-based claim that there is no God, that you do not have to justify yourself. Everyone has faith, it's just a matter of where you put it.

      kingky21

      by kingky21 on December 20th, 2006

    • Do you feel the burden of proof is on you to show that Zeus doesn't exist? Thor? Allah? Purple unicorns? Sorry, but if you're going to posit the existence of a fantastic being, it's up to you show that it exists, not for the rest of us to disprove whatever your imagination conjures. Disbelief in God is no more "faith-based" than your disbelief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. You have no evidence to believe it exists, so you don't believe. It's the same with non-theists.

      Flynn444

      by Flynn444 on December 21st, 2006

    • I'd just like to comment as no one would read my answer 60 posts down. God of course is your belief. (hence the word faith) no real proof but you still believe, and Jesus IS real, He was tooken on the Roman census. It's just a matter of if you believe he was the son of God.

      Final_Starman

      by Final_Starman on March 8th, 2007

    • kingky, your statement is illogical. you are speaking from the narrow perspective of assuming that there is a god and that it's the highest priority in the universe. You're assuming that everyone else "puts their faith" somewhere other than where you put yours. That's not how it works. Everyone else has their own view of what is and isn't real, and what is and isn't important. My lack of belief in your god doesn't define me, any more than your lack of belief in leprechauns or unicorns defines you. Finalstarman, you are mistaken. There is much debate over the existence of a historical Jesus. It's not backed up by evidence outside religious texts.

      Jessicax23

      by Jessicax23 on March 25th, 2007

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