Proof For/Against God: Who Shoulders The Burden?

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"Proof - Who Shoulders The Burden?" by
• http://www.youtube.com/Clutchology

Clutchology treats the burden of proof as a philosophical equivalent of a science experiment. It is a way of testing your (religious) beliefs. He embraces it, and hates to see so many people using it as a weapon.

The burden of proof is, in short:
1) The arguments you use to justify your position.
2) How that justifies your belief.

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It is only reasonable to have a burden equal to the reasons why you believe. As I think most atheists are atheists because of lack of theistic justification and not positive arguments against god's existence, our burden is to show theism as unconvincing. In other words, when a theist makes an argument, the atheist has to illustrate its flaws.

Our next burden is to then show why atheism is tenable from this 'neutral' state. You cannot simply show theism as unconvincing and claim atheism is. That is what confuses most theists.

Theists, who make a positive claim, have to present arguments in favour of gods existence and a separate argument explaining how those arguments justify belief. The greater the validity and number of these arguments, the less they have to rationalise how those arguments justify belief.

Atheists who present no arguments, rely on faith and assert it is rational will have a tough burden on their hands.

The only way to avoid a burden of proof is to admit your beliefs are not based on rationality. Then you can go free without justification, but don't expect intellectual respect for the belief either. It goes both ways.
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[Tuber77]

I Wish Atheist would learn that "burden of proof" is a legal concept. NOT scientific one. Im a Freethinking Agnostic. Free Thinking in the sense i dont let badly written book by egomaniac make up my mind. That goes for both sides.

[Woodland312]

Absolutely wonderfully put on how atheists rationalize. I would favorite this video three times if I could.

I would also love to have this discussion with a theist. Unfortunately I don't, because Sweden is 80% - 90% atheistic.

[zottejakke3]

@gerinja If you are not trolling like a madman, please elaborate ^_^

[justinlloyd3]

Very eloquently said.

[LadySorrowIshana]

My point is, the theist's path you can simply say "God dun it" is more simple than any scientific explanation available to us today. Science is complex. Religion is simple. Occom's Razor cannot be trusted, cause theist's can use the exact same tool!

[LadySorrowIshana]

Now I am not supporting theists, because I in fact support atheists more, you using Occom's Razor would be between life starting out from abiogenesis (however that works), basically inanimate matter becoming animate, forming molecules and simple amino peptides, then eventually bacteria and cells, which over a span of billions of years changed and diversified into all these billions of different life forms, whence humans arose and that is life in a nutshell, or take the theist's path: God dun it

[Joseph041167]

I enjoyed this immensely. Thank you so much. I plan to study it again a few times over and ponder.

[gerinja]

all you said is fine, but belief in God IS justified.

[ekajeht]

@dapodix Fair enough.