# Christianity: Is it a sin to try and prove god? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 19, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784 "2022-12-19T13:25:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/21 "2022-12-19T20:18:47Z")
A lot of people, Christians and non-Christians alike, get “faith” and “belief” confused. They’re not the same thing, and it’s possible to believe in God without having faith, and also possible to have faith in God without belief. Does Satan believe in God? Of course; he’s seen Him face to face. But he doesn’t have faith in Him. On the other hand, I can say that I have faith in, say, Captain America, even though I know full well that he’s a completely fictional character. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/22 "2022-12-19T20:20:39Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I came away believing that faith was an obligation No, faith is not an obligation, but love is. See the parable of the final judgement, where those who showed love to their neighbors are blessed, while those who did not, are not. > **Matthew 25:31-46** > [Matthew 25:31-46 NET - The Judgment - “When the Son of Man - Bible Gateway](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A31-46&version=NET) ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/24 "2022-12-19T20:50:16Z")
If you could prove (or disprove) it, it would be science, not religion. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/25 "2022-12-20T17:23:49Z")
It should be both. Much of the good scientific work from the late 18th and early 19th centuries was done by parsons and such trying to prove that the record of the world matched that f the Bible. They failed. But it wasn’t an unreasonable goal. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/26 "2022-12-20T19:10:27Z")
I would say that it isn’t, if only because _ **so** _ many famous historical theologians have done just that over the centuries. Beyond that, I’ve always felt like blind faith is the laziest sort of Christianity. It’s far better for people to question it and research it and come to their own conclusions with the guidance of their pastor/priest. Of course, this is a big part of why I think fundamentalists miss the boat, and why I think that pastors without an academic background in theology are doing their flock a disservice. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/27 "2022-12-20T19:20:41Z")
True, but it’s only from a very specific point of view that the question “Is the Book of Genesis literally true?” has any bearing on the broader question of “Does God exist?”. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/28 "2022-12-20T19:47:41Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Wasting your time is its own kind of sin. If you choose not to sin/ You’ve still committed sin ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/29 "2022-12-21T16:11:33Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > True, but it’s only from a very specific point of view that the question “Is the Book of Genesis literally true?” has any bearing on the broader question of “Does God exist?”. At the time there was a divide between the religious scientists and more fundamentalist types who were very suspicious of this work. When they found that the world was older than stated in Genesis, it wasn’t hard to explain away. But Darwin called special creation into question, and that was a step too far, and the clergy doing science were discredited among many Christians. I read a fascinating dissertation on this subject but it was years ago and I don’t have a cite. I don’t remember if the reason for the suspicion of the fundamentalists was not thinking it correct to try to prove god or nervousness that the effort would fail. And if you listen to creationists today, you’ll find that the reason for their belief is that they think the slightest demonstration that Genesis is untrue destroys any reason for them to believe in God. I know someone who is a flat earther who is a flat earther for this very reason, so it can go beyond the age of the earth. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784/30 "2022-12-21T21:36:39Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > So those years in Sunday School must have been for naught, as I came away believing that faith was an obligation, and that trying to prove god would be undermining that obligation, and thus sinful. People learn all sorts of weird shit in Sunday School. Typically the only requirement to be a Sunday School teacher is to be in good standing with that church and be willing to show up. No theological expertise is required, certainly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-is-it-a-sin-to-try-and-prove-god/976784.md?page=1)