# Proof of the Existence of God **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 17, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149 "2026-05-17T16:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [May 19, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/81 "2026-05-19T00:20:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s a generally universal belief among Christians that all of the stuff that happened in what they refer to as the Old Testament are retroactively part of Christian history. Holy Cultural Appropriation, Batman! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/82 "2026-05-19T00:52:42Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > No human is perfect or even close to perfect. The model we follow of God is perfect. Some folks would, if it were up to them, condemn no one to eternal suffering. What would the God you have in mind do? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/83 "2026-05-19T01:15:07Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Some folks would, if it were up to them, condemn no one to eternal suffering. > > What would the God you have in mind do? > > Do you know any Christians or any other religious person who would intentionally put their finger in a light socket or jump off of a cliff with no parachute? Do you know any Christians who never sin? > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What would the God you have in mind do? Do you know any Christians who would put their finger in a hot light socket? Do you know any Christians who never sin? Sometimes religions exaggerate to make a point because it always gets watered down in our brains. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/84 "2026-05-19T01:25:40Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Do you know any Christians who never sin? Jesus? Oh, wait, he was Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/85 "2026-05-19T01:25:53Z")
Oh, my apologies; let me frame that question differently. _What would the God you have in mind do?_ ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/86 "2026-05-19T01:26:22Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What would the God you have in mind do? Well seeing is that there’s only one God I would say that one ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/87 "2026-05-19T01:27:47Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Well seeing is that there’s only one God I would say that one What would that God _do?_ You keep answering questions I haven’t asked, instead of the one I’m, y’know, _asking._ ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/88 "2026-05-19T01:59:50Z")
And (he asks patiently, but tiredly) what particular sect’s God might that be? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/89 "2026-05-19T02:03:14Z")
It is an operating system, as I have said several times already, it requires a hard installation to work. If it is working properly, we behave a little better. End of story. I do firmly believe in God, but I think religion is about giving us a version we can work with. I have no concept of what God actually is. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/90 "2026-05-19T02:05:44Z")
Your story answered no questions. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/91 "2026-05-19T02:29:33Z")
Because all the questions have one purpose that has nothing to do with God or religion. No one can answer those questions. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/92 "2026-05-19T02:32:39Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Because all the questions have one purpose that has nothing to do with God My question is _What Would That God Do?_ ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/93 "2026-05-19T02:35:31Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > My question is _What Would That God Do?_ It is not important what God would do; what matters is what my conscience tells me what God would do. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/94 "2026-05-19T02:37:09Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > It is not important what God would do; what matters is what my conscience tells me what God would do. What does your conscience tell you God would do? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/95 "2026-05-19T02:52:08Z")
Dodge straightforward questions, obviously! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/96 "2026-05-19T02:58:17Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > It is not important what God would do; what matters is what my conscience tells me what God would do. That’s just doing whatever you want and sticking the “God” label on it as a self-justification. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/97 "2026-05-19T05:26:40Z")
Is there an internet “law” similar to Godwin’s that says: > The probability of any discussion that starts out being about a specific aspect of religion turning into a debate about whether there is a deity approaches 100% as the discussion grows longer. If not, I claim it. ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/98 "2026-05-19T08:15:04Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > As for magic, yes, people are taught that everything happened by miracles. Most people by the time they grow up, sort things like this out, and it just lives in the subconscious. It would not have been possible to introduce religion without making it comprehensible. and just as importantly, interesting enough to actually listen to. The bottom line is God is your model, not another human. When you say ‘people’ are you referring to all children, or only those children who grow up in a religious environment where explanations for everyday phenomena are invariably some variation of ‘God did it’? And by ‘lives in the subconscious’, are you suggesting that it’s difficult to ‘deprogram’ someone entirely if they were taught that miracles existed as a child? I’m fairly sure religion wasn’t ‘introduced’ but rather evolved over centuries as various tribes and societies tried to make sense of the world around them. I’m not at all clear what the point about God being a model is referring to. I’d guess it could be about a personal moral code, but it would be helpful to have this clarified. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/99 "2026-05-19T12:07:49Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Where a lot of atheists have overstepped their bounds is when they start instilling their values into our children through the public school system. The idea that atheists do this is a persecution myth the Christian right tells itself along the same lines as the notion that the real racism in the US is against whites. I know of no teach at the grade school level who teaches to their class that god doesn’t exist. If they did such a thing they would be fired and rightfully so. The worst that they do is teach facts that are in variance to what some Cristians believe are true. But if the bar is that only those facts that do not go against some group’s firm belief are allowed to be taught then you will effectively end education entirely. People deny the holocaust and the moon landings should those no longer be taught in school, or perhaps we should teach to the controversy? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149/100 "2026-05-19T14:08:14Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > doing whatever you want and sticking the “God” label on it as a self-justification. That’s religion for you. The thing about atheism is that the religious want it to be about denying the Existence of God (an ephemeral concept virtually impossible to prove one way or the other definitively) when it’s actually more like denying the Validity of Religion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-of-the-existence-of-god/1030149.md?page=6)