# THERE IS NO GOD! I have proof! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405 "2017-03-17T14:25:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/1 "2017-03-17T14:25:55Z")
No, not really. But if I _did_ have proof that somehow convinced\* everybody on the planet \*what would the result of revealing it? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/2 "2017-03-17T14:27:57Z")
Nothing. The overwhelming lack of evidence for the existence of God hasn’t dissuaded those who maintain faith so your proof won’t either. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/3 "2017-03-17T14:35:18Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Nothing. The overwhelming lack of evidence for the existence of God hasn’t dissuaded those who maintain faith so your proof won’t either. The “exercise” presumes I can persuade everybody! ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/4 "2017-03-17T14:35:28Z")
> [@2Bits](#): > > No, not really. But if I _did_ have proof that somehow convinced\* everybody on the planet \*what would the result of revealing it? That would depend on which god you’ve provided proof for. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/5 "2017-03-17T14:46:55Z")
I, also, have proof there is no God, for no god would allow a world where [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=821802) thread would happen. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/6 "2017-03-17T15:14:45Z")
The idea that you could convince everyone on the planet of _anything_ presupposes a world unlike our own. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/7 "2017-03-17T15:18:53Z")
Arthur C. Clarke played with this briefly in “Fountains of Paradise,” a passing comment that “…when it was discovered that an injection of n,2-theosamine could convert a member of any faith to any other…” ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/8 "2017-03-17T15:26:12Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The idea that you could convince everyone on the planet of _anything_ presupposes a world unlike our own. As do most large-scale hypotheticals…but people still manage to participate in them with no trouble for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/9 "2017-03-17T15:28:15Z")
> [@2Bits](#): > > The “exercise” presumes I can persuade everybody! Okay, so you persuaded that small percentage of people who actually do believe instead of just saying that they do. Still, no significant change, within minutes many of those people will reject your proof and decide they still believe. Everybody else will do the same thing as soon as they find themselves in a foxhole. You just can’t get people to permanently accept proof. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/10 "2017-03-17T15:45:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That would depend on which god you’ve provided proof for. The reason I say this is that several thousand different religions/sects tell us that there is no concensus on god[s] , and different gods(or even different versions of the same god) would definitely bring different reactions from different groups of people. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/11 "2017-03-17T15:50:45Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I, also, have proof there is no God, for no god would allow a world where [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=821802) thread would happen. I’ll see your farts (:eek:) and raise you [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=821785): ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/12 "2017-03-17T16:11:29Z")
> [@2Bits](#): > > **THERE IS NO GOD! I have proof!** I can’t tell from the all caps – will people be convinced there is no god (no Zeus, no Odin, no Yahweh, etc. – none exist) or there is no God (Christians, and maybe Jews have been [del]barking[/del] praying up the wrong tree)? If it’s the latter, I’m tempted to suspect that Christian fundamentalists who insist that all morality is derived from God (and only from God) will feel free to be totally immoral. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/13 "2017-03-17T16:21:43Z")
Going on the assumption that by “No God” you mean all higher level deities that people currently believe in, then I would say that a lot of people will react as if you personally destroyed a part of their lives, there will be an upswing in suicides for various reasons(despair, no god saying they shouldn’t do it etc.), a lot of so-called religious wars will go on because of long-seated hate. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/14 "2017-03-17T16:41:59Z")
Your OP relies on the conceit that that most people behave the way they do fearing afterlife consequences. It’s bullshit. Other than their belief in God, people as a whole behave the same - both believers and non-believers. The single most ethical and compassionate human I’ve ever known was an atheist. Your proof would change nothing. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/15 "2017-03-17T16:45:09Z")
I wonder which would effect former believers more: The lack of heavenly reward, or the lack of hellish banishment/torture? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/16 "2017-03-17T16:46:50Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Going on the assumption that by “No God” you mean all higher level deities that people currently believe in, then I would say that a lot of people will react as if you personally destroyed a part of their lives, there will be an upswing in suicides for various reasons(despair, no god saying they shouldn’t do it etc.), a lot of so-called religious wars will go on because of long-seated hate. At the end of Season 1 of _Preacher_ it is revealed (hilariously) that God has gone missing and Heaven can’t find Him.The God-fearing townsfolk are stunned. [del]Penis[/del] Chaos ensues - violence, debauchery, suicide, the lot. Then, well, something else happens which I won’t spoil further. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/17 "2017-03-17T17:05:58Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Your OP relies on the conceit that that most people behave the way they do fearing afterlife consequences. No, not really. Belief in God isn’t the same as belief in an afterlife. They’re often connected, but you can believe in one without the other. Judaism _per se_ is agnostic about the existence or nature of the afterlife IIUC. And Christians’ behavior arguably is, or at least should be, motivated by love, not fear of afterlife consequences. The OP’s hypothetical may (or may not) intend that the proof that there is no God involve a proof, or at least a strong probability, that there is no afterlife, at least not one in which our fate is determined by how we live our lives; but it didn’t explicitly say so. Even so, if I knew there were no God, it would mean that no one sees, knows, or cares what I do if my fellow human beings don’t find out. And it might mean that there is no moral structure to the world (i.e. do you have proof that Good does not exist except in a purely subjective sense?). ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/18 "2017-03-17T17:12:06Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Even so, if I knew there were no God, it would mean that no one sees, knows, or cares what I do if my fellow human beings don’t find out. And it might mean that there is no moral structure to the world (i.e. do you have proof that Good does not exist except in a purely subjective sense?). We atheists seem to do o.k. without gods giving us a “moral structure”. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/19 "2017-03-17T17:38:30Z")
To quote the philosopher Adam Savage: “I reject your reality and substitute my own.” ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405/20 "2017-03-17T17:53:18Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Your OP relies on the conceit that that most people behave the way they do fearing afterlife consequences. It’s bullshit. Other than their belief in God, people as a whole behave the same - both believers and non-believers. > > The single most ethical and compassionate human I’ve ever known was an atheist. Your proof would change nothing. Really? At the very least wouldn’t certain folks enjoy some extra sleep Sunday mornings? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-god-i-have-proof/782405.md?page=2)