Reply #18: Yeah, that's the one place where he lost me.

[Yollam]

I never ask theists for proof of God. It's like asking for proof of the Flintstones or proof of Godzilla. It's a fictional construct, and the fact that most of humanity seems to have a psychological need to believe in it in one form or another does not make it something that needs to be proven (or disproven for that matter)

Besides, when you ask for proof, the theists always come up with some trite but factual stories of people who overcame cancer or blindness through prayer, or chanting or transcendental meditation, or whatever. And that is wonderful proof - of the power of the mind to affect the body's well-being. It cannot be taken as proof of one deity or another, since almost every religious sect on the earth has many, many instances of these "miracles" that they will be glad to point out to you.

And really, I don't need proof. If there actually is a deity, I tend to believe that it would understand my ignoring all the competing theologies, and instead living my life on earth to its fullest. If the deity is an insecure tantrum-throwing child, like the Abrahamic God, all-powerful and all-knowing, but needing constant sycophantic adulation from those he created, then why would I want anything to do with such a pathetic creature? I would honestly rather go to hell than spend eternity in servitude to such a ridiculous character.