Reply #75: Here's Why...

[arwalden]

Let me see if I can make this clear. :eyes:

>> "How about the person who confidently asserts that this is the only" life we get, i.e., when we die we cease to exist? <<

First of all, I take issue with your use of the word "assert". The word "assert" means "to state or declare positively..." and when someone denies the existence of an afterlife, they are NOT making the positive statement.

When you use language like that... it implies that the existence of an afterlife is a "commonly known fact" and that there is abundant evidence of its existence. This simply isn't true.

>> Why isn't the burden of proof on him to prove it? <<

Because the burden of proof (or simply providing evidence that merely *supports* the positive claim) is always on the person who claims that something IS true.

My own personal level of confidence in the truth of my statements does not shift the burden to me. It's *still* the burden of the person who is making the claim that something DOES EXIST in the first place.

Unless it's an intentional effort to avoid responsibility, I find it difficult to believe that an intelligent person cannot grasp this simple concept.