Bob:

If you claim there is a god, it is up to you to prove it exists.

Jewish friend: Well, I find the evidence is circumstantial, having had no direct communication with the Supreme Being. To me, I find life itself to be a proof for the existence of God, then there is history, the solar system, molecular biology, the working of the eye, a new born child, I see it everywhere, in fact, I see God in the same places you don’t. but then if you know what to look for, you stand a better chance of finding it. Oh yeh, and then there are His books…….

Have you ever looked for God, Bob?

Bob:

It is on this basis that I claim there are no gods.

Jewish friend: Absence of proof is not proof.

Bob:

It is a bit like an inventor claiming he has producred a rocket that can reach planet Mars in ten hours. Everyone, but EVERYONE would be asking him for the proof.

Jewish friend: If an inventor claimed he reached Mars in 10 hours, I would ask him to show me how he did it, and some proof that it happened; rocks would be nice, even a log of the journey, If nothing then I would be just as sceptical as you are.

Bob:

You are claiming a god. I disclaim all gods on the grounds that no-one has yet been able to produce any of them, including any of these:

Jewish friend: You remind me of the Roman Catholic Church in the Days of Columbus. The Earth must be flat because that’s how it looks. Proof of the fact that it is, is because some ships have never come back because they’ve fallen off the edge.

Finding God can only be achieved if you make the effort to look. He (It or whatever) is out there, but what he looks like is beyond our understanding. I believe the Infinite cannot be contained in the finite, so a man’s body is out of the question. That’s the reason why we can only see the evidence, because we can’t even perceive, let alone see, the infinite.

Rowland:

But then, if the man actually claimed to be divine, and accepted that description from others (remember Thomas?), and went around the place forgiving people’s sins etc. then you would have to wonder, especially if his character seemed go match his claims… )