Burden of Proof

If I had a dollar every time a Christians says, “Well you can’t disprove God,” I’d be a millionaire. The burden of proof lies with the person making the claim. It is a logical fallacy for a person making a claim to demand they be proven wrong. One cannot disprove a universal negative. One cannot disprove the existence of unicorns or the Easter bunny. Likewise, one cannot disprove the existence of a god. However, it is the responsibility of the person making the claim that a particular god exists to provide evidence to support that claim.

When pressed for evidence, a Christian usually resorts to one or more of the following:

1) Well, C.S. Lewis says…
C.S. Lewis was a fine author. I read several of his books in high school and college. Yes, I’ve read Mere Christianity. Twice, actually. However, he says nothing profoundly convincing about the existence of God. If you are a Christian, his words are golden. If you are not, it just sounds like he is advancing a myth. He says what the average Christian says except eloquently. Is that supposed to convince me of the existence of God?!

2) “They” found Noah’s Ark.
First of all, “They” who? I’ve been told this numerous times by Christians, but when pressed they cannot tell me who, where, or when. I’ve been to several museums in Europe and America and have never seen it or even a piece of it on display. Many amateur explorers have claimed that think they have seen what might be the Ark, but nothing has been definitely obtained. Even if the boat is found, what does that prove? It certainly doesn’t prove the existence of a supernatural being.

3) “They” found a chariot wheel at the bottom of the Red Sea.
This is one of my favorites. It was first brought to my attention by a preacher with no formal theological training from a po-dunk, rural, southern town. Apparently, a fork-lift driver from London who masquerades as an amateur archeologist was swimming around the floor of the Red Sea and found what APPEARS to be a chariot wheel from when Moses parted the sea and the water closed in over Pharaoh's army. Did he bring it to the surface for analysis? No. I say we get the pink-haired lady from TBN to raise money for another expedition and let's raise it from the depth of the sea and test it.

4) What about the eye ball? It’s too complex to have evolved.
Ahhhh, the argument of irreducible complexity (reductio ad absurdum). If the claimant does not understand the evolution of the eye, he automatically assumes a supernatural source regardless of the fact that the evolution of the eye has been mapped by scientists. This person essentially says, “My brain can’t comprehend the complexity or origin of this particular object, therefore God made it” or “I have no desire or am too lazy to research and learn about this object, therefore God made it.”

5) The tomb is empty. Duh…
This is one of Lee Stroble's 5 Es which are supposed to convinced brain dead people to convert to Christianity. I ask, which tomb? Where? Tradition tells us where Jesus’ tomb might be, but we do not know for certain if it is his tomb or not. Until we know, we cannot assume it was his and that simply because it’s empty, he rose. This begs the question.

6) What about Josephus?
I say “what about Josephus,” too. He was born seven years after Jesus died. He began writing his book which mentioned Jesus twice when he was about 60. Yes, Jesus lived…and???

This obviously is not a complete list, but you get the point. What is interesting is I have seen Christian "intellectuals", such as William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Dinesh D’Souza, Josh McDowell, and more, using these same ridiculous arguments or similar arguments in debates. These are not valid arguments and do not get at the ACTUAL claim—that the God of the Bible exists. Try harder you guys!