What would God have to do to convince YOU of His existence?

[Slongs]

A one-time trip to Idaho is a lot cheaper than a lifetime of medical care to manage a disability, and there could be charities to help pilgrims make the trip.

For most people there is no medical care. If you are a legless leper in the third world you will not be able to pay for the trip and will simply die after a short,miserable life.

As God intended.

That's just a part of God's plan. Praise Jesus

[Alterld Sha]

I find it difficult to believe that anyone actually believes in religion. I think that they are only pretending to believe in order to gain something worldly.

I'm unemployed, and if my current financial situation continues, I'm on the way to poverty. If I am faking it to gain something worldly, then I am doing it wrong. Also, at least here in Australia, anyway, there are so many things to fake if you wish to gain fame/money- fake being an SJW, fake being an environmentalist, fake being anything else supported by the left. Religion, or at the least, Christianity, wouldn't even make the top 100

It makes sense. You could have gambled that if you could convert enough people to believe in religion, they would no longer care as much about material affairs, and wealth would be redistributed through donations to the religions in exchange for social status in the form of virtue signalling, thereby allowing more money to be given charitably to the poor. So, if people were less selfish, there would be more money coming to the way of those at risk of not being able to compete. Would not being religious make you more employable? It may be that religion is not the cause of poverty, but that poverty is a cause of religion. People see their fellow human beings suffering in poverty and death, and the distress of this may cause them to be religious.

There may be a problem with how the question in the Original Post is posed.

Assume the deity exists.
Assume you do not believe the deity exists.
What could the deity do to convince you that the deity exists?

The answer is nothing if the existence is already assumed. There is a religion for which there is nothing that should make you disbelieve because believing no matter what is the aim of the game.

You must start by assuming that the deity is not believed to exist. A better approach to the answer would then be to ask:
What does it take for you to not believe the deity exists?

You may then attempt to remove that cause of disbelief.
However, removing the cause of disbelief would be necessary but not sufficient to cause belief.
For example, removing contradictions in the religion would be necessary to the path leading to belief, but would not in itself cause belief.

I think you wanted to assume that there are no reasons not to believe and ask what would then tip a person onto the side of believing.
From most of the answers, it would appear that people would start believing if it seemed to them from the appearances of the world that it would be unlikely that the deity could not exist, because of it being essential to explain some process.

I would be inclined to believe if an argument could persuade that the non-existence of the deity were impossible. I would still have doubts about the logical capabilities of the human mind for the argument though, so it is unlikely that I could ever truly believe completely.

[Bombadil]

The arrogance is in thinking we're the special creation of an invisible god, that this entire universe is built for us.

And how exactly does the existence of God disprove aliens?

What, exactly, do you believe in? Just the idea of ‘some’ god or is there anything specific you’ll stick to? Given an unknowable god what are we to believe if we’re bringing aliens, not mentioned in the Bible, into the equation? Give me one claim you’re willing to stick to?

[Meikaii]

If God wants to prove his existence, here's the best way. In a single instant, strike down all those who purport to be Christian, Muslim, etc. but do not act in accordance with their values by clearly supernatural means. This way they show what their values are and whether we should give them any respect. Hopefully it would also eliminate those who use religion as a reason to deny basic rights to people.

[Volnaya Territoriya]

Nothing. According to my beliefs, if there is a God (assuming by "God" people mean a creator, not the hundreds of other definitions many people including myself use) he is not so petty as to go around bragging to his creations, and trying to "prove" his existence. As such, if I were to meet an entity claiming to be God, there is no chance I would believe him, no matter what he did.

[New Legland]

I mean, if being wrong is destroying people, then yeah, I guess they absolutely demolished them.

I think that was supposed to sarcastic...

They have said that they support the oppression and imprisonment of homosexuals and their supporters. I would be very surprised if that was supposed to be sarcastic.

[New Legland]

Uh, I guess I would need something extraordinary that everyone can see to believe in any god is all I'm saying.

And what would that extraordinary thing be?

He'd probably have to pull something major off that could be witnessed by everyone in the world, since that would fix the unreliability of anecdotal evidence and remove any chance of it being mass hysteria or a coincidence. I'd also like an explanation for any scientific inaccuracies and contradictions in his holy text, depending on which god he is.

Fixing the link in the OP would also be nice.

Of course, not everyone would have to witness it, but it would definitely have to be a significant portion of the world population, with no bias to location or any sort of demographic. However, showing whatever it would be to everyone would definitely be more effective.

It doesn't matter if they have all the proof they need. What matters is how valid that proof is. Flat earthers have all the proof they need, yet they have none at all.

Yes, hence the question, what would you consider as valid proof?

If your answer is nothing, then, atheism is logically inconsistent to that, and the best that you can hope for is agnosticism

Good thing my answer isn't nothing.

God does not need to convince me of anything. Cosmology, science, and physics are enough to show that there is an order underlying the universe in my opinion. It shows how small we are on a cosmic timescale where a million years is a small amount of time, we can barely understand the concept of deep time, or immense size of the universe we live in, or the possibilities that there are many different universes. We are tiny specks in a maelstrom. There is an arrogance where because of our own perceptions we cannot see our place in the larger scheme of things. There is a reason why many people do not name god, it is an assumption that we can understand even the meaning of the name. Even a remote understanding of these concepts on an experiential level is enough for many people to believe in god.

Order that is subjectively perceived is not good evidence, let alone proof, for anything. You may see order, but I see incredible chaos. Hell, the consensus in the scientific community is that the universe will "end" eventually, which seems out of character for a perfect and eternal god (if that describes the one you believe in).

[Korhal IVV]

If God wants to prove his existence, here's the best way. In a single instant, strike down all those who purport to be Christian, Muslim, etc. but do not act in accordance with their values by clearly supernatural means. This way they show what their values are and whether we should give them any respect. Hopefully it would also eliminate those who use religion as a reason to deny basic rights to people.

Everyone will die if that happens.

[Beggnig]

snip

Prediction: Nonbelievers will say some variant of "nothing" if they are honest, or set the bar so high that the words of Christ will come into sharp relief:

"And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

-Luke 16:31

[New Legland]

snip

Prediction: Nonbelievers will say some variant of "nothing" if they are honest, or set the bar so high that the words of Christ will come into sharp relief:

"And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

-Luke 16:31

Maybe the bar is only set so high so there can be no doubt of other explanations, but that's just me. And (almost) every atheist in this thread.

[Andsed]

Do something that is cannot in any way be natural or a coincidence. Like setting the ocean on fire or using lighting to form a message in the ground or hell just sending messages to our head confirming he is real.

[Neutraligon]

snip

Prediction: Nonbelievers will say some variant of "nothing" if they are honest, or set the bar so high that the words of Christ will come into sharp relief:

"And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

-Luke 16:31

Well first you would have to show that the bible accurately portrays events, that is not a very high bar to set at all.

[The Rich Port]

snip

Prediction: Nonbelievers will say some variant of "nothing" if they are honest, or set the bar so high that the words of Christ will come into sharp relief:

"And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

-Luke 16:31

God is allegedly omnipotent and omniscient, he shouldn't have this much trouble coming to my house and poofing me a taco.

[Galloism]

Prediction: Nonbelievers will say some variant of "nothing" if they are honest, or set the bar so high that the words of Christ will come into sharp relief:


-Luke 16:31

God is allegedly omnipotent and omniscient, he shouldn't have this much trouble coming to my house and poofing me a taco.

He gave you Taco Bell so you can get a taco anytime you want.

[Neanderthaland]

God is allegedly omnipotent and omniscient, he shouldn't have this much trouble coming to my house and poofing me a taco.

He gave you Taco Bell so you can get a taco anytime you want.

Taco Bell is really more proof of Satan.

[Korwin]

I already believe in higher powers, so this question is somewhat irrelevant to me.

I believe that a creator exists because it just makes sense. It's illogical to suggest that the Universe has no divine or spiritual purpose, and that it has no metaphysical mechanics. To that point, I believe firmly in the Dao, and in the Hindu / Buddhist concept of Karmatic justice. These things can be plainly viewed in history, and in nature. However, I don't believe that this should be the main focus of someone's life.

I believe in and pray to many spirits; powerful, eternal, personal, and loving beings that are with me at all times, influencing every aspect of my life, even from before I was born. You may call it "pagan polytheism," you may call it "superstition." I call it "just the way things are."

[New Legland]

I believe that a creator exists because it just makes sense. It's illogical to suggest that the Universe has no divine or spiritual purpose, and that it has no metaphysical mechanics.

Why?

[Australian rePublic]

I'm unemployed, and if my current financial situation continues, I'm on the way to poverty. If I am faking it to gain something worldly, then I am doing it wrong. Also, at least here in Australia, anyway, there are so many things to fake if you wish to gain fame/money- fake being an SJW, fake being an environmentalist, fake being anything else supported by the left. Religion, or at the least, Christianity, wouldn't even make the top 100

It makes sense. You could have gambled that if you could convert enough people to believe in religion, they would no longer care as much about material affairs, and wealth would be redistributed through donations to the religions in exchange for social status in the form of virtue signalling, thereby allowing more money to be given charitably to the poor. So, if people were less selfish, there would be more money coming to the way of those at risk of not being able to compete. Would not being religious make you more employable? It may be that religion is not the cause of poverty, but that poverty is a cause of religion. People see their fellow human beings suffering in poverty and death, and the distress of this may cause them to be religious.

There may be a problem with how the question in the Original Post is posed.

Assume the deity exists.
Assume you do not believe the deity exists.
What could the deity do to convince you that the deity exists?

The answer is nothing if the existence is already assumed. There is a religion for which there is nothing that should make you disbelieve because believing no matter what is the aim of the game.

You must start by assuming that the deity is not believed to exist. A better approach to the answer would then be to ask:
What does it take for you to not believe the deity exists?

You may then attempt to remove that cause of disbelief.
However, removing the cause of disbelief would be necessary but not sufficient to cause belief.
For example, removing contradictions in the religion would be necessary to the path leading to belief, but would not in itself cause belief.

I think you wanted to assume that there are no reasons not to believe and ask what would then tip a person onto the side of believing.
From most of the answers, it would appear that people would start believing if it seemed to them from the appearances of the world that it would be unlikely that the deity could not exist, because of it being essential to explain some process.

I would be inclined to believe if an argument could persuade that the non-existence of the deity were impossible. I would still have doubts about the logical capabilities of the human mind for the argument though, so it is unlikely that I could ever truly believe completely.

Do I act like a bloody commie to you? Besides, there are better ways to go about being a commie too. Further, I've been trying to start a business for a while, and I've had bad luck after bad luck (to the point where there would have been a law suite if I could afford the legal fees and, and, unfortunately, there are only two states where LegalAid refuses to help with business matters, and I happen to live in one of them). Okay, so then answer me this. What about Christians in Muslim countries, what about Shias in Sunni countries practicing Taqui? They're actively persecuted. What benefit could a shia have for maintaining the Shia faith? I can understand not wanting to die as a reason to pretend to be Sunni, but why actually be Shia? Why hold onto your Christian faith if you're persecuted for your beliefs? If your beliefs are enough to kill you for them? Also I have dounted my faith, like, very much doubted my faith, and yet I still believe. My reasons for doing so are avaliable in the why do you believe in HP thread, or if you want, I could post them here

[Genivaria]

It makes sense. You could have gambled that if you could convert enough people to believe in religion, they would no longer care as much about material affairs, and wealth would be redistributed through donations to the religions in exchange for social status in the form of virtue signalling, thereby allowing more money to be given charitably to the poor. So, if people were less selfish, there would be more money coming to the way of those at risk of not being able to compete. Would not being religious make you more employable? It may be that religion is not the cause of poverty, but that poverty is a cause of religion. People see their fellow human beings suffering in poverty and death, and the distress of this may cause them to be religious.

There may be a problem with how the question in the Original Post is posed.

Assume the deity exists.
Assume you do not believe the deity exists.
What could the deity do to convince you that the deity exists?

The answer is nothing if the existence is already assumed. There is a religion for which there is nothing that should make you disbelieve because believing no matter what is the aim of the game.

You must start by assuming that the deity is not believed to exist. A better approach to the answer would then be to ask:
What does it take for you to not believe the deity exists?

You may then attempt to remove that cause of disbelief.
However, removing the cause of disbelief would be necessary but not sufficient to cause belief.
For example, removing contradictions in the religion would be necessary to the path leading to belief, but would not in itself cause belief.

I think you wanted to assume that there are no reasons not to believe and ask what would then tip a person onto the side of believing.
From most of the answers, it would appear that people would start believing if it seemed to them from the appearances of the world that it would be unlikely that the deity could not exist, because of it being essential to explain some process.

I would be inclined to believe if an argument could persuade that the non-existence of the deity were impossible. I would still have doubts about the logical capabilities of the human mind for the argument though, so it is unlikely that I could ever truly believe completely.

Do I act like a bloody commie to you? Besides, there are better ways to go about being a commie too. Further, I've been trying to start a business for a while, and I've had bad luck after bad luck. Okay, so then answer me this. What about Christians in Muslim countries, what about Shias in Sunni countries practicing Taqui? They're actively persecuted. What benefit could a shia have for maintaining the Shia faith? I can understand not wanting to die as a reason to pretend to be Sunni, but why actually be Shia? Why hold onto your Christian faith if you're persecuted for your beliefs? If your beliefs are enough to kill you for them? Also I have dounted my faith, like, very much doubted my faith, and yet I still believe. My reasons for doing so are avaliable in the why do you believe in HP thread, or if you want, I could post them here

Are you positing that people keeping their faith in the face of persecution validates their faith?
Boy I should introduce you to some pagans.

[The Black Forrest]

Offer a game of skee ball.

[Korhal IVV]

Prediction: Nonbelievers will say some variant of "nothing" if they are honest, or set the bar so high that the words of Christ will come into sharp relief:


-Luke 16:31

God is allegedly omnipotent and omniscient, he shouldn't have this much trouble coming to my house and poofing me a taco.

What kind of God would He be if He feels obliged by you to give a taco?

[The Rich Port]

God is allegedly omnipotent and omniscient, he shouldn't have this much trouble coming to my house and poofing me a taco.

What kind of God would He be if He feels obliged by you to give a taco?

Gee, I dunno, how about marginally not shitty and uncool?

Should I start worshiping my friends as gods because they brought me free tacos before?

[Hanafuridake]

Assuming that we're talking about the Christian God (and not Buddhist gods) He would have to reveal himself to me through a display of powers and explain why he never revealed important truths to people such as shunyata, dependent origination, and skandhas which are found in my own religion's scriptures. He would have to further explain why he committed wanton acts of violence in the Old Testament, such as slaughtering innocent Midianite women and children, or visiting plagues on the Pharaoh when he's omnipotent and could have simply teleported the Jews out of Egypt. If he failed to do the first two, I wouldn't believe him. If he managed to do them but fail the third, I would conclude he is a devil and that Schopenhauer was right.

[UIJ]

Again, OP asked a question, I answered it. No one is entitled to a serious debate (let alone a debate in general), as such I have no reason to waste time butting heads with people who are already firm in their beliefs. What is he going to do, cite the bible and faith, while i spew out countless stupid articles? What a waste of time.

Actually, using the Bible in and of itself is an utterly stupid thing to do. Thanks for assuming how I'm going to debate

what the hell are you talking about
none of what I said was directed at you at all

but thanks for assuming it was?

[Australian rePublic]

Do I act like a bloody commie to you? Besides, there are better ways to go about being a commie too. Further, I've been trying to start a business for a while, and I've had bad luck after bad luck. Okay, so then answer me this. What about Christians in Muslim countries, what about Shias in Sunni countries practicing Taqui? They're actively persecuted. What benefit could a shia have for maintaining the Shia faith? I can understand not wanting to die as a reason to pretend to be Sunni, but why actually be Shia? Why hold onto your Christian faith if you're persecuted for your beliefs? If your beliefs are enough to kill you for them? Also I have dounted my faith, like, very much doubted my faith, and yet I still believe. My reasons for doing so are avaliable in the why do you believe in HP thread, or if you want, I could post them here

Are you positing that people keeping their faith in the face of persecution validates their faith?
Boy I should introduce you to some pagans.

No, I am not. I am merely suggesting that many people are willing to die for their faith, and that it would be absurd to suggest that a significant number of people who are facing death are doing so in order to gain something worldly.
And are you suggesting that the hundreds of thousands, if not, millions, of people who defend their faith till death are doing so in order to gain something worldly? If so, what worldly thing could a dead person possibly gain? A nicer coffin? Wouldn't living a lie be a better option? And do you really believe that hundreds of thousands, if not, millions, are willing to pull off such a scam, are willing to die in order to gain something worldly? Perhaps some are, but suggesting that all of them are is quite ludacris