Demanding Evidence isn't Demanding at All

In a recent discussion I was told that some atheists stand in the corner and demand evidence with folded arms. I was told that we were afraid to really open our minds to the possibility of God because we were afraid of what we might find. I was led to believe that the person I was speaking with thought that my position of not being convinced had a deeper meaning to it than simply....not being convinced.

If only it were that simple. But the atheists desire for extraordinary claims to be backed up by proof is not outrageous, nor is it emotional. When I was a devout Christian, I believed that what I had been told was true. The fact remains that only a few questions needed to be asked in order for me to discover that the claims being made were entirely without evidence to back them up. On the other hand, if I asked a science teacher why evolution was true (something I did not believe at the time), I was provided with almost literal mountains of this thing called “proof”.

What do I mean by mountains? According to JSTOR, an online archive of over 1500 academic journals, there are over 795,000 papers on evolution on record. I've read a small number of these, after all, I'm only human. That's a lot of data. There are 31,000 pages of search results. Wow. Check out these titles:

Convergent Evolution of Perenniality in Rice and Sorghum

A Hierarchical Approach to Protein Molecular Evolution

Simulating Pseudogene Evolution in vitro: Determining the True Number of Mutations in a Lineage

Not that those are the most convincing papers, but they are papers. Part of almost 800,000 mutually supporting research pieces that fit one another to a T.

On the other side, provided by the creationist Center for Science and Culture, there are 50 peer-reviewed papers about Intelligent Design. I didn't read all 50, but the site offers a fantastic summary of each paper. (Honestly it's a great site.) What did I learn from these? That really really smart men don't understand things about evolution and published papers saying so. There isn't a presentation of evidence. There is a crossed-arm challenge that the evidence for evolution is lacking. Where have we heard this before? Here's an example of the 50:

• A.C. McIntosh, “Evidence of design in bird feathers and avian respiration,” International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics, Vol. 4(2):154–169 (2009).
  

“In this peer-reviewed paper, Leeds University professor Andy McIntosh argues that two systems vital to bird flight -- feathers and the avian respiratory system -- exhibit “irreducible complexity.” The paper describes these systems using the exact sort of definitions that Michael Behe uses to describe irreducible complexity.”

So basically they could have just replaced their paper with a picture of themselves shrugging.

But, this isn't about Evolution vs ID. This is about God vs no god. The one-sided debate between Evolution and ID is just a surrogate, but a good example.

Why do atheists want evidence? Because believers make some impressive claims. There is a God. He loves you. He can forgive your sins. He can provide everlasting life. He is in control. He created the universe. Those are claims that stake out a position and leave little wiggle room. The claim that God exists is a yes or no proposition. There isn't a grey area there. The claim that God created the universe is similarly true or false with nothing in between.

When presented with a claim like that in any other context, the natural reaction is to desire proof. If I told you I had found an abandoned treasure chest full of gold coins, and that I would share it with you...at some point you're going to want some of that gold in your own hands. Why? Because I made an extraordinary claim that you stand to directly benefit from. It's good news, in monetary form.

Well, we atheists want some of that evidence. So tell me why you think God is real. So tell me why he created the universe. Tell me how you know his son died for our sins, and while you're at it...explain how that actually makes sense. The problem that I come across is that believers can't do any of those things.

When I speak to Christian and Muslim friends of mine I always ask for proof. I hunger for proof. Evidence is my drug of choice. What do I get instead? Personal experience and sometimes some amazingly well-thought-out philosophy. But no evidence. Of course my arms are folded and I sound snubbed. You promised me Good News and can't back it up.

Invariably a Holy Book is brought up as evidence. Well, a clever meme I saw the other day pointed out accurately that the Holy Book in question is the Claim, not the Evidence. To put this in another light: Darwin's Origin of Species is not evidence. It is his claim about what he believed about the natural world. Those 795,000 peer-reviewed papers are about evidence, Origin is not.

And Holy Books are notoriously inaccurate. The Bible has too many versions and endless contradictions. The Documentary Hypothesis blows away the Old Testament and Dr. Bart Ehrman's research destroys the New Testament. Don't get me started on the Koran and it's documented 200 year oral history before somebody wrote it down... These are not historical documents.

To my theist friends: I love you. I appreciate your concern for my eternal soul. I am even grateful that you feel the need to pray for me. Please understand that my stance is not related to emotional trauma, a bad experience, a misunderstanding, denial or fear. I am unconvinced and will remain so until the theistic world has more to offer me about the greatest claims ever made by mankind.