Theists or Non-Theists? — Who Have the BoP for God?
BOP: Burden of Proof
Introduction
Non-theists usually claim that accepting the existence of God requires evidence. Some of them even claim that unacceptance or rejection of the existence of God should be the standard position until evidence is provided for God’s existence.
In this article, we will demonstrate why that is not the case and why it is more reasonable for the existence of God to be the standard position in case a person claims not to have any proof for or against the existence of God. In other words, we will show how it is the most reasonable to claim that God exists, even without providing any further argument.
Definition of “God”
The term “God”, for this discussion, can be defined as follows.
God: The Eternal Being, the Creator and the Governor of all creation, where the term “creation” refers to anything and everything other than the Creator/God Himself.
Before moving on, it is essential to have a good understanding of this definition to make sure that we mean the same Being when we discuss God.
Proofs for God’s Existence
Based on the above definition,
- every being in creation is an evidence for the existence of the Creator/God,
in the same way as
- every book is an evidence for the existence of an author,
- every technology is an evidence for the existence of an engineer,
- every house or building is evidence for the existence of an architect,
- every painting is an evidence for the existence of a painter,
- every fruit is an evidence for the existence of a tree,
- every meal is an evidence for the existence of a cook/chef,
- etc.
The statement “The Creator/God exists” is proven by the fact that the universe and everything in it exist. It is similar to how the existence of a book proves the existence of an author.
Each letter, every word, every sentence, every paragraph, every page, and every chapter of the book as well as the book itself as a whole is an independent and stand-alone evidence and proof for the existence of an author. Therefore, there are many more proofs in a book for the existence of its author than the number of letters in it.
Similarly, there are many more proofs in the universe for the existence of its Creator than the number of particles in the universe (e.g., a proton and an electron are two proofs and a hydrogen atom, a combination of a proton and an electron, is another proof, two particles providing at least three proofs for the existence of God).
Therefore, the bare assertions that there is no evidence for the existence of God or no evidence has been provided are completely baseless and absurd. It is turning a blind eye to everything in the universe. The universe itself as a whole as well as each part of it are proofs of the existence of their Creator, who we call as God.
Claiming that the universe doesn’t prove God’s existence is a different discussion which is like claiming that the existence of a book doesn’t prove an author’s existence.
Who Has the Burden of Proof (BOP)?
Now let’s see who has the burden of proof (BoP) for their claims or position, theists or non-theists.
Universe (creation) — God (Creator)
Since the universe exists, then there are three possible claims.
Claim 1:
Since the universe exists, then God exists, who is the Eternal Being, the Creator and the Governor of all creation, including the universe.
The existence of a book is sufficient evidence to prove the existence of an author. Similarly, the existence of the universe with its complex systems within it, the cleanliness, the orderliness, the perfectly operating laws, etc. is more than sufficient to prove that God exists. This is the most reasonable claim to make. Therefore, the existence of the universe is sufficient to fulfill the BoP for this claim.
Claim 2:
No sufficient evidence exists or is provided for or against the existence of God. Therefore, the existence or non-existence of God is unknown.
Firstly, since the existence of the universe is sufficient evidence for the claim that God exists, then claiming that there is no evidence is simply wrong.
Secondly, if one claims that the existence of the universe doesn’t prove the existence of God, then they have full BoP to prove their claim. Do you think one can prove claims like “a book doesn’t prove the existence of an author” or “a painting doesn’t prove the existence of a painter”? Give it a go (under comments if possible) if you think you can.
So, claim 2 is not as neutral as it looks and needs further arguments to support it. Therefore, it cannot be considered as a practically reasonable claim to make without further evidence or argumentation.
Claim 3:
There is no god.
Making this claim while observing the universe and while being a part of this universe is more absurd than saying:
- “there exists no painter” While observing a very sophisticated painting,
- “there exists no cook/chef” while eating an extremely delicious meal with complicated receipt,
- “there exists no engineer” while talking on a smartphone,
- “there exists no tractor tires” while observing a tractor’s tire footprints,
- “there exist no traffic regulators” while safely driving on very busy city roads, or
- “there exists no producer” while watching an excellent movie,
- etc.
Therefore, this claim is just a bare assertion and shouldn’t be taken seriously, unless clear evidence is provided to prove it.
Conclusion
In summary, as demonstrated above, the most reasonable claim about God is “God exists”, which is sufficiently backed up by the fact that the universe and everything in it exists. Given the existence of our universe, this claim doesn’t necessarily require any further evidence.
On the other hand, the existence of the universe is against the claims “It is unknown if God (as defined above) exists” or “God doesn’t exist”. Therefore, these claims necessarily require evidence and proof to be backed up.
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