What specific evidence would people require to believe in God's existence?

I'd like to answer, from my own experience, this part of the question, "The people who ask for evidence are in a position to ask why their requests are denied." I did exactly what you are talking about, I asked for evidence of Gods existence, after I opened my mind to the possibility that there was a God. He did give me evidence of his existence; of course I could doubt the evidence. It was up to me to believe the evidence I was given or to doubt it. There will never be proof either way, as that takes away freewill and choice. By believing what I was shown and having faith, my life has improved and I'm happier. To me that is evidence in itself but to a doubter that means nothing.

You're misrepresenting people very badly here. I, for one, have never, ever, ever closed my mind to the possibility that there is a God. I have lived much of my life with the virtual certainty that there is a God.That has nothing to do with the topic. Even people who do firmly believe in God can be interested in evidence. And of course you should doubt any evidence. All evidence must be tested. Nonsense. I have proof that the government and the police force exist, yet I still have free will to choose whether or not I obey them. I'm much happier as a doubter than I ever was as a blind believer. You'll find it's the blind believers who are in constant fear that their beliefs will be shattered.

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“Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place” -- Joseph Goebbels
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how about any evidence at all? to my knowledge there is no reason to believe in god. religion itself was devised from early forms of man attempting to explain things they didnt understand. i dont know how anyone can believe in god anymore. its outdated. you're probably just afraid.

Is the existence of life possible evidence that there MIGHT be a God? It's not proof, as some doubters can and do choose to believe that all of nature's intricacies and even their own lives are derived from nothing and were only a coincidence of luck. Some doubters believe everything just happened and still happens for no rhyme or reason. But could this same doubter CHOOSE to believe that all this intricacy, beauty and so many other things we don't understand in this world might actually be evidence that there is something else at work? My question is not whether it is or isn't evidence of God's existence. My question only asks if it COULD be evidence that their is something else at work. If it could, doesn't that put US in the position of CHOOSEING between faith or doubt?Edited by georgeculolias, : No reason given.

Nope. Possibly, but certainly it is not very robust evidence of God. No. Doubt and Faith are unrelated. Even those of us with Faith also have doubt.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Is the existence of engineering flukes evidence of gremblins? This is an outright lie. If anything, doubters like myself are more humble and thus realize that there are much we can try to learn from life and nature. We don't pretend to invoke a "goddunit" as an explanation everytime we hit an intellectual wall. I don't know. Could you rephrase the question so it's easier for us to read and interpret? Hint: don't use commas in random places.

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Disclaimer:

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Occasionally, owing to the deficiency of the English language, I have used he/him/his meaning he or she/him or her/his or her in order to avoid awkwardness of style.

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He, him, and his are not intended as exclusively masculine pronouns. They may refer to either sex or to both sexes!

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I'm not saying they are. I'm saying that there are humans - on this very thread **ahem** - making excuses for God not proving His existence.

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In all fairness, unless we are dealing with someone with knowledge preceding our own human limitations, then we will have opinions, conclusions and reasoning. Granted we can use the scriptures to back our claims however, but as for God, he never addressed the matter directly, beyond saying that He would allow mankind to continue independently until the point of no return.

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The people who ask for evidence are in a position to ask why their requests are denied.

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One can only guess at this stage. However, how can we ever know such things. Joe says he found the Lord and Jerry says he was forsaken. Can we offer anything other than apologetics to that effect?

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You're the one who used the term to divide the deserving from the undeserving. You can't just run away from your own terminology by claiming that nobody knows which is which. If you don't know who's "undeserving", you can't know whether or not there's anybody in that category.

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When Jesus was on earth, he offered salvation to those seeking and openly rebuked those who knowingly criticized him. When Jesus, openly praised his Father for providing for those in need, and for withholding from the undeserving ones. He implied that those with wrongful motives were undeserving of God's divine guidance and enlightenment. However, this does not mean that those have lost all hope of redemption. I could also mean that they were not in accordance with God's standards to receive help at that time.To this effect, we have very little information to expand on the implications of Gods divine assistance. Although the bible speaks of unforgivable sins.(Judas, Pharisee's, Satan, Adam and Eve) There has been little in way of the implications which would disqualify one for divine guidance under the new covenant.The end result, is that the ramifications for receiving help would most likely remain limited to the highest authority.

Yes I believe "life' is possibly evidence of a creator. But is life there for choosing between faith and doubt? What if the creator created life for a different reason? What if life isn't to choose but to experience what one has chosen?

Which way are you currently heading on that two way road? Have you picked up any strange hitch-hikers that looked in any way angelic?

The hitchhiker is me.I do stand by the statement that if God wanted us to believe in Him he'd give us evidence of His existence. The idea that He "wants us to have faith" is just silly.

I've never understood how God could expect His creatures to pick the one true religion by faith - it strikes me as a sloppy way to run a universe.

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Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

Oh good grief, these discussions here are so irrelevant. We DO have evidence, tons of evidence, it's just that you all find ways of debunking and discrediting it. It's on YOU then, not on God. He gave us tons of evidence as recorded in His word, I mean it's chock full of evidence and even in its very existence it is evidence.You all prefer to think faith is just some kind of airyfairy belief in absolutely nothing, but no, MY faith is in what God has revealed to us in His word. You are all "without excuse" as scripture says. He's done what you want Him to do, He's provided the evidence you demand. Too bad you insist on being blind to it.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

Neat. So you agree the Rigveda and Avesta.

What makes you think these writings are His word? Look at the evidence and compare it to the Bible.

Well, they are about a thousand years older than any bible and even in their very existence they are evidence.