Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Are debates between the theist and the atheist the only place where people confuse evidence with proof?
So many people ask for evidence of gods and claim there is none. When shown evidence they disregard it, saying that what they have been shown is not true. Whether evidence is true or false,it is still evidence. The purpose for evidence is to give direction to the query, to lead one to the proof they seek in their hypothesis. Evidence can, of course, be used on more than one front. It can lead to more than one place, one thing and this may be part of the confusion.
For example, my avatar image is evidence that I am a bald male. Those of you who have seen the show Fringe will know that the image is not mine however, but the portrait of September. Does that mean it is no longer evidence, no. With that in mind, this now becomes evidence of a few things. I like that show, and I like that character. It could also show that I am trying to be deceptive, to make people see me as something I am not. None of this is actual proof of anything though.
Proof is what is real. It is what evidence is used to find, the reason for collecting it. Proof is the establishing of truths in order to come to a conclusion. It is the positive result of testing.
Proof is confirmation while evidence is simply support. Why does this confuse so many of you? Why do you keep asking for evidence?
14 Answers
- Anonymous5 years agoFavorite Answer
Very clear indeed, hope this helps those who are on this forum, and are the cause of your explanation, become mindful and learn from this explanation--since it seems to be crystal clear.
BTW: Do believe that facts and evidence/proof are all related and one is intertwined with the other, since they leave footprints all over.
One thing, I would add is that the ability to discern between the two, is essential to a conclusion--which may be the elephant in the room of dissenters.
- ?Lv 75 years ago
History 108 3/4
Mostly all people doubt the Holy Word of God, The Bible.
But This little History lesson will enlighten all.
It starts with the Hittites. And a lack of evidence they ever existed. Then in 1908 a Archaeological discovery was made by John Garstang. The 400 year civilization of the Hittites Empire (1600-1200 BC). Since then so much has been discovered about the Hittite Empire, you can study all you want about them.
And it’s not just The Hittite evidence. All kinds off engraved stones or cylinders from other ancient civilizations verify other Biblical accounts. The Taylor Prism confirms the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem that the Bible describes in 2 Kings 19-19, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 36-37.
The discovery of the Tel Dan Stele confirms the existence of Israel’s King David. The Cyrus Cylinder records Cyrus of Persia’s decree that allowed Babylonian captives to return to their homes and resume their religious practices. The Moabite Stone proves the events of 2 Kings 3. This stone not only chronicles the rebellion led by Mesha King of Moab but even mentions the name Yahweh.
Jewish and Roman historians referred to the life and works of Jesus. Josephus wrote about Jesus’ miracles. And Pliny the Younger, an ancient ruler, recorded that Christians in his province maintained their belief in and the worship of Jesus even when faced with death. We have evidence that the Gospels were written by apostles or at least in cooperation with them. Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John, Writes: as far as someone inserting into the Bible what they felt like. The Dead Sea Scrolls put that idea to rest. The earliest copies of the New Testament date back to 114 AD.
The Holy Bible 100% accurate.
Earth’s Mass is 6.6 Sextillion tons. What holds it up?
Nothing! It spins on its axis at 1000 miles per hour.
As it hurtles through space in it’s orbit around the Sun.
Nothing = GOD!
For those of you who say, There is no God,Jesus, Sky Daddy, Satan, or Christians. Please go to Biblical Archeology And read some of what you find there. It proves that God is 100% Real. And so is His Holy Word The Bible.Just check out the below sites.
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/
http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/biblical-archae...
Thank you.
Chicago Bob
imasinner
There is more joy in Jesus in one day.
Than there is in the World 365/24/7
I know, I tried them both.
Numbers 6:24-26
BTW, Sir Isaac Newton, The father of modern physics, was a committed Christian who
Claimed the Universe’s orderliness came from its Creator.
- RicardoLv 75 years ago
Are debates between the theist and the atheist the only place where people confuse evidence with proof?
- No, between the theist and the atheist it is a matter of stupidity vs intelligence. And it is not a matter of "ignorance", that can be cured. But when a brain dead fundie says - oh look a flower, that proves god - that level of stupidity cannot be cured.
So many people ask for evidence of gods and claim there is none.
- No, that is not a claim, it is a fact, no one has yet to give any evidence for a deity. The problem comes from fundies who think that their hallucinations ARE evidence.
. When shown evidence they disregard it,
- No, no one to date has EVER shown "evidence" that would not be laughed out of any legitimate court on this planet. Behe in the Dover trial is an excellent example.
Whether evidence is true or false,it is still evidence.
- No, a hallucination is evidence ONLY of a hallucination, nothing more. But fundies keep insisting that it is REAL evidence of a deity.
The purpose for evidence is to give direction to the query, to lead one to the proof they seek in their hypothesis.
- No, evidence is to support a concept or a proof, nothing more. Inquiry and curiosity lead to query.
For example, my avatar image is evidence that I am a bald male.
- No, your avatar image is evidence of an avatar and maybe a creative person, that is all.
Does that mean it is no longer evidence, no.
- It is still evidence, but like all brain dead fundies, the "evidence" of the Grand Canyon IS NOT evidence of a flood, it is evidence of a big rut, nothing else. The millions of factors associated with the Grand Canyon is evidence of many things, but to brain dead fundies it only points to a flood.
With that in mind, this now becomes evidence of a few things.
- Only of your fantasies and imagination, nothing else.
I like that show,
- That exists in your mind, no where else. It could mean that you hate the show and wanted to denigrate it by using it here. That thinking stuff really throws you doesn't it.
It could also show that I am trying to be deceptive, to make people see me as something I am not.
- "In your mind" it could show that the moon is made of green cheese, but that exists ONLY in your mind. Just as everything else you have said.
Why do you keep asking for evidence?
- Because brain dead fundies keep saying god is real. So if he is real then there would be evidence and proof, but again, the ramblings of some ones imagination is not proof of anything.
- ?Lv 75 years ago
Why do you LIE?
Come on the first hurdle gets you before you start!
The first person to produce a single tiny little piece of verifiable evidence for any god will become world famous and mega rich!
Academia states that in the absence of any sort of evidence of the existence of something it must be deemed not to exist until verifiable evidence is found - thus god is held not to exist pending some sort of verifiable evidence.
Your mistake is to not understand that Chrsitianity is a faith and your false claims show a LACK OF FAITH!
Worse your attacks on people that dare beleive differently to yourself not only drives people further away from God but are the reason so many DECENT people are becoming ANTI THEISTS!
- How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- UserLv 75 years ago
No, it's not.
Lots of people don't understand the difference between evidence and proof.
Though I admit that, in my very limited experience, the only people who seem to *completely* misuse the word "evidence" have been atheists (some atheists - by no means all atheists). Most people seem to realize - for example - that a written account of a past event that is not known to be a fictional account is functionally evidence.
- morrowyndLv 75 years ago
The word 'proof' means test. When someone is told to prove something, they are being told to show what tests of truth were applied and how outcome. Evidence is a concept put forward and by itself offers little.
No evidence offered of god has survived tests of proof. They are not proven. Despite the decades if not centuries of asking for proof, none has been offered.
- 5 years ago
The proof of the existence of a Intelligent Designer has been evident all along in the scripture that makes up the first five Books of The Bible. It's been mankind's lack of scientific knowledge that has prevented us from seeing that about this scripture in the first five Books of The Bible. So how did mankind interpret the scriptures that are based on advanced fields of science unknown to mankind? Into the unscientific religious interpretations we still think they mean today.
My discovery of mankind's misinterpretation of scripture that makes up the first five Books of The Bible will now lead to forcing mankind to reinterpret this scripture back into the advanced scientific text it has always been based on. This will lead to obviously connecting the scientific knowledge contained in this scripture to a non human scientific mind since no human on earth at that time possessed this knowledge for it to originate from. No mistaking evidence and proof here just scientific facts.
Source(s): The God Yahweh our Intelligent Designer and the missing link in the chain of evolution. - Anonymous5 years ago
Proof is a mathematical term.
Evidence leads to truth, not to proof.
Evidence may or may not be conclusive.
There is some good evidence for Bigfoot. But only some, and it is far from conclusive. Yet there is much more of it than there is for god.
Hallucinations and hearsay are not good evidence.
We need facts, and religion is simply devoid of facts, and without facts, no truth can be determined.
- Hunter. ✞Lv 75 years ago
They ask for evidence then deny any exists when presented. On the other hand I couldn't prove God exists without divine intervention.
- ?Lv 75 years ago
There are levels to evidence. My hair is brown, therefore Zeus exists is illogical, an unsupported assertion and should not be considered evidence.
"For example, my avatar image is evidence that I am a bald male." No, it is evidence you selected a picture of a bald male for your avatar.