Jesus is proof that God exists. I'm not a historian but I believe there is more evidence for the existence of Christ than that of Julius Caesar. The historical figure of Jesus and his fulfillment of multiple Jewish prophecies of the Messiah are proof that God exists. One way to measure a religion is by the prophecies it proclaims. If the prophecies come true, then that's proof of its validity. Especially the sheer number of prophecies made about the messiah make it very punctual for one single man to fulfill it. Also, there are more early manusripts of NT writings than there are of some of the most popular ancients text such as "The Odyssey" and it makes the original texts even more reliable.

Next, add to that the sheer hostility Christianity has faced since its inception. Before that, the precursor to Christianity (old testament believers) was under heavy attack the world over. Hated by their neighbors, the Jews struggled to even survive. It's a miracle they are still in existence today.

Moreover, add the sheer cohesion of the biblical text and to me you get quite an awesome belief system that is difficult to defeat. Lastly, the claims made in the bible are verifiable by science (Creation, Noah's flood, Abraham's migration to canaan, Sodom and Gomorrah, Jewish Exodus - parting of waters) and it becomes even more comfortable to be a rational believer.

The bible says two things which I follow strongly: "You shall seek me and find me when you will search for me with all your heart." In this realm of understanding, given the adversity by Satan (who I believe exists), it is fundamental to put deep thought into what you believe in and opposing views. I am currently studying the ToE with an atheist friend atm in faithfulness to that. The second thing the bible says is:  "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20) I personally sense that God exists, that is my conviction. It's a feeling that is very deep inside of me, and I see his handiwork in the world around me. That's why I believe God (as stated by the bible) is right to say that deniers are without excuse. It's because I know deep down inside that he exists, and then also see evidence of it the deeper I get in my thoughts and studies of the matter (on origins).

I think the title for this thread should be "Give evidence that God exists".

Why does religion have to give proof and science have to give evidence?

You know what's interesting? Before Newton came around, the laws of calculus very much existed, yet no one had any proof for or against it. Guessing was all everyone could do before then.

I'm not a historian but I believe there is more evidence for the existence of Christ than that of Julius Caesar.

The problem is that there is also doubt in science. But what they say for instance is that the ToE is proven beyond reasonable doubt. That's also my position on Christianity and therefore the God it describes. It has been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

You can ignore the facts, but they are still there. Doubt does not require lack of evidence, that's what's so unique about it.

Sapphi, I never said they were proven, I meant to say they were verifiable, just as the ToE.

I never called the Odyssey a historical text. Man did you even read my post? :D

I know sapphi, but I'm using the word proven as Runa is using it. In other words, the events and locations of the bible have archaeological and historical evidence to back them up such that to deny them would be beyond reasonable doubt.

It's an issue with semantics, that's why this thread fails but I tried to circumvent that to at least make it constructive to a certain degree.

I know, that's why I gave a full picture in my original post. I mentioned, to recap:

1. The authenticity of the manuscripts.

2. The historicity of the places and events.

3. The cohesion of the texts.

4. The fulfillment of the prophecies by said figure (Christ in this case).

5. My personal conviction given reason and emotion. I understand this one is subjective, but it fits perfectly in the OT's rules. Proof is subjective, in that the person who accepts a claim as proof needs to have it proven subjectively to them, given their understanding of the world around them. Anyway I won't go too deep into this last point because we'll never end. But point 5 is there.

I gave the many together and the pieces fall into place for me, that makes it what I believe. You don't think that's fair game, I had the exact same thing said to me about ToE. Everything falls into place so its proven. Well I'm just playing by the same rules for equal debate.