Where's the proof?

As a skeptic, I'm often confronted with the "problem" of PROVING that "god" does not exist. I suggest that it is a "problem" (with quotes) because the logic is backwards. Believers in a "god" are the ones that need to provide the proof - we don't have to provide a negative.

In correcting the direction of the tables, one is left with the question of "where's the proof of a god?" or "where's the proof that Jesus ever existed?". For the first, we often hear "god is outside our natural world" or other nonsense like that. For Jesus, "the proof is in the bible" - but is it?

The bible was written decades after Jesus' supposed death and decades more after his supposed birth. None of the writings contained in the bible were written by eyewitnesses - even more astonishing (to believers) is that the earliest writings (of Paul - and those claimed to be from Paul but not really written by him) mention nothing about Jesus' life, the miracles, his virgin birth - nothing prior to his death. And, in Hebrews (8:4), the epistle writer makes it clear that they did not believe in the historical Jesus - "If He (Jesus) had been on earth, He would not be a priest."

Other proofs that are given for Jesus' existence are often forgeries. The reality is that the idea of a historical Jesus came many years (hundreds?) after Jesus' supposed existence.

If we were to look at the only "proof" that exists for Jesus' existence, the bible, you aren't left with any better evidence. The gospels tell different stories about Jesus' life, where he lived, who he was related to, what happened during his death, resurrection and ascension (or not) into heaven. The Easter Story, alone, is irreconcilable - and it is possibly the most important story to Christians.

Add in the unlikelihood of Nazareth existing during Jesus' supposed lifetime, the fact that there were many writings from around Jesus' time and none of them reference the historical Jesus and the countless inaccuracies as they relate to the supposed geography of the time, and you are left with little outside of wishful thinking.

If you feel that I am attacking your firmly held beliefs - get over it. It is time to do a little critical thinking. Your religion affects solid science education, interferes with modern medicine and justifies belief in other absurd things (psychics, ghosts, homeopathy and other alternative medical practices and countless myths).

Until you have some proof, your arguments are as valid as your claims to moral superiority.