"If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank."
That's Woody Allen's test for the existence of God. What evidence would you accept?
Now that is a very good question. If some being, claiming to be god, came to me and started performing miracles or started telling me stuff about myself that no one knows but me, then I would probably seek help from a mental health professional. If this being presented itself to me and a large group of people and started performing miracles for all to see, then I may question what star system it had come from, that it may be an advanced alien. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and I don't know what evidence would be extraordinary enough to be considered as proof of a God's existence.
When we were younger it was all about sex, drugs and rock n roll ! So I imagine if I awoke into THAT place again, i'd sure know something was going on, it would sure have my attention !!!!!
I don't believe it can ever be proven that there would be a "God". It can just be a very powerful being, but not a "God". It can also just be in your mind. When Descartes says all I can be sure of is that I'm a thinking being, this is what I mean. Everything might just be a figment of my own imagination, but grounded in very strict rules. I could possibly be talking to my own mind in every interaction I've ever had with "someone else". It also depends on what the characteristics of a real God would be. The made up one that we created? We wouldn't even really know what a "God" would be.
I asked this question right after I joined this site and people went mental. They don't want to even think about the possibility so good luck.
I have 3 answers, two from PZ Meyers and Matt Dillahunty, and one is my own.
PZ Meyers says nothing can prove it because we don't have the capacity to distinguish between a God and just a really powerful, smart being.
Matt Dillahunty says he doesn't know, but if there is a God, then surely they know much better than evangelicals, so the fact that he hasn't been convinced is strong evidence against a God that at least wants him to be convinced.
I also say I don't know. PZ Meyers is probably right, but I have no idea what I'm genuinely capable of. When I was a Christian, I had no idea what information would convince me of evolution, but here I am, pretty convinced. When it came down to it, there was a definition given and evidence which met the definition. Authority was involved too: those called experts were trustworthy in competence and honesty regarding the topic.
I'm not sure, even if there was evidence for something really powerful, how would I know that was God? Even if it claimed to be. It might be a really advanced alien fucking with us.
Wait, I think that was a startek episode? Anyway, still a valid point!
The Q Continuum.
A good start would be something more than contradictory passages secretly told to a couple of blokes in deserts millennia ago.
It really wouldn’t take too much evidence. A booming voice coming from the sky, prayers being answered, the clouds parting and seeing an entity made from colors I’ve never seen before. Lot’s of stuff would probably convince me.
A good start would be some evidence instead of, you know, nothing at all.