Thanks Trump,
Of course you can prove a negative! Though it is not as easy as proving a positive, it can be done. For example, you can prove that there are no square circles or that there are no living, breathing lions in the room with you right now, or that there are no Protestants in the College of Cardinals. Furthermore, the claim, “you cannot prove a negative”, is in fact itself a negative claim which would mean that if you could prove it to be true – according to this logic - it would not be.
Often atheists equate belief in God with belief in Santa Clause. But surely the reason sensible adults do not believe in Santa Clause is not due to a* lack* of positive evidence for his existence but rather because they have
good positive evidence
against his existence.– 5 minutes on Google Earth should put the question to rest as whether there is a gigantic toy shop at the north pole or not.
Traditional Theistic arguments for the proofs of Gods existence do not amount to “You can’t prove there is not a God, therefore there must be a God!” Rather, they offer positive reasons for believing in a creator, designer, moral law giver, first cause and so forth. To accuse Theists of
argumentum ad ignorantiam or “appeal to ignorance” is itself a fallacious accusation known as the straw man fallacy, whereby one misrepresents his opponent’s position in order to more easily refute it.
For a list of 20 arguments for God’s existence, get the book
“Handbook of Catholic Apologetics” by Dr. Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ron Tacelli.
Matt Fradd