Consider, just for a moment, if today, we discovered that there were definitive proof of God? I mean that that proof would be beyond dispute; Every scientist, philosopher would agree that yes, God has been discovered. What would be the fallout of that occurring? I’m not saying that this God itself would hold a press conference, just that it was discovered that there was indisputable, demonstrable proof this God existed? Would atheists suddenly become believers? And for those believers, would they need to believe anymore because their belief had been supplanted by knowledge? Faith itself would no longer be required.
I speculate here that if this did occur, churches, around the world would no longer be needed. They’d close there doors almost overnight because there’s no reason to attend to hear sermons about this God, that it exists, that a person only need have faith to know. We would know. Billions upon billions of dollars, going into these churches would suddenly disappear. All of these churches would suddenly become bankrupt, because no one would need to support them to receive the message from that which we now knew actually existed.
How would our world change as there are some 1.8 billion Christians, and 1.6 billion Muslims? Would there suddenly be a moment when leaders of both of these faiths succumbed to the truth and realized that their teachings were irrelevant? I’d like to think so, but then, I think it will be a while before either accepted the truth of the matter; Desiring to hold on to their individual systems of belief, thinking that – hoping for – this proof was nonexistent.
Think about it: For decades there would be arguments amongst the theologians as to whom this God represented. Is it the Jewish God, Christian, Muslim, or maybe even the Hindu pantheon? As synagogues, churches, mosques, and temples around the world closed, the question would be: Who does this God represent? How about this: none of the above. Maybe this God, the creator of the universe, is non-sectarian.
Maybe it’s we, his creation who’ve deluded ourselves into our own sectarian belief. Maybe this God, whatever it is, doesn’t care how it is represented as long as we have some semblance that yes, it does exist. Is there a Heaven and Hell? Again another decades-long debate among theologians. Does this God place it’s hand on human affairs? The same debate.
All of this is nothing more than a thought experiment. I’m sure there are many that may read this that would come up with other consequences of the discovery that there was a God. One question I asked early on: Would atheists become believers? I can’t speak for anyone but myself but I’m inclined to say that, yes, I would acknowledge that there was a God. Would that make me anything sectarian? No. In fact, having the knowledge that there was a God, would do nothing for me personally other than enjoy the debate that ensued over whose God it was.
Conservative Skeptic 
If there were demonstrable, falsifiable, definitive evidence for god, then yes, I would no longer be an atheist. But if its the same psychopath of the middle eastern desert described in the bible, then I want nothing to do with him. Unless one believes that adulterers should be killed or that it’s okay to sell their daughter into slavery, or stone their child to death, or own another person as property, or that anyone who works on the Sabbath should be stoned to death on the spot. Or that vicarious redemption thru a bloody human sacrifice or scapegoating is considered justice. Maybe Christians are fine with all that or with the fact that god repeatedly advocates mass murder. Granted he doesn’t specifically mention cluster bombs and cruise missiles but no doubt this is where the fine art of biblical interpretation comes in. This guys got a track record that would make Saddam look like Gandhi. In Deuteronomy 13 according to god if you hear of a city where another god is worshipped, you must kill everybody in that city.Men, women, children, babies, even cattle and then you must burn that city to the ground. Oh and by the way thou shalt not kill. So I hope you can see why it is that I have trouble embracing this god of the desert. This god of jealousy, vengeance, & death that Christians seem to be so fond of. And I hope they can understand why it is that I want absolutely nothing to do with him whether he exists or not. I simply don’t share his values I find them to be quite literally inhuman. So I really don’t care what he’s got to say about anything. And if he came clumping down from heaven right now waving the book of Judges in my face, I’d simply tell him what I tell every other evangelizing prick I meet. No thanks, I’m not interested in your phony salvation. I prefer hell, because at least I’d know I was more morally correct.
LikeLike
Having proof might end faith, which is the seedbed of tribalism and division. Belief itself is the root of the problem. When our “beliefs” are challenged, norepinephrine is released and the heels dig in. It’s a neat trick replacing pride with faith (a mere word play) then instill the importance of faith at any cost. They’ve used our physiology against us.
LikeLike
Were there to be irrefutable proof that a Creator Deity exists, that proof would need to be more than just human devised for me. Maybe an instantaneous and world-wide smack-up-side-the-head of knowledge from said creator deity, such that all humans would fall still at the knowledge, all hatred and war would stop at the realization of our common existence and irrelevance in the scheme of the Universe that was also created by this entity, which no doubt expected it to produce life in various places.
This would be no creator deity like any human imaginings or have scripture and regulations made up by men and women who thought themselves above others. Those traits have no substance in a creator entity that should have done a total “knowledge smack” upon its creations long ago if it gave any thought at all to such creatures or cared in any manner what they did or did not do.
And, if such a creator entity made itself known to its creations, it would maybe have some reason for doing so, but I sort of think it would make atheists say, “Okay. Now back to the daily grind.”
If it was a creator entity that actually cared… WTF, dude?
Humans would be a nothing to this entity in the time frame and matter/energy stuff. Would it even care about all the stupid beliefs and religions, inventions and ruinations, wars and peace struggles that our species has participated in for the nano-second of our existence?
That is the most amazing aspect of deity beliefs and the religions that support them; that believers have faith that such a creator entity would even remember creating this planet we evolved upon, despite the fact that it seems hostile to life. And, that human life is special merely because they believe it is.
LikeLike