The Demons Also Believe (Poor Devils!)

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Two difficulties face the participants in this controversy. The first of these is the fact that proof is not objective. Evidence is objective because it exists. Proof, however, is completely subjective. Proof exists only in the mind of the individual. The adage, One person’s junk is another person’s treasure, illustrates the point. That is exactly how it is with proof. One person’s “proof” is another person’s foolishness. Absolute proof is also largely the consensus of the majority. Therefore, it is elusive. It is difficult to achieve even with the best of tools, as any lawyer can tell you. In a court of law, lawyers present evidence followed by arguments based on that evidence. Arguments that convince a panel of jurors “prove” guilt or innocence. But good lawyers know they don’t win cases solely by proving their case with objective evidence and rational arguments. They win by convincing subjective jurors.

Jurors selected to hear legal arguments are presumed to be unbiased. But that is largely a fiction. Two juries hearing the same evidence may or may not reach the same verdict. That is why lawyers don’t seek just to “prove” their case with evidence. They do whatever is necessary to convince the jurors.

The best lawyers know that people who are unswayed by convincing arguments will often be influenced emotionally. That is where the subjective nature of “proof” enters the picture. It is also the reason you hear successful lawyers accused of playing to the jury instead of sticking to the objective facts of the case.

A valid definition of proof is convincing arguments based on evidence. So when I use the terms prove and proof, I am referring to such convincing arguments. But I realize that what is proof to one person will not be proof at all to someone else.

You can see then, that conservative religious leaders have been presenting arguments that conservative individuals will accept as “proof.” Those arguments will not convince everyone, however, since proof is a personal matter. If you are convinced something is true, you believe it. If you aren’t convinced, you don’t believe it. That is the way it should be. Everyone is responsible for what they choose to believe. That is why God is going to judge everyone individually—according to their own beliefs.

The second difficulty with “proof” is similar to the first, in that it involves an evasion of certainty. That is, one cannot prove non-existence. Existence is usually easy to prove. Simply let somebody see, hear, taste, touch, or smell something, and a rational person will be convinced it exists. It may not even have a name but, as they say, I’ll know it when I see it. So proof of existence begins with arguments based on evidence.

“The Demons Also Believe (Poor Devils!),” The Voice of Elijah^®, October 1991, pp. 4–5

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