Changes

Logician [[Mortimer Adler]] concurs with Dr. Kennedy that the standard definition of atheism which attempts to prove a universal negative is a self- defeating proposition and prominent atheists such as [[Gordon Stein]] and [[Carl Sagan]] have candidly stated that God's existence cannot be disproven.<ref>http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm</ref>

Logician [[Mortimer Adler]] concurs with Dr. Kennedy that the standard definition of atheism which attempts to prove a universal negative is a self- defeating proposition and prominent atheists such as [[Gordon Stein]] and [[Carl Sagan]] have candidly stated that God's existence cannot be disproven.<ref>http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm</ref>

Many Atheists concede that it is impossible to ''empirically'' disprove the existence of God, since we lack the capacity to examine the Universe in its entirety. However, proponents of [[strong atheism|incoherency apologetics]] point to the fact that it is possible to prove universal negatives ''logically''. A common approach in logic to prove universal negatives is to show that the characteristics of the object in question contradict each other [http://www.discord.org/~lippard/debiak.html]. [[Strong atheism|Incoherency apologetics]] argues that many statements made about God are contradictory (as in the case of the [[problem of evil]]), and it is therefore logically impossible that there exists a God for which all the statements made about Him are true. These arguments challenge ''characteristics'' of God, and unless these characteristics are precisely defined, they cannot prove that the ''being'' referred to as God does not exist. Theistic responses include arguments that the claimed contradictions are not actual contradictions, and [[open theism]].

Many Atheists concede that it is impossible to ''empirically'' disprove the existence of God, since we lack the capacity to examine the Universe in its entirety. However, proponents of [[strong atheism|incoherency apologetics]] point to the fact that it is possible to prove universal negatives ''logically''. A common approach in logic to prove universal negatives is to show that the characteristics of the object in question contradict each other, a method known in Logic as ''reductio ad absurdum'' [http://www.iep.utm.edu/r/reductio.htm#H1]. [[Strong atheism|Incoherency apologetics]] argues that many statements made about God are contradictory (as in the case of the [[problem of evil]]), and it is therefore logically impossible that there exists a God for which all the statements made about Him are true. These arguments challenge that certain ''characteristics'' of God can coexist, but they cannot prove that the ''being'' referred to as God does not exist [http://www.discord.org/~lippard/debiak.html]. Theistic responses include arguments that the claimed contradictions are not actual contradictions, and [[open theism]].

===Atheism and Reasonable Argument===

===Atheism and Reasonable Argument===