Reply #154: I guess I don't understand. [View All]

[txaslftist]

Either words mean what they mean or they don't.
Dictionaries serve a function, in that they define what words mean in common parlance. If the response to a dictionary definition is "that's not really what that word means" then how can common people speaking in common parlance have a dialogue?

I am infinitely familiar with what the word "evidence" means. I am a criminal trial attorney. Eyewitness testimony is evidence. Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen, firsthand, miracles. Accordingly, there is evidence of miracles.

If you choose not to believe the evidence, that is your perogative. But that is a case of insufficient evidence, not one of no evidence. It is not a meaningless distinction.

"There is no evidence of the existence of God." is a declarative statement of fact, and is plainly refutable. "There is insufficient evidence to convince me of the existence of God." is a statement of opinion, and is not refutable, except as it please you.

That's a huge difference.