I feel you're confusing "I don't believe [Insert Claim]" with "[Insert Claim] is not true."
If you're going to assert that there isn't a green spotted dragon living in Lake Michigan, then you do have to provide evidence. You're making a claim, and the fact that you're responding to a ludicrous claim doesn't change that.
To my understanding, Sarah's position is, "I feel the universe can be explained without reference to God, and I feel that 'God exists' is a stronger claim than 'God doesn't exist,' therefore I choose to believe he doesn't exist. If someone wants to change that belief, they're going to have to provide evidence." -- that's not a claim so much as it's an opinion. To me, that's a lot different than, "therefore God doesn't exist" (lack of proof is not proof of lack).
no subject
If you're going to assert that there isn't a green spotted dragon living in Lake Michigan, then you do have to provide evidence. You're making a claim, and the fact that you're responding to a ludicrous claim doesn't change that.
To my understanding, Sarah's position is, "I feel the universe can be explained without reference to God, and I feel that 'God exists' is a stronger claim than 'God doesn't exist,' therefore I choose to believe he doesn't exist. If someone wants to change that belief, they're going to have to provide evidence." -- that's not a claim so much as it's an opinion. To me, that's a lot different than, "therefore God doesn't exist" (lack of proof is not proof of lack).