Whether God's Existence Can Be Proven XIII

What must be considered in the context of whether the fifth proposition (that "no human being up to the present moment has proven that God exists") is true, are the relevant conditions to the truth or falsity of the proposition. This question invites a further clarification of what people have in mind by the word "prove" with respect to any of the six possible propositions they might have in mind regarding a proof for the existence of God.

It is crucial to distinguish between logical and non-logical factors or conditions. Consider the previous explanation of a sound argument in which it was stated that the following minimum conditions are required for a proof: the argument must have a valid form and the propositions constituting the argument must be true. These are logical requirements for the argument being a proof. As it was previously mentioned, a person need not know that an argument is valid or the propositions constituting it are true in order for an argument to be sound. Neither is it a requirement for the argument to be sound that there be a complete or widespread agreement that the argument is sound, or that the argument be convincing to many people, or that the argument be easy to understand. These are non-logical conditions which are not necessary conditions for an argument to be sound. To maintain that they are requirements confuses the logical and epistemological realms.

Moreover, a condition for an argument being a proof is obviously not that the argument has been passed down through history.