Sorry problem with the post two steps above this one. This is the intended message (mods please delete the two posts above and let this one remain instead):

I used to argue over the existence or non-existence of God, but have realized that the debate actually isn't about existence or not, but about the consequences a proof of either existence or non-existence would have. It is further complicated by the fact that people define God differently. I think the debate is facilitated if it's split up into a few different parts:

- is there a being/force etc. that created everything? The answer is yes, no matter whether you're atheist or believe in God. The force is either God, Determinism or a controlled random process.
- will this force make sure good wins in the end, and punish bad? There exists a lot of scientifically shown causalities that often make sure the bad guys don't fare particularly well on earth, but there are exceptions where bad people could achieve much without getting punished (usually the ones people concentrate on rather than looking at the billions of examples where good is favored and bad punished).
- this good rewarded and bad punished thing, is it carried out by a system created by this great force, or is it continually a result of actions by this force? One can show many causalities in the very laws of nature which punishes bad guys and rewards good guys in most cases. However there are a few cases of "miracles" or unexpected events. Whether these are caused by a random process or by a God doesn't matter, it's too unusual to hope for and count on.
- does belief in the higher being increase your health, well-being and ability to defend yourself against threats on earth? Nothing implies so. But it can give comfort, but so can insight in the causalities and laws of nature.
- is science, research and philosophy good or evil things? They often result in bad things. Civilization has been a curse, but has also given us a few good technological advances.
- are humans superior to all other beings? this is a matter of definition - define being superior to another being.
- is it possible to change the very system of earth so that evilness pays off more, and death and destruction increases, without any force like a God having to interfere to give the punishment? Many causalities and laws of nature have shown that this is the case, and it has been confirmed after major disasters and similar. No lighting bolts are needed to destroy modern equivalents of Sodom and Gomorra, however there isn't full consistency in who gets punished by the wrath of nature/God.
- should humans accept poverty and oppression because there is a good God and he thinks this is the correct order of things? There is nothing that suggests any God would like poverty, and in this case the religion is used as a tool of oppression.
- are humans entitled to destroy nature or do whatever they like with it? Will they be punished if they do? Much suggests that it's in the very system of earth things that will strike back at us when we damage earth. Whether a God has created this system or not matters little. As miracles are statistically unlikely, they can be attributed either to the very system (created by God, Determinism or a controlled random process), or God or randomness interefering along the way. However, the interferences from our scientific models and common sense expectations are very few and nothing we can rely on largely. Destroying nature must, whether God exists or not, be considered a dangerous thing, probably also a sin which God could punish people for, but we can't know as nothing explicitly has been said about it (however killing humans is sinful, so the indirect deaths of humans caused by destruction of nature might indeed be a sin).
- if we screw up completely with earth, will a savior come and rescue us all? We can't know, and it's pretty foolish to try our luck at this. The bible messages about saviors are vague at best, and there are also insinuations about bad guys being punished when the savior comes. It's very likely that the destruction of earth could be considered a sin by this savior, so there's really nothing that suggests we should continue with it.
- is there a life after death? nobody has ever returned to tell us about it. There also seems to be conflicts about what sends you to paradise and what sends you to hell. Therefore, relying too much on the afterlife seems risky. If you want a good life it's best to try and make your life on earth good.

...and so on...

In any case if God's existence is to be proved or counter-proved, it's an essential first step to define God. If the definition is:
- allmighty
- can interfere with ANYTHING happening now
- good
then his definition in itself is a contradiction, which means he can't exist. But if it is:
- the creating force behind everything
- interferes little or nothing in the system once it has been created
- good
then he can exist. God could also be defined as:
- the truth itself
- the reality
- the very system and laws of nature and everything that is, and that carries out the punishing and rewarding
- prayers to God can comfort and make the praying person strength and insight to deal with the problem he prays for help against, without it actually affecting God's decision. God can still be a personal God and listen, and be attributed the response in the form of the insight the praying man/woman gets.
- God can be wisdom itself
...without the definition being a contradiction.

The bible definition of God is quite vague, but following the system of all other names in the bible, the very name of God might be a good description and definition of him as a character, just like Jakob = "he who pulls in the leg" or Israel = "he who fights with God" and so on. "I am" might suggest something along the lines mentioned above - he is "all that exists", "the truth", "the wisdom" and so on. And the truth of course exist, because that's the very definition of the truth - the truth is that that exists.

For the record, I'm an atheist, but reading the bible in an objective way I find it to be more of a praise of an atheistic-like, secularised wisdom and philosophy, than a dogmatic belief, and therefore I could title myself Christian as well, although I don't, as people might find it offensive.