'Prove claims' question.

[Edwardo Piet]

To my mind, "I think" denotes opinion and opinion is not a claim as such ... it does, however, depend very much on how it is expressed.

Kyu

I agree with Kyu I think. I think its a matter on how its expressed despite if it starts with "I think".
For example perhaps "I think" should be treated as a claim if its basically explicit assertion disguised as opinion simply with "I think" inserted in front or something.
I can imagine that some people would be convinced by "I think" a lot more because the "I think" denotes opinion despite the fact it shouldn't be given more respect of it was expressed without the "I think" if its still a totally absurd thing.
For example is a dogmatic preacher went around preaching but simply inserted "I think" in front of things he could still convince a lot of people. Perhaps even more to those who don't like being explicitly told things and have claims asserted on them.
I think at times it could be a sneaky disguise in certain situations as I think bozo was saying at the start of this thread.
Lets see with an example, lets see what its like. I found this quote: "Man is the same today that he has always been. He is a rebel against God. He may, in some generations, hide his rebellion a little more carefully than at other times, but there is no change in his heart. The men who builded the city against God back in the days of Babylon had the same hatred as that which possessed the men who nailed the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross." ~ Donald Grey Barnhouse.
Now what would it sound like expressed as an opinion? Words in bold are where I have edited: "I think man is the same today that he has always been. I think He is a rebel against God. I think He may, in some generations, hide his rebellion a little more carefully than at other times, but there is no change in his heart. I think The men who builded the city against God back in the days of Babylon had the same hatred as that which possessed the men who I think nailed the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross who I think existed/exists." ~ edited version.
And you can substitute "I think" for "I believe" if you wish too if it makes a difference.
Seems pretty weak to me. But I can imagine perhaps some people would fall for it if some people fall for preachers just asserting claims in their face without anything to back them up!
P.S: This wouldn't count as plagiarism would it? Because I made sure I gave the name of who I was quoting. And then I made it very clear that I was doing an edited version and the parts in bold were the edited parts. If its plagiarism please tell me and I'll delete the quotes immediately.
EDIT: I think now that perhaps "I believe" sounds stronger (sounds more like a claim) but is still considered an opinion. It seems like a middle ground between a claim and "I think". If the preacher I quoted said "I believe" instead of "I think" perhaps it would sound more forceful but still be considered opinion, could have more of an effect. Convince more people, yet still sound disguised as an opinion perhaps. "I believe" sounds strong and also positive to a lot of people I'm sure. "I think" sounds weak and more neutral.
So I think its how "I think" and "I believe", etc are expressed too. Like Kyu said, how its expressed matters even if it still has "I think" in front.