(May 1, 2015 at 7:35 am)robvalue Wrote: Yep, it should be easy to create such a test and if people really believe in the power of prayer they would be forthcoming. So far all tests have failed to confirm any benefit.
You are saying it the nice way. It already has been proven that prayer does not work, and therefore the God of such prayer does not exist. That is, the description, that those believers give of their God, is a description of something that does not exist.
So, to answer the opening post, not only can it be done, it already has been done.
The fact that some people believe anyway means nothing. There are still people who believe the earth is flat (just do a search for "flat earth society"). Evidence, reason, and proofs do not always stop people from believing drivel that they want to believe.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.