Why an atheist can never know God

I had a debate with a Christian that went on for several days, after a few days of debating I decided to bow out of the debate because for some reason he and I could not come to agreement as to the difference between reason and faith. No matter what I said he insisted that scientific knowledge was based on faith because the non scientist had to believe what was  being told to him without having researched the evidence himself.

Today I was mulling over this problem and came to the conclusion that it is all based on two kinds of evidence,namely: objective and subjective evidence.
According to the business dictionary objective evidence is defined as:

Information based on facts that can be proved through analysis, measurement, observation, and other such means of research.

Subjective evidence is defined as:

Based on (or related to) attitudes, beliefs, or opinions, instead of on verifiable evidence or phenomenon. Contrasts with objective.

It is because of this that in my view science and faith will always be at odds for each other. A scientist or any thinker demands objective evidence. One example of objective evidence is that the Earth is an oblate spheroid (round with slightly flattened poles, and a bulging equator). This is a known fact which holds true whether you believe it or not. An example of subjective evidence which in reality is no evidence at all is that God exists. This is true only to those that choose to believe it by faith therefore faith is a subjective principle.