John Page

Well, at least a turnip is something you can get your teeth into, not like this invisible pink unicorn stuff. Turnips aren't omniscient though, you need potatoes once in a while.

BTW, my daughter has a fluffy pink unicorn. She especially asked for it from Santa for Christmas. Maybe she's worshipping a false idol.

Not Prince Hamlet

John Page,

LOL!

Which: the unicorn or Santa?

Jeff

John Page

Sorry, the turnip.

bd-from-kg

Tercel:

1. This “rule” would seem to be derived from Occam’s Razor: the simplest explanation consistent with the evidence is to be preferred. The problem with this from the theistic point of view is that Occam’s Razor defeats any possible attempt to make an evidential case for the existence of God, because God can never be the simplest explanation for anything. God is by definition more complex than any other conceivable entity. So according to Occam’s Razor any other explanation of any evidence is simpler than this, and so is to be preferred.

2. This rule is far from absolute. If we’re sane, we don’t simply assume that we’re not being tricked if this assumption would lead us to fly large planes into tall buildings.
Con men everywhere would love it if everyone were to adopt this rule, but the rest of us would soon learn the validity of the rule that a fool and his money are soon parted.

When the stakes are high, we simply do not assume that we’re not being tricked in the absence of evidence to the contrary. If the hypothesis that one is not being tricked entails that one should change his entire life and act in ways that appear on the face of it to be contrary to one’s self-interest, a sane person assumes that he is being tricked unless he sees massive evidence showing that he isn’t.

Finally, of course, what’s “convenient to assume” isn’t the same thing as what’s true. If you want to make a case that it’s convenient to assume that the Christian God exists, that’s one thing; if you want to make a case that he really does exist, that’s quite another.

And if the Christian God does exist, considering the surpassing importance of our knowing this and the fact that He supposedly is very interested in our welfare, it seems odd that He would provide such paltry evidence of His existence that the best that can be said is that it is “convenient to assume” that He exists. Why wouldn’t the evidence be overwhelming and totally convincing to any sane person?

Aside from the decisive objection that the “God hypothesis” violates Occam’s Razor as pointed out earlier, it ignores that fact that all available evidence must be taken into account in arriving at such conclusions. Thus the evidence “for” the Christian God must be weighed against contrary evidence. In particular, as we’ve discussed on another thread, if miracle claims are cited as “evidence for”, any evidence that casts doubt on the truth of those claims must be taken into account. Any reasons for doubting that the Bible was produced or inspired by God must count against. And any reasons for finding Christian theology inherently implausible must be factored in as well. IMHO, any rational evaluation of all of the evidence leads to the conclusion that the existence of the Christian God is ridiculously unlikely.

Orpheous99

That is because the only true god is the BBB, or Big Blue Banana. He only made you think of George as a means to test you and you have failed. Prepare to be peeled.

hinduwoman

Well, if she got what she asked from Santa, then obviously Santa is the true god; however he can be an aspect of the IPU. Possibly, your daughter instinctively knew that IPU exists and so asked for an imager of Her.

John Page

Look, as everyone knows, santa is just a front. Its the turnip, with its potato helpers, that manufacture and deliver all the presents with the help of all those fit and wholesome young people from Baywatch.

Anyway, how does anyone know the IPU is pink, let alone a unicorn, if its invisible. Smells like a load of rotten vegetables to me.

Jonsey3333

It should not be thought that George the Turnip is a "He". Turnips transcend gender distinction.

-Mike

Not Prince Hamlet

No, George is a he. He just made up all the transcending gender stuff because He thought it was funny.

Jeff

Bill Snedden

Turnips, perhaps?

HERETIC! We know that the unicorn is pink because She says so! To deny Her Pinkness is to commit blasphemy!

In Her Name,

Bill Snedden
Prophet-in-training