There's a Christian publication called Charisma, and its former editor, J. Lee Grady,
published a list of seven things that prove God is real.
He used the word "prove" in the title.
And I'm very excited, because all I need is one and I will start believing in God.
So, I want to see what his list consists of.
So, let's just run through his items one by one
and maybe along the course of this video
all of you and myself will all just magically become Christians, right?
Okay, so number one on the list:
Babies.
Literally babies. He believes that the birth of children somehow
is proof that God exists.
And the first thought that went through my mind when I read that was
an onion article
that said something like, "The miracle of birth happens for the
83 billionth time."
Like no, that's actually totally how evolution works, that's how we reproduce, that's
as had been happening for ever.
That there's no suggestion that it's the proof of God.
It's more just we're excited that we had a kid.
That's it. It's not proof of God's existence. Number two on his list:
Thunderstorms.
Because it reminds him of the majesty of God.
I remember hearing the story when I was a kid like, what are thunderstorms? They're the sound that God makes when he's bowling.
I guess that's what Grady's thinking about, like "yes, a thunderstorm it's a sign from God."
No, in fact, if you read a science book,
which apparently Mr. Grady never did,
you can learn about how thunderstorms work.
In fact, we will include the Wikipedia link for thunderstorms below,
so all of you can figure out what Mr. Grady never did.
But there's no reason to think thunderstorms are signs from God.
In fact, while we're at it, when it rains,
it's not because God is crying.
And when it snows, it's not like God is shaking his head and getting rid of the dandruff.
Number three:
Flowers.
Because according to him, their only job is to make the world beautiful.
No, actually the fact that flowers -- some flowers -- are really pretty,
is just a pleasant by-product.
But there are a lot of evolutionary reasons for why flowers exist.
So, I'll do what Grady never did.
We're going to include another Wikipedia link for flowers below, so you can learn a little bit about why they exist;
what kinds of flowers, and how they're adapted to do different things,
because he never bothered to look it up.
And it's not just flowers, it applies to plants,
and trees, and anything. You know, any sort of flora
out there.
There are reasons why they exist. It has nothing to do with God wanting to show off.
Number four: the Bible.
And Grady says it carries the same consistent message throughout its 66 books.
Yeah, sure, except for
all of the contradictions that you can find in the Bible.
I mean, there's nothing consistent about it.
If you read the Bible, you know that God isn't exactly portrayed as a great guy, especially in the Old Testament.
So, the idea that the Bible proves God...
I've read Harry Potter.
It doesn't prove the existence of Voldemort; I promise you.
Number five: the global spread of Christianity.
According to Grady,
the fact that the faith is spreading
is proof that it's true.
And obviously, if everyone likes something,
that is proof that it is true. That is, in fact, how science works, I think, right? You all take a popular vote somewhere and that's how we get scientific facts and theories.
No, that's ridiculous.
There's a reason Christianity spread as widely as it did,
and has everything to do with
violent wars. It has to do with
dictators who wanted to spread the faith everywhere and
you had to agree with them, or else...
That has as much to do with the spread of Christianity as anything else.
And let's not forget that when we say Christianity, it's not like there's one version,
even in America, the types of Christianity that you see are
totally different,
to the point where one Christian will say to another Christian:
"You're not the right type of Christian."
So, the fact that Christianity is spreading: 1) It's not the same thing that's spreading; and 2)
Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's true.
If we were going by popularity, then I guess, you know, The Big Bang Theory really is the funniest show on television.
And I dare you to find me someone who really thinks that's the case.
Number six: Jesus.
Citation needed, first of all,
and secondly the fact that God
gave birth to his son and then tortured him to death, supposedly,
doesn't really convince me that God exists.
And if it convinces anyone that God exists, is certainly not a god anyone ought to be worshipping.
And finally, Grady says:
My personal friendship with God.
Apparently, he gets feels on the inside and that's a reason all of us should believe in God.
Look, I'm glad he has a friend.
I have friends too, but I don't expect anyone else
to magically change their way of thinking because I have a friend, or because I felt something
at some point or another.
The fact is if a Muslim gave the same reasons for why their god exists,
or a Hindu gave the same reasons for why their gods exist,
or someone said the same thing about the Flying Spaghetti Monster,
everyone else would say:
"You've got to be kidding me, right?" Like, "That's your proof? That's the best you can offer?"
That's awful. That's embarrassing! If you're a Christian who does believe in God,
you ought to be looking at that list and saying:
No, that's not even close to why anyone...
You're not going to convince anyone to believe in God because of that.
And this is the guy who used to run Charisma.
So, it's just an embarrassing list. There's not a single shred of proof in it.
Here's the thing that should keep you a little bit optimistic.
If you read the comments underneath that article,
even the Christians who are commenting are like,
"This is a joke, right? I mean, it's not April Fool's yet, but that's a joke, right?"
So, at least someone sees through what he's trying to do.
My name is Hemant Mehta and I write at FriendlyAtheist.com
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