There was an interesting experiment I read about a number of years ago (I'll see if I can find a link later on).

A group made up a story about a ghostly priest haunting the docks of London, where no previous supernatural reports had been made, and let it spread among the locals.

Within weeks they were getting reports not only of recent sightings but, interestingly, historical accounts going back decades.

This tells me exactly what I need to know about people "seeing" a "miracle" from so many miles away.

Why doesn't this deity make such things happen now, where they can be recorded and studied?

Is he shy of the press?

"Hey, kid, whatcha looking at?"

"I thought I saw something-wait, there it is! Something's funny about the sun! Look!"

"Uh, okay, sure, kid. What am I looking at it for, exactly? What is it you see?"

"It's kinda wobbly-it's like it's shaking and moving down lower in the sky!"

"Uh-huh, yes, the sun gradually sets after noon, nothing special about that."

"Just keep looking!"

"Oh, fine...argh, that's fucking bright...holy crap, you're right! I've been staring at the sun for an uncomfortably long time and I'm experience a visual phenomenon as a result! IT MUST BE THE WINKING ANUS OF JESUS!"

Indeed it's almost always some back water that gets miracles . One wonders why, London, Paris, New York , didn't get it if the point was to convince masses to believe.

So far I've yet to see anyone disprove what has been presented. Instead I'm just reading "I refuse to believe" against thousands of testimonials from people who didn't know each other.

While we're at it, we might as well pick a few random events in history that have plenty of testimonials, and deny those too. Boston tea party? Sounds fishy to me, therefore it never happened. Abe Lincoln's assassination? I don't believe it could have happened that way, therefore it never happened.

Such is the absurd position of atheists who accept history handed down to them only when it suits them, and deny what they don't personally believe. What hypocrisy. Let an atheist write our history books and we will only get part of what really happened.

(August 6, 2017 at 10:55 pm)Astonished Wrote: "Hey, kid, whatcha looking at?"

"I thought I saw something-wait, there it is! Something's funny about the sun! Look!"

"Uh, okay, sure, kid. What am I looking at it for, exactly? What is it you see?"

"It's kinda wobbly-it's like it's shaking and moving down lower in the sky!"

"Uh-huh, yes, the sun gradually sets after noon, nothing special about that."

"Just keep looking!"

"Oh, fine...argh, that's fucking bright...holy crap, you're right! I've been staring at the sun for an uncomfortably long time and I'm experience a visual phenomenon as a result! IT MUST BE THE WINKING ANUS OF JESUS!"

Again considering the so called witnesses could not decide what they were seeing .....

(August 6, 2017 at 10:47 pm)The Valkyrie Wrote: Claims are not proof.  And I'm not inclined to believe claims.

But there were whole bunches of people making the same claim, so they claim.  I mean, how you gonna go against the numbers???[/sarcasm]

(August 6, 2017 at 10:57 pm)pabsta Wrote: So far I've yet to see anyone disprove what has been presented. Instead I'm just reading "I refuse to believe" against thousands of testimonials from people who didn't know each other.

While we're at it, we might as well pick a few random events in history that have plenty of testimonials, and deny those too. Boston tea party? Sounds fishy to me, therefore it never happened. Abe Lincoln's assassination? I don't believe it could have happened that way, therefore it never happened.

Such is the absurd position of atheists who accept history handed down to them only when it suits them, and deny what they don't personally believe. What hypocrisy. Let an atheist write our history books and we will only get part of what really happened.

And THIS is exactly the type of reaction atheists are used to getting from theists who present claims and then get defensive when those claims aren't accepted unquestioningly by us as it is the theist.

There's nothing to disprove.

Certainly nothing has been proved.

Just, as I say, a number of claims.

We have "testimonials" from all over the world of people being abducted by aliens.

Do you accept them?  Or will you put a religious spin on the "experiences" of these people?

(August 6, 2017 at 11:01 pm)Whateverist Wrote:

(August 6, 2017 at 10:47 pm)The Valkyrie Wrote: Claims are not proof.  And I'm not inclined to believe claims.

But there were whole bunches of people making the same claim, so they claim.  I mean, how you gonna go against the numbers???[/sarcasm]

If we're going with numbers, then more than half the world's population is Asian.  Therefore being Asian is correct and the rest of us are wrong.

Quote:So far I've yet to see anyone disprove what has been presented. Instead I'm just reading "I refuse to believe" against thousands of testimonials from people who didn't know each other

Then your clearly blind or dumb . Your nonsense has been refuted beyond reasonable doubt . And your appeal to numbers has been rendered moot.

(August 6, 2017 at 10:57 pm)pabsta Wrote: So far I've yet to see anyone disprove what has been presented. Instead I'm just reading "I refuse to believe" against thousands of testimonials from people who didn't know each other.

We don't have to "disprove" anything.  We merely have to read it and laugh at your gullibility.  We're not "refusing" to believe -- The bogus miracle in itself is simply not up to our evidentiary standards and can be dismissed as a myth.

Quote:While we're at it, we might as well pick a few random events in history that have plenty of testimonials, and deny those too. Boston tea party? Sounds fishy to me, therefore it never happened. Abe Lincoln's assassination? I don't believe it could have happened that way, therefore it never happened.

Believe that if you want, Pabsta -- One or two more stupid beliefs won't make a lot of difference in your reality-phobic worldview at this point.