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Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 4:17 pm
Hi,
I´m new to this particular forum and feel an urge to correct a common misconception among atheists.
I have heard Richard Dawkins equating his disbelief in god and his disbelief in, say, unicorns. I rather resent the idea of putting both on the same spot. Let me elaborate.
Whenever you try to assert the probability of an event X, you must multiply the probabilities of all prerequisite events A(1),...,A(n).
If we consider unicorns the events are: Some horse was able to grow a horn.
That doesn´t seem too far-fetched since one can easily imagine evolutionary benefits that may lead to that.
If we then consider for example the judeo-christian god, there are numerous events which needs be actualized so the concept may prevail:
-virgin birth --- reincarnation of christ --- many, many biblical events, etc.
non of which I personally would consider very likely to have happened. Multiplying those probabilities will get you quite close to 0. The product converges superlinearily, a mathematician might be tempted to say. m 
So I submit to you: Give unicorns (or other ungodly creatures) a goddamn break! 
cheers!
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 4:19 pm
He has also compared his disbelief to disbelief in fairies, I think you'll be hard pressed to come up with an evolutionary explanation for those.
'The more I learn about people the more I like my dog'- Mark Twain
'You can have all the faith you want in spirits, and the afterlife, and heaven and hell, but when it comes to this world, don't be an idiot. Cause you can tell me you put your faith in God to put you through the day, but when it comes time to cross the road, I know you look both ways.' - Dr House
“Young earth creationism is essentially the position that all of modern science, 90% of living scientists and 98% of living biologists, all major university biology departments, every major science journal, the American Academy of Sciences, and every major science organization in the world, are all wrong regarding the origins and development of life….but one particular tribe of uneducated, bronze aged, goat herders got it exactly right.” - Chuck Easttom
"If my good friend Doctor Gasparri speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched.....You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others. There is a limit." - Pope Francis on freedom of speech
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 4:20 pm
Well, I believe Dawkins' point is that there is the same level of evidence for both (i.e. none), not that they're equally likely. Also, welcome!
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 4:20 pm
(This post was last modified: August 20, 2014 at 5:49 pm by JesusHChrist.)
No disagreement on the likelihood of unicorns vs. God-monsters a la Yahweh/Jesus/Ghost. Unicorns seem more probable.
Nonetheless, I remain a staunch a-unicornist until evidence can be presented.
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 5:47 pm
Yeah, right!
Next you're gonna tell me that vampires and werewolves aren't real!
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 6:11 pm
(This post was last modified: August 20, 2014 at 6:11 pm by g0sU.)
(August 20, 2014 at 4:19 pm)Bad Wolf Wrote: He has also compared his disbelief to disbelief in fairies, I think you'll be hard pressed to come up with an evolutionary explanation for those.
My main point is of course the sheer amount of highly unlikely things having to have happened that makes religions more absurd than most supernatural fabrications. By no means was I trying to give all the other superstitions an evolutionary basis.
Why I argued for the unicorn in this way? Because.
cheers!
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 6:50 pm
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 7:51 pm
Rhinos have two horns.
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 7:56 pm
I've got one.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: Holy father vs. unicorns
August 20, 2014 at 8:32 pm
This is like the most brilliant, stupidest and insane threads all at once.
...Meow
Ut supra, ita inferius
Uƚ ƨuqɿɒ, iƚɒ inʇɘɿiuƨ
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