Proof #41 - Flip a coin
If you are a Christian who believes in the power of prayer, here is a very
simple experiment that will show you something very interesting about your
faith.
Take a coin out of your pocket. Now pray sincerely to Ra:
Dear Ra, almighty sun god, I am going to flip this ordinary coin 50
times, and I am asking you to cause it to land heads-side-up all 50 times.
In Ra's name I pray, Amen.
Now flip the coin. Chances are that you won't get past the fifth or sixth
flip and the coin will land tails.
What does this mean? Most people would look at this data and conclude that
Ra is imaginary. We prayed to Ra, and Ra did nothing. We can prove that Ra
is imaginary by using statistical analysis. If we flip the coin thousands of
times, praying to Ra each time, we will find that the coin lands heads or
tails in exact correlation with the normal laws of probability. Ra has
absolutely no effect on the coin no matter how much we pray.
Even if we find a thousand of Ra's most faithful believers and ask them to
do the praying/flipping, the results will be the same.
Therefore, as rational people, we conclude that Ra is imaginary. We look at
Ra in the same way that we look at Leprechauns, Mermaids, Santa and so on.
We know that people who believe in Ra are delusional.
Now let's try the experiment again, but this time let's pray to Jesus Christ
instead of Ra. Pray sincerely to Jesus like this:
Dear Jesus, I know that you exist and I know that you hear and answer
prayers as you promise in the Bible. I am going to flip this ordinary coin
50 times, and I am asking you to cause it to land heads-side-up all 50
times. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Now flip the coin. Once again, after the fifth or sixth flip, the coin will
land tails.
If we flip the coin thousands of times, praying to Jesus each time, we will
find that the coin lands heads or tails in exact correlation with the normal
laws of probability. We can gather together a group of Jesus' most pious
followers to do the praying and the result will be the same. Jesus will have
zero effect on the coin.
This makes complete sense. It is not like there are two laws of
probability -- one for Christians who pray and the other for non-Christians.
We all know that. There is only one law of probability because prayers have
zero effect. That goes for all prayers. Jesus has no effect on our planet no
matter how much we pray. We can prove that conclusively using statitical
analysis.
Key Point
It is not like there are two laws of probability -- one for Christians who
pray and the other for non-Christians. There is only one law of probability
because prayers have zero effect. Jesus has no effect on our planet no
matter how much we pray.
If you are a Christian, watch what is happening inside your mind right now.
The data is absolutely identical in both experiments. With Ra you looked at
the data rationally and concluded that Ra is imaginary. But with Jesus...
something else will happen. In your mind, you are already coming up with a
thousand rationalizations to explain why Jesus did not answer your prayers:
* It is not his will
* He doesn't have time
* I didn't pray the right way
* I am not worthy
* I do not have enough faith
* I cannot test the Lord like this
* It is not part of Jesus' plan for me
* And on and on and on...
One rationalization that you may find yourself developing is particularly
interesting. You may say to yourself: "Well, of course Jesus doesn't answer
me when I pray about a coin toss, because it is too trivial." Where did this
rationalization come from? If you read what Jesus says about prayer in the
Bible (see Proof #1), Jesus does not ever say, "don't pray to me about coin
tosses." Jesus clearly says he will answer your prayers, and he puts no
boundaries on what you may pray for. You invented this rationalization out
of thin air.
If you are a Christian who is offended by the notion of praying about a coin
toss, then let's try this instead. Get down on your knees right now and pray
as follows:
"Dear Jesus, son of God, the almighty, all-powerful, all-loving
creator of the universe, we pray to you to cure every case of cancer on this
planet tonight. Please hear our heartfelt, unselfish, non-materialistic
prayer and fulfill your promises in Matthew 7:7, Matthew 17:20, Matthew
21:21, Mark 11:24, John 14:12-14, Matthew 18:19, Mark 9:23, Luke 1:37, James
5:15-16 and many other places. We pray knowing that when you answer this
prayer, it will glorify God and help millions of people in remarkable ways.
In your name we pray, Amen."
Will every case of cancer be gone tomorrow? Of course not. If you are a
believer, you can create dozens of rationalizations for this unanswered
prayer. But that does not change the reality of the situation. There is zero
effect from praying, and it does not matter what you pray for.
You are an expert at creating rationalizations for Jesus. The reason you are
an expert is because Jesus does not answer any of your prayers (see Proof
#2). The reason why Jesus does not answer any of your prayers is because
Jesus is imaginary. We can find dozens of pieces of evidence to demonstrate
that the Christian story is imaginary. Start with Proof #1 to see them all.
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