# Nonbelievers: How Would You React to the Following Events **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 12, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363 "2011-03-12T01:36:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/81 "2011-03-12T17:52:11Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I have to disagree with this. Non-magical explanations would still be more likely than magical ones. The disappearance specifically of Christians is not part of Christian scripture or most Christian belief anyway, and that selection could just as well be hostile as friendly. In fact, I would assume that it was _more_ likely to be hostile, since it would be involuntary and highly disruptive. This. Let’s say that one afternoon all of the children under the age of 12 in your town disappeared. Would your first reaction be, “Oh Joy! Our children have gone off to a better place! Praise God!” I don’t think you would get this reaction from very many people, including Christians. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/82 "2011-03-12T17:52:22Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > This is why I gave differing answers to 1 and 2, and spelled this out. If it’s just you hearing the voice, it’s much more reasonable to assume you’re crazy. If everyone hears the voice, less so. > > It’s just implausible for every single member of the human race, regardless of their cultural backgrounds or their isolation from other people, to have the same exact delusion at the same time. > > Now - you could still be living in your own delusion. You could be completely hallucinating all the news broadcasts that report that everyone else shares your delusion. You could be imagining all the conversations you had with people who describe having the same experience as you. But at that point you’re so far gone you have no grasp on reality at all. You are a non-functional, completely crazy person - so it doesn’t really matter what you choose to believe on this issue, it’s not like you’re going go on and have a normal life otherwise. And there are people who ARE this far gone, who DO live so far in their own delusions and there are even names for it and medications for it, etc. Again, this is something we see and something there’s evidence for, which makes it a hell of a sight more likely than something we’ve never seen before for which there has never been evidence. I’d stick with the plausible and the possible before leaping into the impossible. I don’t think that’s some horrible statement about my personality. Bigfoot existing is plausible. God existing isn’t. Bigfoot doesn’t defy the laws of physics. God does. Sue me for having a pretty high standard of evidence for the latter that the former doesn’t need to meet. ETA: If you introduced me to the IPU, I’d assume a delusion, too. Because the IPU, being both invisible AND pink, also defies the laws of physics. Introduce me simply to a horse with a single horn and I’d say, “Wow, a unicorn.” ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/83 "2011-03-12T17:54:54Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Non-magical explanations would still be more likely than magical ones. Maybe I’m not as die-hard rational as you, but overnight mass abduction by aliens strikes me as being every bit as magical. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/84 "2011-03-12T17:56:53Z")
> [@Walmarticus](#): > > Maybe I’m not as die-hard rational as you, but overnight mass abduction by aliens strikes me as being every bit as magical. We know that lifeforms can exist in our universe. We are the evidence for that. We know that intelligent beings can be assholes. We are also the evidence for that. We don’t have evidence for spirits or magic creators. Why do you think they are equally likely? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/85 "2011-03-12T18:03:33Z")
A better thread might have been; You are raised to be religious from a young age. After awhile it dawns on you that you have seem zero evidence of a god. At what point do you say" this is stupid, I want out". ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/86 "2011-03-12T18:11:03Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > A better thread might have been; > You are raised to be religious from a young age. After awhile it dawns on you that you have seem zero evidence of a god. At what point do you say" this is stupid, I want out". Perhaps a person raised to believe in blind faith isn’t looking for evidence? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/87 "2011-03-12T18:13:10Z")
> [@Walmarticus](#): > > Maybe I’m not as die-hard rational as you, but overnight mass abduction by aliens strikes me as being every bit as magical. It’s not. To put it another way, you have to rule out natural explanations before youi consider supernatural ones. Aliens are a natural explanation, which means aliens are exponentially more likely than a sky god. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/88 "2011-03-12T18:17:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Perhaps a person raised to believe in blind faith isn’t looking for evidence? I think this is the case for most religious people. It isn’t that they are delusional or irrational or stupid, so much as they just never really examine what they were taught. Richard Dawkins speculates that there is an evolutionary reason for this - that as young children, we are wired to believe to what adults (especially our parents) tells us without question. That means the garbage gets programmed and believed right along with the important stuff like, “don’t go swimming with the crocodiles.” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/89 "2011-03-12T18:50:24Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > And there are people who ARE this far gone, who DO live so far in their own delusions and there are even names for it and medications for it, etc. Again, this is something we see and something there’s evidence for, which makes it a hell of a sight more likely than something we’ve never seen before for which there has never been evidence. Really? There are people who believe that everyone else is hearing God’s voice, or have similar delusional beliefs about other people’s minds? I’ve encountered plenty of crazies, but they tend not to be concerned about what’s going on in other folks’ minds–it’s this difference that in the hypothetical would make me take the second scenario more seriously than the first. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/90 "2011-03-12T18:51:08Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > A better thread might have been; > You are raised to be religious from a young age. After awhile it dawns on you that you have seem zero evidence of a god. At what point do you say" this is stupid, I want out". I have long suspected this is the case for the OP. He was raised in a house with certain beliefs that as a smart young person he is starting to question. I’m sure that’s a scary place to be as a young adult. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > This sort of hypothetical is extremely unlikely to ever happen - and that’s sort of the point, god is extremely unlikely to exist - but in the hypothetical that there was pretty good evidence of something pointing to god’s existance, the hypothetical reaction should be to very well consider the possibility of God’s existance. This reminds me of the thread that where the OP was (apparently) trying to come up with a disproof of ghosts. Yes, if there were overwhelming scientific proof of God we would all believe. The problem is there is zero proof. Throwing a bunch of hypotheticals at the situation won’t make it better. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/91 "2011-03-12T18:59:52Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s not. Of course it is. Aliens can’t make people vanish and telepathically communicate with the entire world unless they’re also wizards, which I don’t think makes it any more logical than if the alien wizards were just regular wizards. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/92 "2011-03-12T19:02:26Z")
> [@Walmarticus](#): > > Of course it is. > > Aliens can’t make people vanish and telepathically communicate with the entire world unless they’re also wizards How do you know? At one time people would have said that humans couldn’t fly through the air without magic. You would still have to assume that the aliens just had some kind of superior - perhaps incomprensible to us - technology. Not that they were using magic. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/93 "2011-03-12T19:09:12Z")
1. get Professional help. 2. get Professional help. 3. Free stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/94 "2011-03-12T19:53:04Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > How do you know? At one time people would have said that humans couldn’t fly through the air without magic. You would still have to assume that the aliens just had some kind of superior - perhaps incomprensible to us - technology. Not that they were using magic. How incomprehensible does something have to be to us before you say a wizard did it? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/95 "2011-03-12T19:55:52Z")
> [@Walmarticus](#): > > How incomprehensible does something have to be to us before you say a wizard did it? That’s a totally wrong scale–it’s like saying, how incomprehensible does something have to be before I say a unicorn did it. I don’t believe in wizards, so if something happens, I pretty much believe it was done by something other than a wizard. Unless, of course, whatever happens is sufficient to change my mind about the existence of wizards :). ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/96 "2011-03-12T20:03:50Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > How do you know? At one time people would have said that humans couldn’t fly through the air without magic. You would still have to assume that the aliens just had some kind of superior - perhaps incomprensible to us - technology. Not that they were using magic. The same could be said about God. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/97 "2011-03-12T20:14:38Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > If God was real i would fight him with every ounce of my being. Any entity that has the power to stop evil and suffering and does nothing is at best uncaring, but when it starts demanding worship and obedience under the threat of eternal punishment then it is beyond evil. I don’t just not believe in your god, i do not understand how anyone who believes in him isn’t terrified to the core of their being. That’s what “God-fearing” means, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/98 "2011-03-12T20:28:14Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That’s a totally wrong scale–it’s like saying, how incomprehensible does something have to be before I say a unicorn did it. I don’t believe in wizards, so if something happens, I pretty much believe it was done by something other than a wizard. Unless, of course, whatever happens is sufficient to change my mind about the existence of wizards :). I was just wondering if Dio could imagine a phenomenon for which the supernatural was the only explanation. Then I will wonder what makes it supernatural but not aliens and telepathy. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/99 "2011-03-12T20:48:32Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > I didn’t just say that people know that it’s God, I also said that it actually **is** God (in the misunderstood hypothetical). I understand that. But the ‘knowing’ side of things will effect people’s responses. Even if we take it as a given that the One True God is speaking to folks on Earth via a mysterious disembodied voice, and people felt that they ‘knew’ that this was so, once we allow one supernatural entity it’s perfectly possible that there can be two, or eighty nine billion. And humans would have no real way to differentiate authentic ‘knowing of God’ versus any other magical being making them feel really, really certain so that they ‘know’ that it’s God, even when it’s Demon Number 72330. After all, people have been certain that they were communing with God and have brought back mutually exclusive and/or contradictory messages from others who had a similar experience. There’s nothing to suggest that, even in a universe where there was a God, that people couldn’t simply be tricked into thinking that He was talking to them. Especially if someone hasn’t had authentic communication with God, how would they know the difference between “yep, that’s the Big Guy” and “well, this certainly feels transcendent, it must be real.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363/100 "2011-03-12T20:53:17Z")
1. Hallucination 2. Aliens 3. Aliens [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonbelievers-how-would-you-react-to-the-following-events/574363.md?page=6)