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The Thought-Experiment That Stumps Theists (Almost) Every Time
For those who believe in a god who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and not a sadistic monster, there are few arguments that can really make them question what they hold to be true. We all know the usual cop-outs like“it’s not something we are meant to understand” or the infamous “God works in mysterious ways”.
No doubt those can be made here too, it’s why almost had to be added in brackets to the title.
But for those who actually seek to justify their beliefs with logic and reason, here is a thought-experiment that, in my experience, has provided a good challenge.
Imagine there is a film Director who has written a script and hired a cast of actors, some good, some bad. The Director has seen all the actors’ previous work as well as their auditions, thus s/he should know whether they have talent or not. The actors get to set and start filming until the Director fires them near the end of production because they “can’t act”.
Could that Director’s actions be justified? Maybe if it were a case like Back to the Future, where key creatives fired Eric Stoltz weeks into production because they felt his performance was too intense. But Stoltz still had talent, just not the right kind for a light-hearted family film. Humans also have the propensity to make errors in judgment…
