<Removing a quarter from my pocket>
Take a look at this quarter, Heads—There is a God or Tails—There is no God.
Are both just as likely? Or is there a reason to believe one over the other?
Occam’s Razor states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.
Let’s test it by examining this quarter and honestly answering these simple questions with the simplest explanation:
Scenario 1:
If I told you this quarter appeared out of nothing— that no material existed, then BAM - Quarter! Would you believe me?
Heads: Every effect has a cause. The existence of anything—including this quarter—points to a First Cause.
Tails: Since it is believed that the complex universe formed from nothing instantly, then it is very plausible that a simple coin could as well.
Scenario 2:
Life from non-life. If I declared that a louse materialized from George Washington’s hair on the quarter, would you believe me?
Heads: Life cannot come from non-life. Life comes only from life—and ultimately, a life-giver.
Tails: Though never observed it is believed that life once formed from non-living matter, so it’s possible given enough time for a bug to come from a coin as well.
Scenario 3:
What best explains the design of the quarter?
Heads: An intelligent mind gathered the needed material and designed this simple metal coin.
Tails: It's possible that the right amounts of silver, nickel, and copper, along with a nail file mixed in a pocket randomly formed this quarter over time.
Scenario 4:
George Washington's image represents liberty, justice, and love. What best explains these non-tangible, immeasurable unseen elements of life?
Heads: Humans are unlike any other creature—capable of reason, justice, and pursuing higher ideals, even willing to die to protect the rights of others.
Tails: Liberty, justice, and love are just social constructs—useful for survival.
Scenario 5:
Money, like this quarter, has an economic value but does money hold a moral value? Are there ways money should not be used?
Heads: Money should never be used to hurt people (murder, slavery, trafficking). This is unlawful and laws come from lawgivers.
Tails: Money is just a tool with no moral limits—its use is purely subjective and best left to the benefits of the ones possessing it.
Scenario 6:
If I flip this coin into the air, I know it will return to my hand at 9.8 meters per second squared. Science can observe this, but it can’t explain why laws of nature are constant.
Heads: The consistency of nature reflects the order of a Creator who upholds these laws.
Tails: Order can sometimes come from chaos at least once—there’s no deeper reason or explanation needed, we can just know they will always be that way, and we can hope to explain it one day.
Scenario 7:
The quarter's ridges were added safeguards to prevent “clipping", an action where people would clip portions of the coin to steal its true value of 25c
Heads: Just as ridges protect the value of a quarter, God’s moral laws safeguard truth and human dignity.
Tails: Morality and truth are subjective—right and wrong are determined by society.
Scenario 8:
Look at the tails sign of the coin, the design, the symbolism, the art. What best explains the creativity of people like this?
Heads: Gifts of creativity reflects the nature of God—to create and enjoy.
Tails: Creativity is purely the result of evolutionary adaptation, with no inherent meaning beyond survival advantages.
Scenario 9:
With this quarter, you only see 25% of the value of a dollar. What best explains the unseen immeasurable remaining 75%?
Heads: What’s unseen doesn’t mean unknown. I know the dollar is complete, even if I’m holding just a quarter of it.
Tails: The value of the unseen 75% is just a symbol—it doesn’t mean anything unless I have physical evidence to back it up
Tally Your Marks
Review each question and add up your totals. Now makeshift a new coin with the probabilities in favor of the side you chose the most, the weight being more favorable with each response. If you’ve answered honestly, I believe your coin—like mine—is heavily weighted toward heads.
I flip the coin one last time and cover it on my wrist. I’m not asking what you want to believe, but what makes the most sense... heads or tails?
