Yesterday, we opened the case. Today, we lay the ground rules.
If this is truly a trial of ideas, then the courtroom demands more than passion—it demands structure. In a court of law, you don’t get to say, “I just feel like they’re guilty.” You need evidence. You need logic. You need coherence.
Religion, especially in America, has been immune to this process for too long. It floats above scrutiny, defended not with reason but with emotion, tradition, and often fear. But here’s the thing:
If your god is real, He can handle a little cross-examination.
If He can’t, then maybe He’s not what you think He is.
So before we go further, let’s agree on the terms of engagement. These are the
ground rules for God on Trial.
Rule 1: Claims Require Evidence
If you assert that a personal, all-powerful, all-knowing, invisible being created the universe and wants a relationship with you—that’s a claim. And like any claim, the burden of proof lies with you, the person making it.
You don’t get to say, “You can’t prove He doesn’t exist!” That’s not how this works. If someone tells you there’s an invisible unicorn in their garage, the world is not required to disprove it.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Not anecdotes. Not feelings. Not “it’s just what I believe.” Evidence.
Rule 2: Emotion Is Not Evidence
Yes, you felt joy. Yes, you cried in church. Yes, you experienced a moment of awe under the stars.
That’s not God. That’s your nervous system doing its job.
People feel transcendence all the time—in concerts, at funerals, during sex, while on psychedelics. Feeling something profound doesn't prove the source is divine. It only proves you're human.
Emotion is powerful. But in this courtroom, it’s
inadmissible as evidence.
Rule 3: The Bible Is Not a Trump Card
If we’re trying to prove God’s existence, you can’t use His book as proof. That’s textbook circular reasoning.
You wouldn’t accept the Qur’an as proof that Allah is the one true god. You wouldn’t accept the Book of Mormon as proof that Joseph Smith spoke to angels. So why expect the Bible to settle the matter for everyone else?
You can reference it—as a cultural text, as a philosophical source—but not as
self-validating evidence.
Rule 4: No Special Pleading
God doesn’t get a pass. You don’t get to say, “He works in mysterious ways,” every time something cruel or senseless happens.
If you say God is all-loving and all-powerful, then you’re on the hook for explaining suffering, genocide, birth defects, and natural disasters. You don’t get to duck responsibility with cosmic vagueness.
Either your god is accountable, or he’s irrelevant.
Rule 5: Reason Wins by Default
In the absence of proof, we don’t believe. That’s how every other area of knowledge works. We don’t believe in leprechauns, Atlantis, or talking snakes just because maybe they exist.
So if you can’t make your case, the default position is not faith, it’s nonbelief. Doubt is not arrogance—it’s the default setting of a rational mind.
Closing Statement: The Stakes
This series is not about mocking belief. It’s about confronting it honestly. If your god is real, then let the evidence speak for itself. If He’s not, then no amount of emotion, tradition, or sacred language will make Him real.
In God on Trial, the rules are simple: evidence matters, logic applies, and no one gets to cheat.
Court is now in session.
