Within Reason Atheist Slogans You Should Stop Using - Joe Schmid
111 snips
Feb 8, 2026 
Joe Schmid, a Princeton philosophy PhD student and creator of Majesty of Reason, tackles popular atheist slogans with clarity. He questions catchy lines about evidence, who created God, science versus religion, and whether absence of evidence counts. Short, sharp conversations probe the limits of one-liners and explore nuanced theistic responses without settling the debates.
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Extraordinary Claims Need Stronger Evidence
- "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" maps to Bayesian priors: less likely claims need stronger evidence.
- Joe Schmid and Alex O'Connor agree the slogan is rhetorically useful but needs probabilistic unpacking.
God As A Necessary Explanation
- Theists can treat God as a necessary being to avoid the question "Who created God?".
- Necessity distinguishes God from contingent things that demand external explanations.
One God Further Oversimplifies Theism
- "One god further" quips (e.g., Ricky Gervais) use rhetorical force but misrepresent comparative plausibility.
- Joe argues major monotheisms target a single, non-arbitrary necessary foundation, not thousands of equally likely petty gods.
