I think if a church wanted to prove God's existence they could do so by giving all their potential members a questionaire and only allowing those whose life conformed to Christian standards to join. It is possible to craft an argument based on the NTS fallacy to exclude members whose morals are questionable i.e. been "married" (Marriage being defined as sexual intercourse) several times which is preached against in Matt 5:32. They could also select based on wealth and prosperity:
They could choose to exclude laborers - "The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. " (Proverbs 12:24).
They could select only those with much wealth - "He who has a slack hand becomes poor . . . '' (Proverbs 10:4).
After a few months of running, the church could actually generate accurate charts showing an overwhelming, statistically significant, difference between their members and the rest of society. It would be a master stroke for religion even if it would have to implemented by someone able to ignore much of the bible when selecting members.
I think it has already been done though. I bet the Church of Scientology could generate some mighty good charts proving the prosperity of their members.
Rhizo
They could choose to exclude laborers - "The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. " (Proverbs 12:24).
They could select only those with much wealth - "He who has a slack hand becomes poor . . . '' (Proverbs 10:4).
After a few months of running, the church could actually generate accurate charts showing an overwhelming, statistically significant, difference between their members and the rest of society. It would be a master stroke for religion even if it would have to implemented by someone able to ignore much of the bible when selecting members.
I think it has already been done though. I bet the Church of Scientology could generate some mighty good charts proving the prosperity of their members.
Rhizo