Once in a while I hear atheists bring up Bertrand Russell’s comparison of theistic belief to the belief that a teapot is orbiting the sun between Earth and Mars. Bill Vallicella has a nice post showing why this is a false analogy to theistic belief.
April 18, 2011
Bertrand Russell and the Celestial Teapot
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Atheism, Epistemology[2] Comments
Thinking to Believe 
April 19, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Rather than comparing theistic belief, Russel would do better applying the teapot analogy to evolutionist beliefs. It falls down when applied to theistic beliefs because teapots cannot provide direct revelation.
Russel’s thoughts, however, are reminiscent of an elliptical teapot, forever spinning ’round and ’round in futile attempts to reason away direct revelation. It’s little wonder then, why a philosopher might one day find himself lost in such circular logic only to gaze upon a horse and for no comprehensible reason, propell himself into a state of stark raving madness. How old was Nietzche when that happened to him? 32? And he never recovered…sad.
Don’t you agree, Jason?
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April 21, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I’m not sure what you want me to agree to. I agree that neo-Darwinism lacks sufficient empirical evidence, but I don’t see how Russel’s teapot analogy relates to evolution since evidence can be given in support of and against evolution.
Jason
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