God was, to me, a lovely dream, a brave make-believe daddy who provided comforting answers to those who couldn't bear the prevailing evidence.
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.