Well, if you're going to bring up standards of empirical proof in the context of a discussion of religion I may as well give up now.
I've been to California a number of times, including Big Sur, and although I do seem to recall the sun rising on most days (not so often the case here in Norway) I have no recollection of which direction it might have risen from.  I will accept the contention that sun does not always rise from the sea, however.