|
![](/i/fill.gif) |
On 4-7-2009 9:47, Warp wrote:
> Darren New <dne### [at] san rr com> wrote:
>>
http://www.dbskeptic.com/2008/09/26/five-atheist-logic-tests-and-how-to-pass-them-a-skeptical-response-to-how-to-make-an-atheist-backslide/
>
> Some atheists do this same thing in reverse: They try to smartly debunk
> christianity and the bible, and do so by abusing similar principles, ie.
> distorting what christianity and the bible say, making false presumptions
> and outright straw men, and then basing questions on those invalid premises,
> and so on.
>
> I especially like the video called "10 questions that every intelligent
> Christian must answer".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDHJ4ztnldQ
> It's completely full of fallacious argumentation,
Why don't you point them out? I think it is horrible, very American, and
assuming a type of religion that is not very common among European
intellectuals, but that does not make the arguments false. In fact there
is not much argumentation in this video, that is mostly left to the
audience. Or is that what you are objection to? Anyway, I think that the
banana proof and the elephants are in a whole different ball park.
> but cleverly laid out by the authors so that most fellow atheists will be
> mistaken into a false feeling that the video is actually proving some valid
> points. Even atheists succumb to confirmation bias: They are more likely to
> believe false statements when those statements confirm their own beliefs.
> In this regard many of them are not much better than religious people.
A couple of remark inspired by the video: The first few 'question'
center around prayer. If you don't believe in prayer this will make no
sense. I don't know how common it is for Americans to believe that
prayer really helps, among the Christians that I know, it is AFAIK
uncommon. (Though there was recently a book that claimed that you could
get everything that you wanted if you visualized it every day and that
was also popular here. Forgot the name.) Aside, some people say that
praying to God to get (material) things is a sin against the second
commandment, they might have a point.
Then follow a few things about selective usage of verses. Again if you
don't claim that everything in the bible is the Truth that won't make
any sense. It may come as a shock (at least it shocked me when I first
noted it in real life) but there are people who seriously believe that.
The remarks in this video are directed against those people. The bible
is internally inconsistent, inconsistent with laws and constitutions of
every western country, and inconsistent with science (though the
examples may not be the most convincing). I think that if someone claims
that every word in the bible is True, it is a reasonable to ask how that
person handles all the inconsistencies. I also know that by definition
no answer will ever satisfy the person asking.
Interesting thing is also that the examples are mainly from the
old-testament and thus would be equally valid for jews and muslims. Yet
the title only mentions Christians. Yet another example that the maker
of this video is not able to abstract from his own cultural environment
and attacking the world at large assuming everybody thinks like he
assumes his neighbours think. All in all I think it is very shallow and
hardly convincing. I don't think I would have listened to more than 30
seconds of it if you would not have recommended it.
> (Btw, that was not a statement about whether I believe God as taught by
> Christianity exists or not or whether the bible is the truth or not. It was
> a purely objective observation about the subject.)
sure
Post a reply to this message
|
![](/i/fill.gif) |