Warp wrote:
> http://warp.povusers.org/OpenLetters/ResponseTo10Questions.html

"""
Let me repeat: There's no such a thing as a "universal moral code".
"""

I think that right there distinguishes you from the Christians at whom this 
video is aimed. You don't think Jesus' message is universal? You don't think 
the ten commandments apply to everyone? OK, then most folks who agree with 
that don't have a problem with your beliefs.


"""
While some christians believe that, that doesn't automatically mean that 
christianity, as a religion, teaches that, or that (assuming God indeed 
exists) it's true.
"""

And yet, that's exactly what Jesus tells people in the Bible, and that's the 
excuse some crazy people use for killing their children.

"""
Question #1: Why Won't God Heal Amputees?
"""
This is more a specific instance of a more general question (as explained in 
the extensive web site referenced in the video). Basically, the actual 
question is "why doesn't God answer prayers that pray for things that don't 
happen statistically as often as chance?"  I.e., not that God doesn't heal 
anyone, but nobody can actually detect prayer having an effect on reality.


"""
In internet parlance this is called trolling.
"""
That's pretty insightful.

"""
You make an assumption of what the viewer believes and doesn't believe.
"""
I don't think the video is addressing those who don't believe that 
statement. Obviously, you can't address a video to every Christian (or every 
atheist), when even those calling themselves Christian can't decide who is a 
Christian and who isn't.


"""
Innocent of what? You are now talking about this "universal moral code" of 
yours, which doesn't exist.
"""
If you look at the arguments the video is based on, it's a traditional 
argument. The Bible has God promoting genocide, slavery, mass slaughter of 
infants, rape, etc. Why is that good? Is it good because God does it? If 
not, isn't God doing bad? Or are you in agreement that slavery and genocide 
*can* be good?

That last seems to be what you're arguing with your ice cream analogy.


> My point is that the *way* they are saying it is wrong because
> they present a bunch of fallacious distorted arguments and outright straw
> men, and then present questions and conclusions based directly on them.

I think it's more like they're summarizing a whole bunch of well-known and 
extended arguments and presenting them as a monologue, so it comes across as 
a straw-man argument. Were the author capable of hearing and replying to 
you, there are good arguments against what you're saying, and said responses 
are scattered about the internet. You just can't do that in a 10-minute video.

>   The people who made the video are trying to be clever, and to many people
> (especially fellow atheists) they do it rather convincingly, but they are
> still basing their arguments on fallacies and straw men.

It's only a straw-man if you don't agree with the exageration. When someone 
argues "Yeah, and the Bible says the world is only 6000 years old, and it's 
easy to refute that," you only get to call that a straw-man if there aren't 
people in a position of power arguing the world really *is* only 6000 years old.

You only get to call an argument against a universal moral code a straw man 
if there really aren't people in a position of power arguing that their holy 
book is a universal morality code to be enforced via violence.

>   Some christians understand that the bible uses a lot of metaphors and
> similes, but they believe that the *message* these metaphors and similes
> are expressing is true.

But then they argue over which are literal, which are metaphors, and what 
those metaphors mean. And then they punish you for disagreeing with their 
evaluation.

> Of course you have to understand that it *is* a
> metaphor, and what it is trying to say. (Naturally different people may
> have different interpretations, which is why we have a myriad of different
> churches, branches, sects and whatnot.)

A myriad of different churches, branches, sects, explosions of airplanes, 
murders of abortion doctors, and beheadings of apostates.

>   Some christians take some metaphors too literally and they are way too
> dogmatic about them. Some of them are so fanatic that it seems like they
> thought that anyone who didn't interpret these parts literally is claiming
> the bible contains lies. Ironically, they are themselves most probably
> misinterpreting and distorting the bible by obscuring the true message
> these metaphors are trying to convey and replacing it with their own
> interpretations.


Then you're not the type of person this video is addressed to. :-)


-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Insanity is a small city on the western
   border of the State of Mind.

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