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Apologetics

A classically poor atheistic argument

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PZ Myers, one of the “New Atheists” (just like the old ones except rude and lacking reasoning skills) plays the same tricks that Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and others do.   Richard Dawkins went on the radio show of Hugh Hewitt, who  Myers considers to be a “far right radio wingnut” and a “ridiculous puffed-up blowhard of very little brain.”  What a charming fellow this Myers chap is!  With winsome, well thought out arguments like that you have to know his scientific facts must be right as well. 

The main point of Myers’ post was to re-hash the classic double-play fallacy used by many atheists.  It hinges on the way they use the argument against miracles as synonymous with the argument against God. 

They pretend to be proving that God doesn’t exist, then they assume it and act shocked — shocked, I say! — that people of faith believe in miracles.  Then they dismiss the believers as idiots (just read as much of Myer’s comment thread as you can stomach) and act as if nothing they say can be believed.  See how Dawkins tries to play the game:

Richard Dawkins: Okay, do you believe Jesus turned water into wine?

Hugh Hewitt: Yes.

RD: You seriously do?

HH: Yes.

RD: You actually think that Jesus got water, and made all those molecules turn into wine?

HH: Yes.

RD: My God.

HH: Yes. My God, actually, not yours. But let me…

RD: I’ve realized the kind of person I’m dealing with now.

Note what Dawkins did: He assumed what he should be proving — namely, that God doesn’t exist.  And he turned it into a personal attack as well.  In addition, he probably lied, because unless he is a complete moron he already knew what Hewitt’s beliefs were.  My guess is that he pretended to just figure it out.

So Dawkins’ fallacies were carefully choreographed to demonize his ideological opponent and to pretend that he’d already proved that there is no God.  And Myers and his gang eat it up as if Dawkins actually accomplished something.  Aren’t they bright!

If they really think that this trick proves anything then they are as foolish as they claim Hewitt and other believers are.  If they know how ridiculous their arguments are yet they use them anyway then that demonstrates their lack of character.

Here’s another clip from the interview where Hewitt exposes more misstatements by Dawkins plus examples of Dawkins’ fear of real debates and more of his misstatements.

Christian worldview

Greetings to Pharyngula visitors

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For those of you stopping by from Pharyngula, thanks for visiting.  Please feel free to look around.  Please note that initial comments are moderated, so they may not appear right away, and they won’t appear at all if they are off topic, insulting, etc.  Many of your questions and statements may have already addressed in poor arguments to make with theists.

Here’s a challenge to you for 2009: Spend as much time fighting Islam as you do Christianity.  The “raiding party” from Richard Dawkin’s site that visited here a year ago had to be made aware that the five sites they had targeting for their war on religion were all Christian.  Go figure.  It was almost as if they knew deep down that it was their real enemy.  Never mind that Christianity is shrinking in Europe and Islam is growing rapidly.  Oh, and that whole Islamic violence thingy.  Perhaps you are more consistent than them.  You guys do buy signs on buses mocking Ramadan also, don’t you?  And we both know that you don’t really think a “Christian theocracy” is more likely than Sharia law.

All kidding aside, please remember that eternity is a mighty long time.  Running around with your Big Book O’ Atheist Sound Bites might seem fulfilling now, but ultimately it will mean nothing — even if your worldview was true.  Remember, if your worldview is true then materialistic Darwinism is the source of all religion and my faith. 

Acts 17: 24-30 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Your worldview can’t rationally explain the Christian worldview, but the Christian worldview can explain yours.

Romans 1:18-20 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Also feel free to peruse the apologetics links to the right.  They are all quite good.  We have lots of evidence on which to base our faith.  I prayed that God would open your eyes to the truth.