So the other day I was looking through blogs, dropping my Entrecard on different blogs. I tend to go for the religious/Christian blogs as much as I can, to get the whole Christian crowd to come here as much as possible…
So I stumble upon The Powerhouse Ministry Blog and This Entry in particular. Evidently some dude named Ray Comfort (from Way of The Master Ministries) has some irrefutable evidence for the atheist…it starts with 10 Suggestions for the Novice Atheist, and ends with…The Atheist Test…yes, you heard it here first kids…the Atheist test.
This is my attempt at dismantling this poor mans ridiculous arguments. My own text will be Bolded, his will be normal type: Enjoy
Ten Suggestions for the Novice Atheist
- Whenever you are presented with credible evidence for God’s existence, call it a “straw man argument,” or “circular reasoning.” If something is quoted from somewhere, label it “quote mining.”
No one has ever presented any credible evidence for god’s existence yet…at least to me…if you can I invite you to do so though! Straw man arguments wouldn’t really fit there, straw men are used to burn down a persons character-its really an audience/judge ploy against the opponent—not an actual real life argument. Circular reasoning will be called what it is…And who in the hell is unhappy about quotes?
- When a Christian says that creation proves that there is a Creator, dismiss such common sense by saying “That’s just the old watchmaker argument.”
When a Christian says that creation proves that there is a creator, I say, “Prove it.”
Can you?
- When you hear that you have everything to gain and nothing to lose (the pleasures of Heaven, and the endurance of Hell) by obeying the Gospel, say “That’s just the old ‘Pascal wager.'”
Well, it is Pascals Wager—the very definition of it…I say there is plenty to lose if you live your life for a false-nonexistent god.
- You can also deal with the “whoever looks on a woman to lust for her, has committed adultery with her already in his heart,” by saying that there is no evidence that Jesus existed. None.
Once again, there isn’t…unless you can find some evidence from a CREDIBLE source (IE: Not the Bible or Josephus) Your two points don’t seem to work together though???
- Believe that the Bible is full of mistakes, and actually says things like the world is flat. Do not read it for yourself. That is a big mistake. Instead, read, believe, and imitate Richard Dawkins. Learn and practice the use of big words. “Megalo-maniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully” is a good phrase to learn.
Those are some good words…intelligent people use larger words because they more appropriately describe events, actualities, and feelings…than say, smaller words.
Now the Bible IS chock full of really silly mistakes that just shouldn’t be in a perfect and god breathed book…and it DOES say that the earth is flat …Some of the contradictions and absurdities in the Bible can be found here.
- Say that you were once a genuine Christian, and that you found it to be false. (The cool thing about being an atheist is that you can lie through your teeth, because you believe that are no moral absolutes.) Additionally, if a Christian points out that this is impossible (simply due to the very definition of Christianity as one who knows the Lord), just reply “That’s the ‘no true Scotsman fallacy.'” PLEASE NOTE: It cannot be overly emphasized how learning and using these little phrases can help you feel secure in dismissing common sense.
I was once a very genuine and devout Christian, but I cant possibly argue that with you because you won’t believe a word of what I say, because you believe I have no morals…your Scotsman argument is built in to most sects of Christianity and therefore you will not allow for refutation of it.
- Believe that nothing is 100% certain, except the theory of Darwinian evolution. Do not question it. Believe with all of your heart that there is credible scientific evidence for species-to-species transitional forms. When you make any argument, pat yourself on the back by concluding with “Man, are you busted!” That will make you feel good about yourself.
Facts are certain, science is certain, evolution is a scientific fact—well beyond a theory at this point…Facts can not be declared until all of the possible evidence has been collected and determined…and we are not there yet, but evolution is a fact and known as a fact in the real world. On the contrary i could easily say the same of a believer in ID or Creationism—you believe it without any real tangible proof other than the words of some book.
And I don’t care for your condescending tone
- Deal with the threat of eternal punishment by saying that you don’t believe in the existence of Hell. Then convince yourself that because you don’t believe in something, it therefore doesn’t exist. Don’t follow that logic onto a railway line and an oncoming train.
Whether or not I believe in hell has little to do with its reality, it isn’t a provable assertion and that is why I DON’T believe in it…Belief is active, you actively believe in hell, I am the inactive one, I am NOT believe in it…you are getting your faith and my lack of faith confused far too much, I’m starting to wonder just how qualified you are to be arguing with the Atheist community.
- Blame Christianity for the atrocities of the Roman Catholic church–when it tortured Christians through the Spanish Inquisition, imprisoned Galileo for his beliefs, or when it murdered Moslems in the Crusades.
I blame religion, not just Christianity…The bible does promote killing unbelievers you know : Here …but I don’t group all Christian sects together all the time, but all religions ARE religions. That doesn’t go to say that all religions are nearly as violent as Christianity or Islam…but you should at least admit that the Bible is absurdly violent and intolerant.
- Finally, keep in fellowship with other like-minded atheists who believe as you believe, and encourage each other in your beliefs. Build up your faith. Never doubt for a moment. Remember, the key to atheism is to be unreasonable. Fall back on that when you feel threatened. Think shallow, and keep telling yourself that you are intelligent. Remember, an atheist is someone who pretends there is no God.
So it isn’t unreasonable to believe that a god man was born of a virgin 2000 years ago and then killed on a cross for your own sake and benefit because you were created, by that same god-man, as an imperfect and sinful being and that a snake tempted a woman in a garden called eden a few thousand years ago whilst we walked with dinosars?
That my friend, is a faith, Atheism is a lack of faith…get that through your skull.
Now on to your Atheist Test:
This comes from Ray Comforts Tract entitled Atheist Test…you can buy them online for 12$/100…the site boasts that they have sold over 1 million of these…that’s $120,000 dollars worth of product…wonder how much they are making on each? I also wonder how many of these are currently in landfills…but I digress.
Ready for it? Here it comes, hold on, its gonna be stupefying:
The theory of evolution of the Coca Cola can.
Billions of years ago, a big bang produced a large rock. As the rock cooled, sweet brown liquid formed on its surface. As time passed, aluminum formed itself into a can, a lid, and a tab. Millions of years later, red and white paint fell from the sky, and formed itself into the words “Coca Cola 12 fluid ounces.”
Of course, my theory is an insult to your intellect, because you know that if the Coca Cola can is made, there must be a maker. If it is designed, there must be a designer. The alternative, that it happened by chance or accident, is to move into an intellectual free zone.
I am assuming you are referring the Big Bang theory that explains how the universe as we know it came to be….Needless to say, I find it very difficult to see how you are linking your story about cocacola cans to some evidence that god created us….
Somehow for me, the thought process of : Man + Engineering +need for a can = Cosmic Event+Natural events they just don’t relate really.
The banana — the atheist’s nightmare.
Is he serious?
Note that the banana:
- Is shaped for human hand
OR the human hand is shaped for the banana!
- Has non-slip surface
As does nearly everything in nature-its called friction and it is very common.
- Has outward indicators of inward content:
Green-too early,
Yellow-just right,
Black-too late.
Yes?
- Has a tab for removal of wrapper
That is a stem, not a tab, coke cans have tabs, for opening, stems are for hanging on to trees. They are somewhat weak so that they can, at some point, fall and be planted, or be picked and be planted…oh the beauty of nature.
- Is perforated on wrapper
Technically it isn’t perforated, like most plants the cell structure is rigid in nature, therefore when it tears it tears in straight lines as opposed to rigid and rough edges. Just a natural effect of the cell structure.
- Bio-degradable wrapper
Well it is organic you moron. Why the hell would a plant evolve such that its wrapper would not biodegrade, thereby preventing it from reaching germination in the soil?
- Is shaped for human mouth
Or is the Human Mouth shaped for the Banana? Or is long and round just a common shape?
- Has a point at top for ease of entry
So it was evolved with a thin skin because when we, or any other animal eats the fruit our feces drops the seeds onto the ground, where the seeds then germinate…good evolution IMO
- Is pleasing to taste buds
See 8
- Is curved towards the face to make eating process easy
See 8 also, plus, if you turn it the other way, it goes AWAY from your face…!!!11!
To say that the banana happened by accident is even more unintelligent than to say that no one designed the Coca Cola can.
Who called any of this an accident? Natural Selection isn’t accidental, being naturally NOT selected MIGHT BE.
| TEST ONE The person who thinks the Coca Cola can had no designer is: ___ A. Intelligent ___ B. A fool ___ C. Has an ulterior motive for denying the obvious |
A fool indeed! B
Did you know that the eye has 40,000,000 nerve endings, the focusing muscles move an estimated 100,000 times a day, and the retina contains 137,000,000 light sensitive cells?
Yes I did!
Charles Darwin said,
“To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”
Yes he did, yet he never denied that evolution was a reality…so what is your point….i don’t expect a monk to be an atheist—do you?
If man cannot begin to make a human eye, how could anyone in his right mind think that eyes formed by mere chance? In fact, man cannot make anything from nothing. We don’t know how to do it. We can re-create, reform, develop . . . but we cannot create even one grain of sand from nothing. Yet, the eye is only a small part of the most sophisticated part of creation-the human body.
Once again, evolution is not chance, it is result—If there is a cause then there will undeniably be an effect aka result. Evolutionary science is not about chance in the least, it is about weeding out things that are not well suited for survival…you don’t understand evolution enough to be telling anyone what not to believe.
George Gallup, the famous statistician, said,
“I could prove God statistically; take the human body alone; the chance that all the functions of the individual would just happen, is a statistical monstrosity.”
Yes it is, yet there are trillions upon trillions of stars and galaxies in which these things could have occurred…we just happen to be in one right now where they did.
Albert Einstein said,
“Everyone who is seriously interested in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe-a spirit vastly superior to man, and one in the face of which our modest powers must feel humble.”
Einstein called this nature. Einstein also called belief in God silly especially in relation to religion. Another quote from the man himself, “I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil.“
| TEST TWO A. Do you know of any building that didn’t have a builder? ___ YES _ NO B. Do you know of any painting that didn’t have a painter? ___ YES ___ NO C. Do you know of any car that didn’t have a maker? ___ YES ___ NO If you answered “YES” for any of the above, give details: |
None of this is pointed, at all ^^^^^^^^^
Could I convince you that I dropped 50 oranges onto the ground and they by chance fell into ten rows of five oranges? The logical conclusion is that someone with an intelligent mind put them there. The odds that ten oranges would fall by accident into a straight line are mind-boggling, let alone ten rows of five.
Once again, Evolution and the Big Bang have little or nothing to do with chance, But if you drop those oranges 6 gazillion times you might just end up with this result:
| TEST THREE A. From the atom to the universe, is there order? ___ YES ___ NO B. Did it happen by accident? ___ YES ___ NO C. Or, must there have been an intelligent mind? ___ YES ___ NO D. What are the chances of 50 oranges falling by chance If you answered “YES” for any of the above, give details: |
Test three: Question A: Yes, both order and Chaos
Question B: It happened, accident requires an intelligent catalyst
Question C: Probably something like 6^22×50
The declaration “There is no God” is what is known as an absolute statement. For an absolute statement to be true, I must have absolute knowledge.
How about “there is no evidence for god”
Here is another absolute statement: “There is no gold in China.”
| TEST FOUR What do I need to have for that statement to be true? A. No knowledge of China. ___ YES ___ NO B. Partial knowledge of China. ___ YES ___ NO C. Absolute knowledge of China. ___ YES ___ NO |
“C” is the correct answer. For the statement to be true, I must know that there is no gold in China, or the statement is incorrect. To say “There is no God,” and to be correct in the statement, I must be omniscient.
Once again you are assuming that atheists all say that there is not god and that it is irrefutable…I am saying that isn’t the case, Atheists don’t believe in god because there is no proof FOR god…if you were to prove god to us we would certainly change our minds…it is none the less an opinion, one based on fact rather than fiction…or rather LACK of facts.
I must know how many hairs are upon every head, every thought of every human heart, every detail of history, every atom within every rock…nothing is hidden from my eyes…I know the intimate details of the secret love-life of the fleas on the back of the black cat of Napolean’s great-grandmother. To make the absolute statement “There is no God.” I must have absolute knowledge that there isn’t one.
Let’s say that this circle represents all the knowledge in the entire universe, and let’s assume that you have an incredible 1% of all that knowledge. Is it possible, that in the knowledge you haven’t yet come across, there is ample evidence to proved that God does indeed exist?
If you are reasonable, you will have to say, “Having the limited knowledge that I have at present, I believe that there is no God.” In other words, you don’t know if God exists, so you are not an “atheist,” you are what is commonly known as an “agnostic.” You are like a man who looks at a building, and doesn’t know if there was a builder.
We certainly are not.
| TEST FIVE The man who sees a building and doesn’t know if there was a builder is: ___ A. Intelligent ___ B. A fool ___ C. Has an ulterior motive for denying the obvious |
What building is this we are talking about again?
Perhaps you have questions that hold you back from faith. First, almost every question you have about suffering humanity etc., can be adequately answered.
Second, we have faith in plenty of things we don’t understand. Did you understand the mechanics of television before you turned it on? Probably not. You took a step of faith, turned it on, and after it worked, understanding how it worked wasn’t that important. We accept that there are unseen television waves right in front of our eyes. We can’t see them because they are invisible. For them to manifest, we need a receiver, then we can enjoy the experience of television.
God is not flesh and blood. He is an eternal Spirit-immortal and invisible. Like the television waves, He cannot be experienced until the “receiver” is switched on. Here is something you will find hard to believe: Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21).
This doesn’t surprise me in the least…it is easy to believe
Either that is true or it isn’t. Jesus Christ says that He will manifest Himself to anyone who obeys Him. Approach the subject the same way you approached your first television set. Just take a small step of faith. If it works, enjoy it, if it doesn’t, forget it.
Been there, turns out, jesus is a big blob of emotion…fooling your weak and feeble mind.
Or have you an ulterior motive? Could it be that the “atheist” can’t find God, for the same reason a thief can’t find a policeman? Could it be that your love for sin is clouding your good judgment? If the Bible is true, and Jesus Christ has “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel,” then you owe it to yourself just to check it out. Here is how to do that:
Been there done that…I had the good life of the Christian once…its certainly not better than my own humanistic ways
| TEST SIX With a tender conscience, check this list of the Ten Commandments:
|
If you have even broken one Law, then you have sinned against God and therefore will “surely die,” for the “wages of sin is death.”
We are all guilty of breaking the Commandments. Listen to the voice of your conscience, and let it remind you of some of the sins of the past. We are not perfect as we are commanded to be (Matthew 5:48), neither is our heart pure. On Judgment Day our transgressions will be evidence of our shame. Think of it: God has seen every sin we have ever committed. We share our thought-life with Him.
We are guilty of violating His Law a multitude of times, yet if we repent, God can forgive us because Jesus stepped into the courtroom 2.000 years ago and paid the fine for us.
His death on the cross satisfied the Law we so blatantly transgressed, and at the same time demonstrated how much God loves us-“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” His shed blood on the cross can make you clean in the sight of a holy God…as though you have never sinned.
God doesn’t want you to go to Hell. Please, forget your arguments, repent and put your trust in Jesus and be saved from God’s wrath. Make Psalm 51 your prayer, then read your Bible daily and always obey what you read; God will never let you down. Thank you for taking the time to read this booklet.
God , whom created hell, satan, sin, and evil, doesn’t want us to go to hell? THAT is suprising.
Adapted from God Doesn’t Believe in Atheists
by Ray Comfort (Living Waters)
available through your Christian bookstore.