Book review: Dialogue with a Christian Proselytizer

[Misterb0z]

I believe Chodd's Tannel is a nice town in West Sussex, near Pease Pottage. :)

[kalsolarUK]

lol, sounds like a nice town...I'll have to visit sometime.

[aartvegan]

Is Pease Pottage something like Pease Pudding?

[Misterb0z]

A cross between Pease Pudding and Cottage Cheese ;)

[Largo64]

Todd's book is a great read. It certainly provides ammunition for the next time someone comes to the door wearing magical protective panties (oops! I think you call 'em nickers!).

[kalsolarUK]

lol, nickers with a K for some strange reason (Knickers)....personally I think panties sounds sexier. lol.

[Largo64]

I have knever understood the silent "k!" ;^>

[Largo64]

You said "typewriter doesn't ring a bell," but, for the record, it DOES!

DiING! - shhhhhhhhhhhoup-ticka-ticka-ti­cka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ti­cka-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka -DING! - shhhhhhhhhhhoup!

See?

[kalsolarUK]

Lol, well spotted - I hadent thought of that!

[JDead1980]

For the record, T-dog, I was the FIRST to make note of your distinguished-sounding name and how I felt it belonged on the cover of a brilliantly penned book:)

[kalsolarUK]

well there you go...that seals it then!

[Darwinsgift]

I'll put it on my wish list!

[Paxmax]

cool.. a book review!

[rednecktrucker1969]

missed having your vids.

yup, its a great book.

[agnosticman77]

He does have a cool name. Great vid.

[ToddAllenGates]

1 of 9:

Back again. And thanks again---just got a flood of new subscribers!

As for the debate between the two characters and one side not trouncing the other, yes, I did try, to the best of my ability, to give the best arguments from each side. And for readers who are diehard Christian fundamentalists, they might even think the Christian character "wins."

[ToddAllenGates]

2 of 9:

But for those who are not pre-programmed into thinking that the Bible is God's infallible Word, I feel there's no doubt that the skeptic has the stronger arguments.

[ToddAllenGates]

3 of 9:

Take, for example, the two characters' agreement that when they see a *non*-Christian religion with a history of being pieced together from earlier religions (e.g. Sikhism was strongly influenced by Hinduism & Islam, Voodoo arose as a combination of African religions & Catholicism), this is a strong telltale sign that such a religion was created solely by humans.

[ToddAllenGates]

4 of 9:

Yet when the skeptic points out signs of religious borrowing in the Judeo-Christian bible---that stories about the Flood & the Ark, the virgin birth, the devil, resurrecting gods, the afterlife, Armageddon, and Judgment Day---can all be traced back to pre-existing religions, the Christian apologist has an arsenal of defense mechanisms:

[ToddAllenGates]

5 of 9:

the apologist can claim that the pagans based their tales on early oral versions of biblical stories; or that our dating methods are flawed and the pagan stories really *aren't* that old; or, best of all, that Satan must have *pre-plagiarized* the Bible and planted biblical stories in foreign religions centuries in advance.

[ToddAllenGates]

6 of 9:

How convincing are the apologist's arguments? To the fundamentalist who seeks only to reaffirm his conviction that the Bible *must* be God's Word, such arguments are good enough. But to anyone else . . . well, my feeling is that even if their premises could *possibly* be true, they result in creating loopholes that are wide enough to justify ANY religion.

[ToddAllenGates]

7 of 9:

If, for example, we could accept the premise that Satan could have "pre-plagiarized" the idea of a male god impregnating a mortal female virgin and planted it in Greek & Roman & Zoroastrianism mythology . . . well, with that kind of loophole in place, an apologist for Sikhism could claim that Sikhism didn't borrow from Hinduism & Islam demonic forces must have pre-plagiarized *Sikhism's* truths and pre-planted them in Hinduism & Islam!

[ToddAllenGates]

8 of 9:

My main point of all this is that I tried to be as fair as possible, but to the objective reader, I think there's no contest. And even though the diehard fundamentalist won't get anything out of this book (except for maybe some new ideas on how to defend Christianity), my hope is that for any thinking Christians out there who are troubled by some internal doubt,

[BlasphemyPiano]

9 of 9:

they might read my book and recognize that Christian apologetics involves a lot of mental gymnastics and double-standards . . . that you have to come up with a lot of strained rationalizations to hold on to the belief that this 2,000+ year-old ad-hoc collection of folklore & history & legends & myths & morality tales could possibly be the work of an Omniscient & Omnipotent Creator.

Thanks again Kal!!

- Todd

[smaakjeks]

Well yeah, but another word for the Bible is the Gospel. So it is all true.

;-P (smilie added because of Poe's Law)

[sheepwshotguns]

ohhh, i thought a typewriter was someone who made a profession posting comments on youtube.

[JesusSavesAtCitibank]

Todd Allen Gates? The name conjures up a mass murderer to me.

[kalsolarUK]

you mean a bit like "John Wilkes Booth" Or Lee Harvey Oswald?" Hmmmm? lol.

[JesusSavesAtCitibank]

No.

More like: John Wayne Gacy, Larry Gene Ashbrook, Henry Lee Lucas, Gunter Hermann Ewen, Jack Gilbert Graham, James Oliver Huberty, Daniel Patric Lyman, James Edward Pough, Larry Keith Robison, George Jo Hennard, and even Jack The Ripper! LOL

[daveheet]

haha man you always make me laugh! Actually I first came across Todd Allen Gates while watching some of your videos. I started watching him and subscribed and even emailed him. He's a good guy! But I havent read his book yet. Maybe I will now. So your review was good.

also: ROFL about the Kent Hovind comment.

Hey Kalsolar, can you make videos more often? :)

[kalsolarUK]

I'll do my best - things are still a bit hectic for me at present but I do have some more videos planned fairly soon.

[nozr138]

what is proselyfuckintizer?

[quasarsphere]

One who proselyfuckintizes.

[kalsolarUK]

absofuckinglutely correct

[justintempler]

Typewriters and dial telephones.

I can see kids nowadays.......

Dial telephones?

What do you mean telephones made out of soap?

[CheezMonsterCrazy]

I want a dial on my cell. That would be badass.

[ToddAllenGates]

Hi Kal - hey, I thought I asked you to keep my mug shot private!!

I've lots more to say but no time at the moment - just wanted to dash off a quick THANK YOU! and a video response.

More to follow, and thanks again!!!

- Todd

[kalsolarUK]

Hi Todd, once again - really enjoyed to book - and glad to be of service! (Hope the mugshot choices were'nt too disconcerting - lol). All the best for now,

Kal

[ToddAllenGates2]

> glad to be of service!

This definitely was "of service"---I must have got 50 new subs in the last couple days!

> (Hope the mugshot choices were'nt too disconcerting - lol).

Ha-ha, they just made me laugh--and my 9-year-old daughter loved them!

[Crosisborg]

The name Todd Allen Gates would either be an authors name or a serial killers name

[GuyGuysly]

God giveth ye manboobs.

[Edella]

While I enjoyed the playful banter in the beginning, it wasn't until the 3:06 mark, more than half way through the video, that you got around to describing the book.

Nonetheless, when the review did come around I found it very informative. Cheers.

[thefakeyeti]

what a coincidence, i subscribed to the author like two days ago..

i saw your comment on there, but was to lazy to say "Hey ITS YOU" and figured it would be more annoying then anything else.

[IdoloR]

great vidz, keep em comin. lookin forward to ur nxt animation haha

[CousinoMacul]

LOL@mugshot

[CousinoMacul]

Thanks for reminding me, he also sent me a copy ages ago--which I had promissed to critique for him.

*hangs head in shame*

[ToddAllenGates]

> *hangs head in shame*

No prob ... I know there is such thing as life outside of YouTube!