Taking away the tools

A short video where I cover the debating tools that Christians use in the Atheist/Theist debate but really have no place in a serious discussion. The goal here is to progress the conversation and get past the usual soundbytes.

Here are a couple of links to hammer home my point.

Evasion - with the Atheist Experience
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfnUVqL7Qbk&NR=1

Circular Reasoning - With a clip from the movie 'Idiocracy'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vw2CrY9Igs

Evolution of the Eye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEKyqIJkuDQ&feature=related

This is the second version of this video, the first version kept cutting out about 15 seconds early. I apologize for losing all the feedback and ratings, but I feel it is my job to fix glaring errors.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• faith
• evasion
• word game
• presumption
• logical fallacy
• circular reasoning
• christianity
• theology
• theological debate
• atheist
• atheistexplains
• bible
• exaggerated offense

[mascarafea1]

i didnt now about the movie idiocrazy...i just saw the trailer and its looks great! thanks!

[AtheistExplains]

@mascarafea1

I love the movie, even though I generally dislike Luke Wilson. The trouble is, once you see this movie, you'll see signs of your surroundings being in an idiocracy everywhere you go.

[KirStefanSrbin]

Great videos, but do you really expect that any theist give up their tools and get into normal discusion? It would be like fighting tanks with fork and spoon. Without their tools, they have nothing against power of argument.

[AtheistExplains]

@KirStefanSrbin

For the majority of theists, no. I wanted to establish the tools though, to make it very obvious how all theists argue for their chosen faith. If you ever watch Ray Comfort, you'll see these tools being pulled out all the time, and you can see just how manipulative and deceptive he is. It really shows how much of an intentional liar he really is.

Really, I only expect this to affect the open-minded religious people that actually listen. So about 5% might put down the tools.

[immrsam]

Unfortunately, i have found myself being shunned by more and more of my so called friends because of this. Also, i was not gifted with the abilty to debate. So I always find it hard to argue the obvious truths. I am glad to have videos of yours to watch. I only wish that they could reach more people as i believe you seem to give the most logical explanations.

[immrsam]

It wasn't until i was actually old enough to confront these 'fears' and look at them objectionably, that i realised that everything I was taught didn't seem to add up. Ever since then, I have opened up my mind and looked at all religions openly. It has dawned over me that religion in all its form is completely illogical as it seems more of a controlling mechanism than anything to do with personal growth, strength or understanding.

[immrsam]

I love your videos. I have been an atheist since i was 15. I went to an Anglican school since i was 5 and R.E. (religious education) was one of the basic subjects that we had to take, also, we were required to attend chapel ever Tuesday to receive prayer. Not to forget, in our school assembly, we would have to recite prayers as well. Needless to say, i was brainwashed at an early age to not only believe in god, but also to fear him.

[helljumpr5150]

@AtheistExplains I think thats another point you could've added to the video: the futility of prayer. People only pray if they think they can get something out of god. But since christians believe in god's plan, and if god's plan literally covers every detail in very millisecond in time, then the idea of prayer loses it's meaning; and if the prayer does come true, then it must've been by massive coincidence to match his plan.

And just wait till December 2012, and see what believers will do then

[mascarafea1]

@AtheistExplains I had that issue before watching the movie :)...I saw the movie, great!

[Gnomefro]

If you think about how deductive arguments work, it's not really that different. If you don't accept enough premises, the conclusion does not follow. Same thing with circular arguments. The only difference is that there is not a clear separation of conclusion and premises. In either case the strength of the argument depends primarily on the acceptance of premises.

So the issue with the Christian loop is more that you can deny all premises without any problem than the circularity.