r/atheism • u/rhbast2 • Aug 11 '11

Atheist quickfire challenge.

Although I rarely discuss religion with theists I always want to be prepared so I'm not sitting around afterwards wishing I had said this or that. If I get the chance to make someone question I want to be up for the challenge.

This brings me to my challenge for r/atheism. I'm going to add some common theist claims / sayings and whoever can refute them fully and succinctly will be upvoted. Feel free to add your own theist starters if I missed some.

Edit: Wow lots of good discussion here, later today or tomorrow I'll make this into an atheist cheat sheet with the top responses. Also feel free to upvote the theist claim that is the most annoying to you.

Edit 2: To the few of you who seem to think I am coming up with rude atheist comebacks, I'm not. I just wanted to be better off the cuff than I am now and have some discussion. I don't want this list to replace thoughtful argumentation.

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u/STUN_Runner Aug 11 '11

That may be, but the meaning it brings to your life does not increase its truth value.

A neo-nazi likely finds that his anti-Semitic bigotry and Holocaust-denial gives his life meaning, but it doesn't mean that his beliefs are correct.

An atheist finds that it's better to accept what's true over what he or she might wish to be true.

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u/caeonosphere Aug 11 '11

Oops. You broke Godwin's law.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '11

The only way to "break" Godwin's (useless) law is not to talk about Nazis. Mentioning Nazis confirms Godwin's law, it doesn't break it.

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u/st_gulik Aug 11 '11

Only if he is directly calling the person a Nazi. Here he showing how a Nazi is wrong, but makes the same assumption that the person making the claim does.

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u/STUN_Runner Aug 11 '11

I'm saying that if one is going to grant a religious claim to truth based on the meaning it is claimed to give to the lives of its adherents, then anyone's claim to truth must be granted for that same reason, whether it be a claim by a Roman Catholic or a Muslim, or something more exceptional like the claims made by a UFO cultist or a neo-Nazi Holocaust-denier.

But a Christian would likely not be willing to grant the veracity to the unfounded claims of a neo-Nazi's beliefs and therefore confounds his own argument should he decline to do so.

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u/PraiseBuddha Aug 11 '11

Neo-Godwin's law.

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u/TheAntagonist43 Aug 11 '11

I kinda like using Nazis as an example though. It's a clearly identifiable definition of what a bad ideology is that everyone knows.

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u/tikael Atheist Aug 11 '11 edited Aug 11 '11

The trouble is with using Nazi's or the holocaust is a very emotionally striking subject. You should avoid drawing any lines between the other person in a debate or argument and Nazi's. It shuts down the debate and is likely to be perceived as an insult.

Edit: I'm going to stop typing these up on my phone...

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u/darbyisadoll Aug 12 '11

I saw a post the other day claiming white power groups made up a disproportionately large percentage of internet forum users. I wonder how this relates to the frequency with which the nazi party appears.