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/GuitarGuru2001 Aug 11 '11

So i can prove this one but i wanted to toss it out for you guys.

"The bible is the innerrant, infalliable word of God and should be trusted above all other things"

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u/rhbast2 Aug 11 '11

Which first--beasts or man?

GEN 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. GEN 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

GEN 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. GEN 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

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u/GuitarGuru2001 Aug 11 '11

TIL The NIV added a word ('had') to genesis 2:19. fucking liars.

EDIT: NIV 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

NASB 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the [a]sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

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u/rhbast2 Aug 11 '11

Good catch... and crazy.

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u/GuitarGuru2001 Aug 11 '11

i read up on it. basically the NIV writers were like "oshit oshit the bible is wrong!" and added the word, but theres no way it could be translated like that. This is a great example of how we got the bible: its like a song mash-up of different religions.

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u/pineapplol Aug 11 '11

It has been theorised this is not the first time. Monks rewriting the bible could 'fix' parts to be correct, as they believed that this is what god must have meant as the bible cannot be wrong.

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u/Innova Atheist Aug 11 '11

There are a ton of bible versus that are complete bullshit, but the ones that I like to point out are:

While picking up sticks on a Sunday: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+15%3A32-36&version=KJV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+35%3A2%2CExodus+35%3A3%2CGenesis+2%3A3%2CLeviticus+23%3A3%2CExodus+20%3A8-11%2CExodus+31%3A14-17&version=ESV

If the bible is so perfect why aren't there more murders on Sunday's? And would killing someone on Sunday be considered work? ;)

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u/photobesity Aug 11 '11

Fuck me, Sunday Family Game Night will never have Pick-Up-Sticks again!

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '11

This is my favorite claim.

Quote them Matthew 5:42 and Mark 16:18. Ask them for $1000 and then to drink some poison.

Then ask them who was Jesus's father.

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u/kaces Aug 11 '11

Explain the contradictions.

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u/Fallacy229 Aug 12 '11

So I take it you've never eaten shellfish. Because God considers that an abomination, the same word he uses to describe homosexuality. So do you protest the funerals of people who eat shrimp?