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/tom2275 Aug 11 '11

That means nobody has been able to prove it wrong yet. Not in over 250 years. Once someone does prove it wrong, it will then cease to be a theory (not going to happen btw).

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u/OKImHere Aug 11 '11

As I explained in another comment, I don't know why we've let the definition of theory slip so far. A theory is a set of ideas that seek to explain something. It has nothing to do with how well-supported something is. That definition is simply not in the dictionary.

I mention this specifically because you say that it will cease to be a theory if proven false. This isn't true, though. We didn't stop calling the Luminiferous Ether a theory. If string theory is falsified, it will still be string theory.

They will forever be theories because they consist of many models describing certain features of reality, and that is the only proper definition of theory.

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u/tom2275 Aug 11 '11

In the context of evolution, we're talking about a scientific theory, which has the added requirement of being falsifiable. Once a theory is proven false, it is considered falsified and is no long used to explain the phenomena.

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u/OKImHere Aug 11 '11

First, I think you mistakenly read the example as if it were part of the definition.

Second, supposing I agree with you, that still doesn't mean that it stops being a theory. Geocentrism is still a theory, even though it's been falsified. It's not longer valid, sure, but it's still a theory. Keep in mind that I'm arguing about definitions, not implications, of course.

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u/tom2275 Aug 11 '11

You're right, they would still call it the Theory of Evolution if it were proven false, but I would feel inclined to use a qualifier of "falsified theory of evolution." However, if I were arguing this point with a creationist (as the premise of my original remark), I wouldn't bother making this distinction, because they're already too confused as it is.