1. Comment #22700 by Rick777 on February 20, 2007 at 10:22 pm

Hey Hillbilly Atheist!

I remember you from infidelguy.com going back a few years. Good to hear you`re sticking it out there still! Keep it up buddy!

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2. Comment #22701 by Janus on February 21, 2007 at 1:22 am

That was great!

It must take guts to give this kind of presentation where you live. Keep up the good work.

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3. Comment #22704 by IPV4 on February 20, 2007 at 10:52 pm

That was pretty cool!

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4. Comment #22705 by Andrew Charles on February 20, 2007 at 11:14 pm

I like the redhead!
What i would give for a redhead atheist! Please ship them over to South Africa! We have a shortage here!

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5. Comment #22709 by Seti on February 21, 2007 at 4:08 am

Brilliant! Very brave of him, and a very good presentation.

(So I admit it seems a bit mean of me to quibble about him using the Peppered Moth, when the research on it has been discredited.)

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6. Comment #22710 by aoratos philos on February 21, 2007 at 4:08 am

Good Job HBA. :D

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7. Comment #22713 by Spaceman Spiff on February 21, 2007 at 8:16 am

Seti -

re. peppered moth research: have a look at what the biologists have to say on the matter...

http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/Moths/moths.html

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8. Comment #22714 by Chris Davis on February 21, 2007 at 8:33 am

Ha! Well done, Spaceman Spiff! I was just about to ask what was wrong with Peppered Moths, but you got there first. Thanks for the references.

CD

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9. Comment #22719 by justme on February 21, 2007 at 6:53 am

Good presentation. I'd like to hear the replies from the audience (if any).

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10. Comment #22722 by Pi Guy on February 21, 2007 at 10:59 am

That was great. Keep up the good work in Dixie!

I've bookmarked Mr. Hillbilly's site and expect to be a frequent reader.

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11. Comment #22734 by an_arbitrary_name on February 21, 2007 at 5:04 pm

That's the clearest presentation on atheism I've ever encountered. Good job!

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12. Comment #22735 by neander on February 21, 2007 at 5:06 pm

There's hope yet!

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13. Comment #22736 by Richard Dawkins on February 21, 2007 at 2:39 pm

"(So I admit it seems a bit mean of me to quibble about him using the Peppered Moth, when the research on it has been discredited.)"

Please always be cautious before repeating creationist propaganda. The worst you can say about Bernard Kettlewell's study is that he was working at a time when statistical methods were (universally) somewhat less rigorous than they are today. But 'discredited' is just a creationist slander, like the lie that Darwin had a deathbed conversion. The leading authority on industrial melanism today is Michael Majerus. See his book on the subject.

Richard

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14. Comment #22740 by MIND_REBEL on February 21, 2007 at 6:48 pm

Poor, rural, America is fertile ground for the atheist movement. Great to see someone step up and break all those lame sterotypes the media tries to reinforce all the time. PS, if anyone wants to understand the poster and where he's coming from read Jim Goad's "redneck manifesto" it'll change the way you look at white poverty in the USA.

TEXA$

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15. Comment #22741 by kaiserkriss on February 21, 2007 at 3:51 pm

Well Done! Keep up the good work in your "neck" of the woods. Very clear and concise arguments.
As others, I would wish to hear the audience's response and reception to this address.
From some of the truly unchristian stances taken by fundamental Christians on other parts of this site (the good, the bad and the ugly for example) I hope for the sake of your well being, your audiences follow at least some of their own rules and don't threaten you with physical violence, something that the term "hill-Billy" always seems to be associated with.

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16. Comment #22742 by StephenH on February 21, 2007 at 4:14 pm

That was wonderful to watch/hear.

The man deserves a bigger audience
He crammed a lot of information into a short space of time.

Very good speaker

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17. Comment #22744 by BMMcArdle on February 21, 2007 at 4:40 pm

This guy should have been the atheist on the recent CNN show panel. He would have responded better to the Reverend and his nonsense.

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18. Comment #22746 by ambulocetus on February 21, 2007 at 8:04 pm

Did anyone see the reply video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG0CQxRULg0
What a clever parody.

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19. Comment #22747 by USA_Limey on February 21, 2007 at 5:26 pm

A pretty good summation of some of the key arguments for atheism.

Well done Hillbilly.

I hope you are reading this, let's see you post on here sometime. :-)

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20. Comment #22757 by Old Coppernose on February 21, 2007 at 11:10 pm

Comment #22740 by MIND_REBEL on February 21, 2007 at 6:48 pm

Poor, rural, America is fertile ground for the atheist movement. Great to see someone step up and break all those lame sterotypes the media tries to reinforce all the time. PS, if anyone wants to understand the poster and where he's coming from read Jim Goad's "redneck manifesto" it'll change the way you look at white poverty in the USA

I'm curious as to why you think this Rebel. Perhaps because they can realize that religion is a means by which people are made to be contented with their lot. However, I dont like the way they may turn nevertheless. My impression is that many remain ultra-conservatives or libertarians and this for me is hardly progress. At least the theists often keep poor boxes or put stuff in it. Atheist conservatives and libertarians may sneer "I pay my taxes" and walk past.

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21. Comment #22769 by Logicel on February 22, 2007 at 3:00 am

ambulocetus, thanks for the vid link, here's one with atheist quotes--a bit long, the music sometimes is irritating, and a few of the quotes hard to read, but really a tremendous vid all the same, worth a watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZuknsnphEU&NR

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22. Comment #22779 by TranshumanAtheist on February 22, 2007 at 7:14 am

Poor, rural, America is fertile ground for the atheist movement.

I come from a long line of poor white Southerners, probably of Scotch-Irish ancestry. I'd like to think this could happen, but my kindred will have to stop believing in this rapture nonsense first.

BTW, Dominionist kook Gary North has written some reasonable criticisms of belief in the rapture. He points out how the rapture appeals to people with lower class orientations, characterized by a strong present-orientation or "high time preference," as some economists characterize it. In other words, the rapture belief draws people who lack the self-discipline and foresight to work hard, improve themselves, save money and plan for their futures.

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23. Comment #22793 by MelM on February 22, 2007 at 2:38 pm

I think I'll disregard anything from Gary North; he's a Christian Reconstructionist. However, I would like to see a careful study of believers and their kook leaders. Understanding believers might help taylor a message that would slow them down. Surely we can find writers committed to reason.

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24. Comment #22882 by gwolf on February 23, 2007 at 7:15 pm

He points out how the rapture appeals to people with lower class orientations, characterized by a strong present-orientation or "high time preference," as some economists characterize it. In other words, the rapture belief draws people who lack the self-discipline and foresight to work hard, improve themselves, save money and plan for their futures.

I can put this more succinctly. The Rapture appeals to people whose lives are truly a "hell on earth" because it offers the seductive fantasy of a quick and glorious escape. The only way we can appeal to such people is if we find a way to improve their lives.

George Wolf

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25. Comment #22896 by Shuggy on February 23, 2007 at 10:09 pm

In 24. Comment #22882 gwolf said

"The Rapture appeals to people whose lives are truly a "hell on earth" because it offers the seductive fantasy of a quick and glorious escape."

It also offers non-stop imminent hope in the present moment, like always just having bought a lottery ticket.

As I write, The Simpsons is doing The Rapture. Very funny.

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26. Comment #24315 by wafka on March 5, 2007 at 11:57 pm

When I was younger I assumed "luck" was a magical force. Now I know its a statistical term. Do other people have problems when they use it talking to others?

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27. Comment #32596 by GreatCanadianAtheist on April 17, 2007 at 2:30 pm

An excellent presentation.

I admire that guy's guts and his arguments.

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28. Comment #105678 by Marc Weeks on January 1, 2008 at 2:06 pm

I enjoyed the video, especially the plane crash scenarios. I hadn't thought of the nose-first crash scenario with all the passengers walking away, brushing the dust off--that was excellent.

My favorite miracle-buster is why is God interested only in internal medicine. If someone's legs were severed in a car accident and were too mangled to be reattached, but the next day the patient awoke with new legs, now that would be the miracle. (Still, though, we might want to take another look at cell growth, etc.) But that never happens. It's always "I can see!," "My diabetes is gone!," "My cancer is cured!" These are typically fraudulent, incomplete, or unjustified claims, not open to investigation.

If you want a miracle, how about this?: I just managed to wrestle the computer away from my 6-year-old son for 5 minutes.

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