1. How do you explain the lack of transitional forms in nature, the gaps in the fossil record?

Comment #173710 by dadamo on May 1, 2008 at 6:40 am

Question: "How do you explain the lack of transitional forms in nature, the gaps in the fossil record?"

Answ r: Th re are g ps in this sent nce.
A Creat onist fu ls those ga s with G d.
A Sci ntist just says th re is more
w rk to be done.

2. How can the Earth be so perfectly suited for life by coincidence?

Comment #173707 by dadamo on May 1, 2008 at 6:35 am

Question: "How can the Earth be so perfectly suited for life by coincidence?"

Answer: The Earth is not suited to life by
coincidence. Life is suited to the Earth by
natural selection.

3. Why do atheists care about what others believe when it doesn't affect atheists?

Comment #173672 by dadamo on May 1, 2008 at 5:17 am

"Why do atheists care about what others believe when it doesn't affect atheists?"

I put a clip on YouTube where R.D. answers this question.

http://www.youtube.com/v/TW5NIfZodEk

4. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #164849 by dadamo on April 20, 2008 at 6:42 pm

As Richard mentions, the word "Dawrin" appears
nowhere in Mein Kampf. I downloaded an English version and searched for "God" (using the Windows

find /I "God" *html

command. Here's what I found (the search also found the word goddess.)


---------- MKEPILOGUE.HTML

---------- MKINTRODUCTION.HTML
incarnate denial of the beauty of God's image in His creation."
urge to protect themselves against what they consider to be a scourge of God.
this sin against the image of God, even though they continue to emphasize the
and how depraved and ungodly is this riff-raff which is physically degenerate
them the blessings of the Church. While our European people, God be praised and
who was given to the world as a gift of God's grace. For the future of the
constantly talking about the Will of God merely from the lips but that in
actual fact he fulfils the Will of God and does not allow God's handiwork
to be debased. For it was by the Will of God that men were made of a certain
His work wages war against God's Creation and God's Will."

---------- MKV1CH01.HTML
occasion. Indeed it was the hand of the goddess of eternal justice and

---------- MKV1CH02.HTML
harsh one; but to-day I see in it the wise workings of Providence. The Goddess
pitiable scenes follow, scenes that cry out for God's mercy.

We thank God that the inner spirit of our German democracy
stirred into activity by the ruthless Goddess of Distress or by the torch of

---------- MKV1CH04.HTML

---------- MKV1CH05.HTML
is no play-acting and where the hand of the Goddess of Destiny puts the truth

---------- MKV1CH06.HTML
Their very existence is an incarnate denial of the beauty of God's image

---------- MKV1CH07.HTML

---------- MKV1CH08.HTML
said to please the gods only because they wish for and demand the impossible.

---------- MKV1CH09.HTML

---------- MKV1CH10.HTML
control of the State, money became more and more of a God whom all had to serve
and bow down to. Heavenly Gods became more and more old-fashioned and were laid
They close their eyes in reverend abhorrence to this godless scourge and pray
hence. Little of God's image will be left in human nature, except to mock
from the temples of the Gods and the public edifices that belonged to the

---------- MKV1CH11.HTML
human race out of the Temple of God; because then, as always, they used
themselves against what they consider to be a scourge of God. Having come to

---------- MKV1CH12.HTML
'silent workers' generally pretend to know God knows what. Not one of
the Goddess of Vengeance was now getting ready to redress the treason of the

---------- MKV2CH01.HTML
again. And so, internally armed with faith in the goodness of God and the
image of God among His creatures would sin against the bountiful Creator of

---------- MKV2CH02.HTML
against the image of God, even though they continue to emphasize the dignity of
depraved and ungodly is this riff-raff which is physically degenerate and
blessings of the Church. While our European people, God be praised and thanked,
people in Europe, kindly and seriously, that it is much more pleasing to God if
You have one God, and that is your money. We do not turn to you, however, for
in money but in other gods, into whose hands they confide their lives. Above
which live in seclusion, than among the primitive masses of the people. God
God's day and filching daily bread from an honest public. Then it will be
life to-day. Yet a time will come when men will again bow to higher gods. Much

---------- MKV2CH03.HTML
What God Himself could not do is achieved by some Theophrastus Paracelsus

---------- MKV2CH04.HTML

---------- MKV2CH05.HTML

---------- MKV2CH06.HTML
spoken word to-day, they do it only because they realize �" God be praised

---------- MKV2CH07.HTML
I should no longer wish to be a German. But, thank God, all this is impossible.
by a measure of strength, that the gentle goddess of Peace can only walk in
company with the god of War, and that every great act of peace must be

---------- MKV2CH08.HTML

---------- MKV2CH09.HTML

---------- MKV2CH10.HTML
indifference whether Bavaria or any other particular part of God's whole
to the world as a gift of God's grace. For the future of the world,
talking about the Will of God merely from the lips but that in actual fact he
fulfils the Will of God and does not allow God's handiwork to be debased.
For it was by the Will of God that men were made of a certain bodily shape,
war against God's Creation and God's Will. Therefore everyone should
circles, in god-forsaken blindness of their religious strife, could not

---------- MKV2CH11.HTML
organization, propaganda agents and God knows what else. And then they all

---------- MKV2CH12.HTML

---------- MKV2CH13.HTML
up the fight in our defence. And God does not follow the principle of granting
imprecations before the throne of the Almighty God or on pious hopes in a
would be transformed into an ardent prayer: "Almighty God, bless our arms

---------- MKV2CH14.HTML
result would be so miserable that, surely to God, it would not be worth while
can it be lawful in the eyes of God and our German posterity to allow the blood
of our people to be shed once again. Before God, because we are sent into this

---------- MKV2CH15.HTML
goddess of a higher truth and a better legal code, will smile as she tears up

5. I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist

Comment #163400 by dadamo on April 18, 2008 at 9:49 am

On "Being an atheist takes as much faith as being a theist"

I once heard Matt Dillahunty of the Atheist
Experience answer this as follows:
Do you mean to say it takes as much faith to
disbelieve in Big Foot as it takes to believe
in him?

6. The US is a Christian Nation

Comment #160829 by dadamo on April 14, 2008 at 12:49 pm

Is the U.S. a Christian Nation?

(The following is from http://www.jhuger.com/)

I frequently hear Christians claim that the United States is a Christian nation, or that the Founding Fathers intended us to be a Christian nation. When they bother to offer evidence it's usually some McCarthy-era addition to our pledge or our money, or some quote (often bogus) from a speech or a letter by one of the Founding Fathers.

Think about this for a second: If you were starting a Christian nation, how would you go about it? Would you make oblique references to "Great Powers" and "Guiding Hands" in obscure speeches and letters, or would you fill your foundational documents with references to Jesus Christ and the Bible?

The Founding Fathers were brilliant men. They spent months and months working on the Constitution. They were very, very careful about what they wrote, discussing and debating every passage at great length. It seems to me that if they had intended this to be a Christian nation they would have said so somewhere in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers had no reason to be vague. There was no ACLU, no "Activist judges." If they had wanted a Christian Nation they could have written:
God Almighty, in Order to form a true Christian Nation, establish Divine Justice, insure adherence to His Laws, provide for the defense of His Church, promote His Word, and secure His Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, has led us to ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Instead they wrote:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The words "Jesus" "Christ" "Bible" "God" and even "Creator" appear nowhere in the Constitution ("Endowed by their Creator" is in the Declaration of Independence.) Just how stupid would someone have to be to create a Christian nation then forget to mention Christ in the Constitution?

Also notice that nobody ever asks what the Founding Mothers might have said. There were no Founding Mothers. The Founders were all men; White men, many of them slave owners. White male slave owners who may or may not have been Christians, but explicitly forbade any kind of religious test for office. In other words, you have a far stronger case if you'd like to argue that the Founding Fathers intended us to be a racist and sexist nation.

I think you can make a good case that some or even most of the Founding Fathers were Christians, but it's absurd to think that they wanted to impose that belief on the nation, and even more absurd to imagine we should be bound by their prejudices.

7. You can't prove that you love someone, so don't expect proof of God

Comment #151264 by dadamo on March 28, 2008 at 10:52 am

Believer: You can't prove that you love someone,
so don't expect a proof of God.

Answer: The claim as it stands is incoherent.
What does "proof of God" mean?

Does it mean "proof of the existence of God"?
If so, the claim becomes, "You can't prove that you
love someone, so don't expect a proof of the existence
of God" which is coherent but silly, because there's
no obvious connection between proving love and proving
existence. I can't prove to you I love my wife but I
can prove to you that she exists, simply by introducing
you to her.

If "proof of God" doesn't mean "proof of the existence
of God" but rather means something else, then I can't
imagine what it means. So the claim, to me at least,
is incoherent.

8. Arguments From Design, First Cause, Something Rather Than Nothing, Fundamental Constants

Comment #150940 by dadamo on March 27, 2008 at 5:45 pm

The Argument From Design

Claim: The universe is obviously designed, which proves the existence of a Designer.

Answer: The Theory of Evolution scientifically explains why living things appear designed, so no assumption of a Designer is needed. Science has explained much of how the universe came into existence (though it hasn't yet explained everything) and again no assumption of a Designer is needed.

But let's assume that the universe has been designed and see what that says about the designer.

Physicians estimate that the number of spontaneous abortions (which are also called miscarriages) in the world per year exceeds the number of induced abortions. So the Designer is the world's greatest abortionist and therefore obviously pro-abortion.

Some children are born with birth defects (Down Syndrome, etc.) so the Designer imperfectly designed the human body, and therefore is not perfect.

The Designer also designed the polio virus, Black Death virus, the leprosy bacteria, and many other living things that plague humanity so the Designer is not all-good.

The Designer designed the HIV virus (supposedly) to punish homosexual activity. But the HIV virus is designed so that it can infect an innocent woman who is raped and can be passed on to any baby she has, so again the Designer is imperfect, as well as unjust.

The Designer allowed the New Orleans flood (supposedly) to punish [Believers: enter your favorite excuse here - for example, lesbians, or people who are pro-choice, or secular humanists, or . . . ] but the flood killed indiscriminately - in particular it killed many of the helpless elderly residents in a nursing home - therefore the Designer is unjust and doesn't value human life.

Many other examples could be given.

The Argument from Design fails to reveals a Designer who is as Believers picture him: perfect, omnipotent, all-good, and all-loving.

Therefore the Argument from Design fails.

(Copied from my site: http://ACounterfeitGod.com)

9. A new website addition: Debate Points

Comment #150520 by dadamo on March 27, 2008 at 3:59 am

What If You're Wrong? (suggested new debate point)

During a lecture at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, a Believer asked Richard Dawkins, "What if you're wrong?" He admitted he might be wrong not believing in the Judeo-Christian God but pointed out that the woman didn't believe in the Gods of Hinduism, or Thor, the God of the ancient Vikings, or the great JuJu god at the bottom of the sea. Rather, she believed in the God of her family and culture. He concluded by asking her, "What if you're wrong about the great JuJu god at the bottom of the sea?"

Here's my own response in question and answer form.

Believer: What if you're wrong about God?
Atheists: Then I'm wrong.
B: But you'll go to hell.
A: Well, what if you're wrong?
B: I know Jesus is real.
A: Assuming hell exists do you think your belief in Jesus will save you from hell?
B: Of course, it will. I've accepted Jesus as my savior.
A: Are you a Roman Catholic?
B: No.
A: Are you aware the Roman Catholic Church taught for centuries that it was the One, True, Church and that there was "no salvation outside the Church"? Do you know the present pope recently reaffirmed that teaching?
B: Well, I don't believe that. I know I'm saved.
A: Do you know that Mormons also say they have the One, True Church?
B: Mormons aren't true Christians.
A: So you don't believe in the Roman Catholic Church and you don't believe in the Mormon Church, is that right?
B: Yes, that's right. I don't because . . .
A: But what if you're wrong?
B: I know I'm not wrong because . . .
A: But - if only for the sake of argument - let's say you are wrong. Would you expect to go to hell when you died?
B: No. Of course, not. I know I'm right. But even if I were wrong God wouldn't condemn me to hell just because I didn't know the right religion to believe in.
A: And that's my answer to your original question. I don't know the right religion to believe in either; to me they are all false. I don't believe God or hell exists, but if they did what kind of God would condemn people to hell for sincerely following their own conscience and best judgment? Do you real believe your God does that?
B: I don't know. I do know that Jesus loves me and died for my sins.
A: And condemns anyone to hell who doesn't believe in him?
B: Yes.
A: Will he condemn even you, if you don't believe in the right religion?
B: No.
A: Does he condemn Roman Catholics and Mormons?
B: Well, the Bible says . . .
A: I don't care what the Bible says because to me it's a load of rubbish. Any other questions?

10. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. were atheists, and they were terrible! Answer that!

Comment #147655 by dadamo on March 21, 2008 at 4:39 am

The accusation is that atheism is evil because, for example, Hitler was an atheist and killed six million Jews.

That Hitler was evil is without doubt. But did he personally kill six million people? Of course, not. Who did the actual killing? The German people, who were mostly Lutheran and Roman Catholic.

The Russians under Stalin were Orthodox Christians and had been so for centuries.

In each case, religious people - unaccustomed to making ethical decisions for themselves, unaccustomed to finding the truth for themselves, accustomed to being told what to think and how to behave - followed an evil leader and did evil things.

Religious people are conditioned by their religion to practice unthinking faith, and to accept the totalitarian authority of scripture and God and God's priests, reverends, and pastors.

A despot who takes control of a country typically suppresses the intellectuals and freethinkers not the religious masses, who offer little resistance. Read the history of how the Lutheran and Roman Catholic Churchs acquiesced to Hitler's rule, for example.

The problem in Germany and Russia was not one too many atheists. Rather, it was too few - millions and millions too few - people accustomed to thinking and making ethical decisions for themselves.

http://ACounterfeitGod.com

11. What are your qualifications to question religion anyway? Just who are you?

Comment #147268 by dadamo on March 20, 2008 at 5:08 am

Answer: ""My qualifications for questioning your religion exceed your qualifications for believing in it."

For one, I've read scripture, which is more than many religious people have done. Secondly, rather than blindly accept what I read, I thought about it critically, which hardly any religious people do. Do I need any more qualifications than that?

Many Believers would say "yes." They would say before you can question religion you must study scripture in the original Hebrew and Greek. But if teams of scholars - supposedly under the direction of the Holy Spirit - oversee the translation of scripture into English, then why should it be necessary to read scripture in the original languages? Why shouldn't I expect any contradictions and nonsense I read in an English translation to be in the original languages, too?

Besides, what qualifications are needed to believe a religion?

Apparently, none. No qualifications are needed to believe that God once impregnated a woman who was not his wife, and that God later saw to it that his only son was tortured to death. Religious people think that a six-year old child has all the qualifications necessary to believe his or her parents' religion.

So my answer to "What are your qualifications for questioning my religion?" is "My qualifications for questioning your religion exceed your qualifications for believing in it."

http://ACounterfeitGod.com

12. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #144126 by dadamo on March 15, 2008 at 6:37 am

> Just one thing, didn't the US give us the term "bullshit"

I like to think the term has to do with
Papal Bulls. No evidence. It's just a thought
I like.

http://ACounterfeitGod.com

13. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. were atheists, and they were terrible! Answer that!

Comment #137343 by dadamo on March 2, 2008 at 5:12 pm

Perhaps Hitler was able to get the Lutherans
and Catholics of Germany to carry out his plans
so easily because their religion had made
them sheep not freethinkers.

14. A universe that follows 'laws' implies a 'law giver'

Comment #137342 by dadamo on March 2, 2008 at 5:11 pm

Perhaps the "laws" of the universe is a misnomer,
coined when the existence of a lawgiver was
more widely accepted. By observing and applying
inductive logic we can only determine habits,
not laws. And the habits of the universe
imply nothing beyond the universe itself.