Interesting Commentary about ' Young Atheist '...

[Skeptical Greg]

There is a great story in Randi's Commentary last week..

Commentary

A young Atheist, Jacob Spinney, is invited to a Christian retreat with a theme of:

"Christianity is a thinking persons religion."

After presenting the guest speaker, Tom Short, with a rebuttal to his book..

" 5 Crucial Questions about Christianity "

.... he relates the following..

The next morning, he approached me and told me that it would be “inappropriate” for me to show anyone else this rebuttal since this is a Christian retreat.

Be sure not to miss the rebuttal.

An 18 year-old Atheist’s Rebuttal to “5 Crucial Questions about Christianity”

The leadership of these enlightened ' thinking ' Christians, later informed Jacob that....

...he was "being used as a tool of the devil himself" and you "have been revealed as someone who wants nothing more than to tear down those that Love the Lord."

 

[Swishy McJackass]

Yeah, Tom Short is not very open to differences of opinion. He comes to our school (Texas A&M) about once a semester preaching the "Good Word" in the central plaza. His favorite tactic for those who stop to debate him is to shout them down, tell them they're going to hell, demand that they repent, etc...

He's quite an amusement. I suspect he will be back in a few months, just in time for "Rez Week" (Resurrection Week). In fact, I'm already seeing LOTR-themed posters for the "Return of the King". Makes me chuckle everytime.

 

[hgc]

Wow. Very impressive document for a teenager.

I can see why they threw him the hell out of there. If any of the other kids were to read this, I think some would be influenced, to the detriment of their cohesiveness.

 

[c4ts]

I thought faith was actually supposed to be based on previous experience, and that faith in a divine being is irrational because you lack any kind of previous experience with it. You could, for example, have faith in a soda company if you were really into their products and you know the inventor or something, but most people don't. That example was too extreme. As for the next example, you don't have faith in other drivers as you pass them on the road. In fact, the way I drive, I assume they're all trying to crash into me so I don't give them a chance. It's called "defensive driving." I do not agree with him that faith has to be irrational. I have faith in others that I know and trust, and it's hardly irrational to assume that if one of them says he'll pick me up at the Greensboro airport after I arrive that he will keep his word. Faith is for what you know and trust, and if you know and trust a divine being you've only read about who never even talks back to you, you're only fooling yourself. Personal experience with God is just interpretation, not to be confused with personal experience with others.

 

[Skeptical Greg]

I thought faith was actually supposed to be based on previous experience, and that faith in a divine being is irrational because you lack any kind of previous experience with it. You could, for example, have faith in a soda company if you were really into their products, but most people aren't. That example was too extreme. As for the next example, you don't have faith in other drivers as you pass them on the road. In fact, the way I drive, I assume they're all trying to crash into me so I don't give them a chance. It's called "defensive driving." I do not agree with him that faith has to be irrational. I have faith in others that I know and trust, and it's hardly irrational to assume that if one of them says he'll pick me up at the Greensboro airport after I arrive that he will keep his word. Faith is for what you know and trust, and if you know and trust a divine being you've only read about who never even talks back to you, you're only fooling yourself. Personal experience with God is just interpretation, not to be confused with personal experience with others.

Jacob summed it up with this..

Faith is based on belief in something with no evidence to support it. Trust is based on belief in something because of past experience.

He gives some very good examples in his rebuttal..

 

[Ipecac]

I think it's an excellent essay and, yes, especially impressive for an 18 year old.

 

[pgwenthold]

This was my favorite part:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning, he approached me and told me that it would be “inappropriate” for me to show anyone else this rebuttal since this is a Christian retreat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The reason it would be inappropriate to show to anyone else is because the moron had no answer for it. All it would do would be to generate lots of questions that he couldn't answer, and it would make him look bad.