New Atheism believes religion should be countered, criticized and exposed

Seismic FAQ - Main Page

Anecdotes - stories recounted in support of a claim - do not make a science. WIthout corroborative evidence from other sources, or physical proof of some sort, ten anecdotes are no better than one, and a hundred anecdotes are no better than ten. Anecdotes are told by fallible human storytellers. Farmer Bob in Puckerbrush, Kansas, may be an honest, church-going, family man not obviously subject to delusions, but we need physical evidence of an alien spacecraft or alien bodies, not just a story about landings and abductions at 3:00 A.M. on a deserted country road. Likewise with many medical claims. Stories about how your Aunt Mary's cancer was cured by watching Marx brothers movies or taking liver extract from castrated chickens are meaningless. The cancer might have gone into remission on its own, which some cancers do; or it might have been misdiagnosed; or, or, or.... What we need are controlled experiments, not anecdotes. We need 100 subjects with cancer, all properly diagnosed and matched. Then we need 25 of the subjects to watch Marx brothers movies, 25 to watch Alfred Hitchcock movies, 25 to watch the news, and 25 to watch nothing. Then we need to deduct the average rate or remission for this type of cancer and then analyze the data for statistically significant differences between the groups. If there are statistically significant differences, we better get confirmation from other scientists who have conducted their own experiments separate from ours before we hold a press conference to announce the cure for cancer.
 
You can't prove my wife's cancer wouldn't have happened without the intervention of God any more than you can prove it needed the intervention of God. Short of a signed note it's up in the air whether or not any event is because of God.

She could never be cured without God's intervention. I don't care how smart you feel that doctors are. They can do nothing without God's guidance. Now I know why Jesus said nothing to king Herod.
 
Funny. I thought my doctor came to his conclusions based on his years of medical school, residency, fellowship, and experience not to mention keeping up with the latest developments and techniques.
 
Funny. I thought my doctor came to his conclusions based on his years of medical school, residency, fellowship, and experience not to mention keeping up with the latest developments and techniques.
Just shows how little you understand medical practice. Doctors can heal nothing. They can only try to assist the body in healing "itself."
 
Eyewitness testimony is the least reliable form of evidence and is generally not used in science because it is so unreliable. I need quantifiable and observable evidence to use as data, not some guy's story of what he saw, no matter how well-meaning it is.

Well, you might try the direct approach. Curse God, and tell Him to make your children die and your spouse get cancer. And then pee in a pot and throw it at on a sanctuary door, and laugh at God and give Him the finger. Do this daily for 1 year and then tell me God doesn't exist. You also may curse Jews and promote the destruction of Israel for the same one year period. Then tell us what happened.

This is ridiculous.

One can’t ‘curse’ something that isn’t there.
 
Funny. I thought my doctor came to his conclusions based on his years of medical school, residency, fellowship, and experience not to mention keeping up with the latest developments and techniques.
Just shows how little you understand medical practice. Doctors can heal nothing. They can only try to assist the body in healing "itself."

What nonsense. 150 years ago, people could die as the result of a minor scratch and infection.
 
Funny. I thought my doctor came to his conclusions based on his years of medical school, residency, fellowship, and experience not to mention keeping up with the latest developments and techniques.
Just shows how little you understand medical practice. Doctors can heal nothing. They can only try to assist the body in healing "itself."

What nonsense. 150 years ago, people could die as the result of a minor scratch and infection.

That is just as true today. With or without hospital care.
 
Eyewitness testimony is the least reliable form of evidence and is generally not used in science because it is so unreliable. I need quantifiable and observable evidence to use as data, not some guy's story of what he saw, no matter how well-meaning it is.

Well, you might try the direct approach. Curse God, and tell Him to make your children die and your spouse get cancer. And then pee in a pot and throw it at on a sanctuary door, and laugh at God and give Him the finger. Do this daily for 1 year and then tell me God doesn't exist. You also may curse Jews and promote the destruction of Israel for the same one year period. Then tell us what happened.

This is ridiculous.

One can’t ‘curse’ something that isn’t there.
You're chicken!
 
American Atheists was founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O'Hair as the Society of Separationists, after the legal cases Abington School District v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett (1959) which were later consolidated. Both Schempp and Murray challenged mandatory prayer in public schools. Over the years American Atheists has filed numerous lawsuits against public institutions it considers to have breached the wall of separation between church and state. The organization, which has approximately 2,200 members, is headquartered in Cranford, New Jersey.

On August 27, 1995, Madalyn, Jon, and Robin O'Hair disappeared from the organization's former Austin, Texas headquarters, along with over $550,000 of the organization's funds. The three were abducted, robbed and murdered by ex-convict and former employee David Waters. Ellen Johnson succeeded Madalyn O'Hair after her disappearance.
 
That is just as true today. With or without hospital care.

Nonsense. Ever hear of antibiotics?
Nonsense, ever hear of flesh eating bacteria?

Why can't the gods cure that?


Here’s a simple test for faith healing:

Find two people with radical appendicitis. Person A, apply the same steps as were applied before the mid 1800's (i.e., pray over them, light incense, tell them to “believe”, rattle bones, whatever). Person B -- perform an appendectomy without any prayer. Who will survive, who will die -- consistently? Then ask yourself why is it that when using prayer (or hoping for miracles) they've always died, and not until man learned the science of medicine did people start to survive (i.e., only until man learned how to remedy appendicitis, did "god suddenly have the power to perform this miracle")? It's pretty self-evident.
 
American Atheists was founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O'Hair as the Society of Separationists, after the legal cases Abington School District v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett (1959) which were later consolidated. Both Schempp and Murray challenged mandatory prayer in public schools. Over the years American Atheists has filed numerous lawsuits against public institutions it considers to have breached the wall of separation between church and state. The organization, which has approximately 2,200 members, is headquartered in Cranford, New Jersey.

On August 27, 1995, Madalyn, Jon, and Robin O'Hair disappeared from the organization's former Austin, Texas headquarters, along with over $550,000 of the organization's funds. The three were abducted, robbed and murdered by ex-convict and former employee David Waters. Ellen Johnson succeeded Madalyn O'Hair after her disappearance.

And?
 
Nonsense. Ever hear of antibiotics?
Nonsense, ever hear of flesh eating bacteria?

Why can't the gods cure that?


Here’s a simple test for faith healing:

Find two people with radical appendicitis. Person A, apply the same steps as were applied before the mid 1800's (i.e., pray over them, light incense, tell them to “believe”, rattle bones, whatever). Person B -- perform an appendectomy without any prayer. Who will survive, who will die -- consistently? Then ask yourself why is it that when using prayer (or hoping for miracles) they've always died, and not until man learned the science of medicine did people start to survive (i.e., only until man learned how to remedy appendicitis, did "god suddenly have the power to perform this miracle")? It's pretty self-evident.

I don't understand the thought process here. If I cut my hand and go to the ER, God doesn't miracle my hand shut. He doesn't just beam in the information on how to clean and suture my wound right to the doctor's brain. The doctor had to devote countless hours to study and hours of practical experience to get to the point that he knew what to do. I understand the whole "all glory to God" thing, but it's very insulting to take the doctor's effort out of the equation.
 
Nonsense, ever hear of flesh eating bacteria?

Why can't the gods cure that?


Here’s a simple test for faith healing:

Find two people with radical appendicitis. Person A, apply the same steps as were applied before the mid 1800's (i.e., pray over them, light incense, tell them to “believe”, rattle bones, whatever). Person B -- perform an appendectomy without any prayer. Who will survive, who will die -- consistently? Then ask yourself why is it that when using prayer (or hoping for miracles) they've always died, and not until man learned the science of medicine did people start to survive (i.e., only until man learned how to remedy appendicitis, did "god suddenly have the power to perform this miracle")? It's pretty self-evident.

I don't understand the thought process here. If I cut my hand and go to the ER, God doesn't miracle my hand shut. He doesn't just beam in the information on how to clean and suture my wound right to the doctor's brain. The doctor had to devote countless hours to study and hours of practical experience to get to the point that he knew what to do. I understand the whole "all glory to God" thing, but it's very insulting to take the doctor's effort out of the equation.

I was pointing out exactly that.
 
Nonsense. Ever hear of antibiotics?
Nonsense, ever hear of flesh eating bacteria?

Why can't the gods cure that?


Here’s a simple test for faith healing:

Find two people with radical appendicitis. Person A, apply the same steps as were applied before the mid 1800's (i.e., pray over them, light incense, tell them to “believe”, rattle bones, whatever). Person B -- perform an appendectomy without any prayer. Who will survive, who will die -- consistently? Then ask yourself why is it that when using prayer (or hoping for miracles) they've always died, and not until man learned the science of medicine did people start to survive (i.e., only until man learned how to remedy appendicitis, did "god suddenly have the power to perform this miracle")? It's pretty self-evident.

God created doctors. Matthew was a physician. Hospitals were founded in the United States mostly by Christians --- as were schools I might add.
 
Nonsense, ever hear of flesh eating bacteria?

Why can't the gods cure that?


Here’s a simple test for faith healing:

Find two people with radical appendicitis. Person A, apply the same steps as were applied before the mid 1800's (i.e., pray over them, light incense, tell them to “believe”, rattle bones, whatever). Person B -- perform an appendectomy without any prayer. Who will survive, who will die -- consistently? Then ask yourself why is it that when using prayer (or hoping for miracles) they've always died, and not until man learned the science of medicine did people start to survive (i.e., only until man learned how to remedy appendicitis, did "god suddenly have the power to perform this miracle")? It's pretty self-evident.

God created doctors. Matthew was a physician. Hospitals were founded in the United States mostly by Christians --- as were schools I might add.

God created no doctors.
 

Forum List

Back
Top