Quick, everyone! To the Thunderdome! We’ve got a Christian creationist claiming at great length that atheism is false because NDEs, because the placebo effect can’t work in a naturalistic universe, because intelligent design, and because a whole bunch of quotes.
Be gentle, don’t spook her, and have fun tearing those arguments to shreds.
I have to say I’ve never heard the placebo effect used as an argument for believing in gods before. That’s baffingly hilarious.
I’m so sorry. I suggested some extended reading. It might have spooked her (or, best case scenario, it might keep her busy for a while. That’s more of a pipe dream though).
Sounds like a trip down Nostalgia Lane.
I hate nostalgia.
I’m amazed that anyone has the energy to engage that nonsense. And reading the ‘fine-tuning’ crap again just makes me grind my teeth. Must be getting old.
“Be gentle”? In the Thunderdome?
[shakes head]
P.Z., you may have lost sight of… something or other…
Oh, that’s not fair. *pout*
My initial reaction (which I didn’t post) was that aj was going to get mercy-banned within days.
Single-digit days at that. Single-digit in ternary at most.
Actually, we were fairly “gentle”. But godists define “gentle” as swallowing their blather….
Poor aj must have spent months collating her post from the creationist literature, and to have it so summarily dismissed, too.
Gee, our creobot/IDiot believer should be able to refute both evolution via mutation ans natural selection by citations to the peer reviewed literature…
Why bother with her though?
Aww, I think she spooked already. Although it was a bit of a gish-gallop and tl;dr.
Been awhile since we’ve a a creationist cupcake.
The Lord™ – now as powerful as table sugar!*
*(some Lord™ users may detect a slightly bitter aftertaste. Consult your theoligician before beginning any discernment-loss program)
Shiloh?
Same inane and fuckwitted presuppositional arguments, but different tone. Shiloh began to understand Xe needed evidence and tried. But the “evidence” usually backed the skeptical conclusion….
If you’ll forgive the self-promotion, I felt like writing up a blog post about the state of Creationism as I see it. Feel free to direct this guy to my post.
those creationist are getting rare.One blog post just for that ??
On a related note, this handling increases the likelihood for poe. Yes, I hate calling poe, too, but that is what it is. Bored people pepping up the scene get more space when the derailed ones get lost. Bored people love to be in the front page.
Just saying.
Shiloh is actually very nice. We’ve been there in October once. They also feature ruins of an native american culture. If you are around, you should go, absolutely worth it!
Ugh, not the fine-tuning argument again. When will that die?
Yeah, modern nostalgia is rubbish.
sprayingsalt:
Because that’s what we do here. Where’s the fun in ignoring her? Where’s the education? Where’s the possibility of opening eyes, of helping others tune and strengthen their ability to argue such matters? What about all the people who read and don’t post? We’ve had people delurk to say that it was because of reading Pharyngula, and such arguments, that they deconverted. It has value.
I remember when nostalgia was pretty good.
@19
It’s true. I use the stuff generated here all the time, now. Especially the anti-creationist and feminist stuff. I came for the science, stayed for the savage beatings.
Thanks, Jetboy. It’s posts like yours that keep us going. :)
Also, *I* learn tons every time there’s a good ‘get the creationist’ thread. I’m not a scientist, I’m an artist. For every single thread like that, I get a free education. I’ve been getting a free education for years here. It’s beyond fabulous.
Moggie@18
Yeah, modern nostalgia is rubbish.
It’s the internet’s fault. Back in my day, we had to mine our own clay to make our nostalgia. Nowadays kids just make it out of clouds. They’ve got it too easy!
“Free education and savage beatings”
Why, that’s quite t-shirtable!
I actually learned something from the discussion: I had never before heard the term “gish gallop.” Not sure how I missed out on such a useful expression, but that has now been fixed. Thanks, everyone!
Gregory @26: “I had never before heard the term “gish gallop.””
Same here. I was wondering whether actress Lillian was known for a peculiar riding style.
I didn’t read all the responses, but the crew here did deal with the nonsense very well. Since most of the “arguments” were often-seen retreads, maybe there should be a locally-managed FAQ to which the poor souls could be directed. Or maybe there is and I’m just ignorant of it?
Hopefully, this being Thunderdome, I can drag this carcass in here and drop it for proper eviscerating, much as I’d like to see it singled out and stomped with high visibility. It seems the Atlantic got envious of the NYT in the wake of Mr. Chris’s post on rape being the fault of abstinence rules on military campuses. What in the name of sanity is going on with the big mags?
Rape Happens When Men are Denied X – Take 2 – Military Officer Training
Cuervodecuero – your link seems to be borked. Also, I don’t think this Thunderdome, it’s just advertising what’s going on there.
cuervodecuero, this thread is not Thunderdome. This is Thunderdome: https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2013/01/14/thunderdome-14/#respond
It’s not just for people who might deconvert. It’s for asshat jerks like me who said something terribly stupid and insulting like I did yesterday. I came for the science at 1st too but stayed because I found you folks to be the most moral and socially conscious people I’ve ever run across. I want to learn and grow and be a better human being and being here is, I hope, helping me do that. I just want to say thank you for the free education and the occasional red ass you’ve given me. I’ve learned a lot. Thank you.
oops. me get hang of internets yet. maybe.
They just don’t make nostalgia like they used to.
“Ugh, not the fine-tuning argument again. When will that die?”
The fine-tining argument is basically: The universe works so well without a god, it must have a god.
As such, those who make that argument have to admit that every anti-evoltion, anti-cosmology, god-of-the-gaps, and argument from ignorance argument has already been conceded. Or am I wrong?
Glad I’m not the only one who hasn’t heard of gish-galloping (or tl;dr or No True Scotsman for that matter).
Fact is that if you’re right but you can’t debate then you won’t win against a skilled idiot. Thunderdome is basic training for me. Train hard, fight easy!