Evolution, Atheism

Thanks to Con for this debate.

Well, there is certainly a lot to tackle here, so let's get started.

R1: A common theme in this argument is that atheism=evolution, or that to be an atheist one must believe in evolution. This is wrong on many levels. Atheism isn't a worldview. Only one thing is required to be an atheist, and that is to reject God claims. This can be shown in that Christians believe in a God but can accept evolution, and atheists can be atheists and reject evolution. Some atheists believe in an afterlife, some believe in a soul, and most Buddhists are atheists as well.

R2: "Atheist's and evolutionists say that the Earth created itself..." That's actually not true, and is another misconception. Evolution explains the diversity of life on Earth, and suggests a naturalistic mechanism for this diversity. There are other tenants to the theory as well, such as all life forms share a common ancestor. Nothing in evolution talks about the formation of Earth, but neither does the Big Bang, unless by Earth you mean Universe?

R3: "Why deny the existence of God?" I do not "deny" his existence, just as a not guilty verdict declares a person to be innocent. I do say your God does not exist, only that I have not been convinced that he does. Actually, let me take that back, because I don't even know what your God is! It seems to be a Christian God, but as evident by the many different denominations of Christianity, what and who this God is you aren't too sure. So, next round, please define if your God is, say, an all good, all powerful, and all knowing being.

R4: "A loss in the family argument". My atheism does not stem from emotional feelings. I did not lose anyone before or during my transition at a young age. This argument ignores the many theists that have been persuaded by appeals to emotion. It isn't that I don't want to believe in God, because having an all powerful friend to watch my back would be comforting, it is just that I have not been convinced. I don't believe that God created the world because I see a total lack of evidence of this God's existence.

R5: "God wasn't created". This is what we call special pleading. You need the Universe to have a start to even try and smush a God in there, but when it comes to the origin of God, you are happy to look the other way. You can't do that. You have not demonstrated that the Universe had a beginning, and even more, you have not shown that God is a necessary being to create this world.

You then go on about how the Bible is true and if I disagree then I am wrong because reasons.

R6: "I can't prove God but you can't disprove him". This is a tacid admission that you believe for wrong reasons. There is nothing in the world we can show that it doesn't exist, but you don't have to believe in them. The Loch Ness Monster hasn't been shown to not exist, Bigfoot hasn't been disproved, the concept that the Illuminati control government's hasn't been disproved, but I doubt you think any of these things are true. Disbelief in claims of existence are the default position, and since you are making a positive statement, then you have to show this. You don't have to show that Bigfoot does not exist.

R7: "Afterlife". I don't even know if I can make a response to this. How does one respond to 'I'm right you're wrong *blows raspberry*'. There is no evidence that a soul exists, and I think it is pretty safe to say one doesn't. We have shown, to an extent, that what makes you the person you are is the product of your brain. This can be demonstrated in people that have had new personalities due to accidents harming the brain.

What happens to the people that have never heard of Jesus Christ? Like the Native Americans, that until they came in contact with the Europeans, had no concept of Jesus or God? What about the people that existed before Judaism even was a thing? What about the people that lived between the supposed death of Christ, which we don't even know for sure Jesus ever existed, and the writing of the Bible? We believe Jeus died around 40 A.D., and the New Testament was written around 70 A.D..

I'm going to list some sources with information you should probably have.

Solar System: http://www.nhm.ac.uk...
Big Bang 1:
Big Bang 2:
Big Bang 3:
Big Bang 4: ;(this one isn't really about the Big Bang but more for yourself and viewers)

Extend arguments.

*sigh*