Imagine, for a moment, that every time someone told me they were a Christian I told them that they weren’t really a Christian because there is no such thing as a Christian. It says right here in the Book of Bruce Almighty® that everyone knows that Bruce Almighty exists and that anyone who says they are a Christian is suppressing their knowledge of the existence of Bruce. The Christian would likely say that they know they are a Christian because Jesus saved them and they believe the teaching found in the Bible. Imagine if I REFUSED to allow the Christian to authentically tell their own story. Can you imagine how outraged Christians would be if I refused to accept their story at face value?
Yet, this is EXACTLY what fundamentalist Christians like Dr. Jason Lisle do. Last week, Jessa Duggar and her husband Ben Seewald Duggar visited the “Institute for Creation Research in Texas, where they spoke to members of the self-described leader in scientific research within the context of biblical creation.” When Seewald asked Institute scientist Dr. Jason Lisle if he could prove the existence of God, Lisle replied:
“The evidence of God is ubiquitous. It is everywhere. In fact, Roman 1 tells us that God has revealed himself to everyone, and what that means is, there is really no such thing as an atheist.”
According to Lisle, humans are hardwired to believe in God and God reveals himself to everyone, so there is no such thing as an atheist. Lisle went on to say:
“So I don’t really have to give new evidence to a professing atheist. All I have to do is expose his suppressed knowledge of God.”
Lisle is a perfect example of an educated idiot. No matter how much scientific knowledge Lisle has, the words of the Bible are the final arbiter of truth. For example, in a game I have often played with people like Lisle, I willingly accept the premise that creation reveals to us that there is a God. I then ask them to give me evidence from creation that the God creation gives testimony to is the Christian God. Discussion over, because the fundamentalist is forced to retreat to the safety of THE BIBLE SAYS! You see, it’s not creation that reveals that the Christian God exists, it’s the Bible. At best, creation reveals that a deity, a divine being, or an advanced species created the earth and its inhabitants. If it is abundantly clear just from creation that the Christian God of the Christian Bible is God, why do other cultures and religions claim that the creator God is a different deity? Humans, over their long history, have worshiped a plethora of Gods. If creation makes it clear that the Christian God created everything, why do billions of people worship other Gods? Perhaps God has a marketing problem and should hire Don Draper to write a God advertising line that every human will know and understand. As soon as anyone hears it, they will say, Oh, that’s the Christian God jingle.
Ben Seewald, showing his deep understanding of science said:
“I know there is also a lot of scientific evidence, we are here at the Institute for Creation Research, and there is a lot of — really, all science points to the validation of the Genesis account,”
It’s true…you can’t argue with stupid.
One more quote that I am sure my fellow atheists will love. Lisle said:
The atheist is like a little child sitting on his father’s lap, slapping his father and spitting on him, and insulting him, and so on. He are only able to do it because his father is supporting them. And the atheists are like that. Their using God’s laws of logic, their using a sense of morality that God gave them in order to argue against the very God who makes such things impossible.
To which, Ben Seewald said, WOW, that’s really amazing!
Yeah, my thought e-x-a-c-t-l-y.
Here’s the video of Ben Seewald’s “discussion” with Dr. Jason Lisle.
I don’t know how you can listen to these two. I got to the four minute mark and stopped or I would have thrown my phone into a wall.
The hubris of Lisle – telling me my code of ethics can only be biblically based when his book insists me and mine should be put to death – just for existing. I follow For the Good of All and May it Harm None. Won’t find that idea anywhere in their book. Honestly, the lack of awareness in Lisle was too painful to view.
Plus, on a production note – break for water. Seriously, I was on the edge of my seat wondering if he was going to pull a Rubio.
Bruce, you are a far stronger human than me. I commend thee. 🙂
Referring to this fine specimen as an idiot does a disservice to those who honestly represent the noun. What impresses me more than his idiocy is the harm in his heart, the summary judgement to dismiss and deny. This is the true harm Christianity does among the reptilian believers. It gives them the blessing they need to spew their hatred of others. As atheists we all actively torture Jesus, you know, and we are indwelt by Satan to achieve our goal of destroying all that is decent, all that is good.
I really think there are other types of inbreeding… I mean other than relatives. I think the whole Christian thing is like that. Each generation of indoctrinated children raises children who are even more stupid than they are. And when you think people can’t get any more stupid, obtuse and stubborn, along comes a guy like this to prove you wrong. A product of generations of Christian upbringing…er, inbreeding.
I think you are right. The good news for my family is that we stopped the inbreeding after two generations.:) I think fundamentalism can become so engrained in a family that it literally destroys their ability to think rationally. It takes a scandal, you know, something like, hey did you hear Uncle Pastor Joe left Aunt Betty for Deacon Billy Bob? Now, that might make some people think. Intellectual, rational arguments rarely work. There has to be an event, a crisis, or some sort of catalyst that causes the fundamentalist to question and doubt. As you and I both know, it’s those damn questions and doubts that are fertile soil for reason and unbelief to grow.
As a Christian and a professional scientist (environmental science, archaeology, physical anthropology, primate and human paleontology), I have to agree that Christian fundamentalism and conservative evangelicalism have gone off the deep end—and frankly—just plain nuts—on this creation science, intelligent design, and teach the controversy nonsense. Whenever I meet a Young Earth Creationist, I know that I am meeting an idiot.
All of us Christians believe that God was the creator. That is simply faith and faith alone. There is no God Test and No Creation Test that a scientist or anyone else can run to prove it or disprove it. Sensible Christians know better than to mix science and faith in stupid ways. For us, the question is not so much that God created the universe as it is “how” the universe and all that is in it was created. This is what we discover through application of The Scientific Method. The amount of built up scientific knowledge that we have on astronomy and evolution is enormous and growing evermore by the day. One thing I enjoy doing to torture Christian fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals is to ask this question:
All the university libraries are chocked full of papers, peer-reviewed journal articles, and books (millions of them) that unequivocally support evolution and astronomy. If that science is all wrong, then can you show me your library of millions of alternative science papers, peer-reviewed journal articles, and books demonstrating that God was using some alternative science to create the universe and all that is in it? Show me that body of different science.
They cannot do it because there is no such massive alternative body of science that does this, and the reason is because the science we have now is correct or subject to revision in light of deeper study to identify scientific truth.
Be sure to visit my new blog at: https://faith17983.wordpress.com/
Y’all have a good evening.
I love the cartoon.
I always imagined the expression “there’s no atheists in foxholes” as a flippant remark, and pictured a bunch of guys in the First War, up to their necks in body parts, surrounded by barbed wire and more body parts, and bombs raining around them, taking the lords name in vain.
Sort of like “No-one’s an atheist when they whack their thumb”.
I can’t believe it’s used as a sort of argument against Atheism.
Anyone in a foxhole during combat IS NOT standing up for God. To do so would be placing their life in his hands for protection. Atheists will help you dig a foxhole if you don’t have the FAITH to stand up and become a target. Hence :
“There are no believers in foxholes because believers don’t need them ……. they’re all dead.”
“Only atheists remain safe in foxholes. They use reason over faith.”
“Christian military cemeteries contain mostly soldiers who were never true believers but were simply interred in a Christian culture.”