I've been looking forward to dissecting
this video for a while. Enjoy!
“An atheist is asked, 'who made you?'
and they answer 'nobody, nothing.'”
Strawman: Atheism makes no claim about
where people come from.
“We, as a creation, are a result of
the Big Bang.”
Assumed Conclusion: We are only a
creation if one presupposes the existence of a creator.
“We are the result of evolution,
which brought life into existence.”
Strawman: Evolution makes no claim
about the origin of life.
“Before the [Big Bang] explosion,
there was a primordial dust cloud.”
Strawman: The Big Bang model explicitly
holds that dust clouds could not have formed until after the Big
Bang. In addition, the model holds that time began with the Big
Bang; since “before” is a concept that depends on the existence
of time, “before the Big Bang” is a nonsensical idea.
“If there is one thing we know from
science, it is that we do not get something from nothing.”
Strawman: The Big Bang does not claim
that the universe came from nothing.
Strawman: Science makes no claim about
“nothing,” since to the best of our knowledge, there are no
examples of “nothing” to test.
“...yet we are to believe that this
supposedly random event led to the perfection of the universe as we
know it?”
Unsupported assertion: No support is
given for the idea that the universe is perfect, nor is any
explanation given of what that means.
“This is an example in which science
contradicts science.”
Oxymoron: While one scientific
hypothesis may contradict another hypothesis or a known principle,
the idea that science as a whole contradicts itself is nonsensical.
“Entropy is the principle that unless
there is greater control over a process, then the process tends to
chaos.”
Strawman: Entropy only hold true in a
closed system, which the universe is not.
“If someone does not control the
chemical reaction, the result is going to be random and chaos.”
False conclusion: Chemical reactions
happen in a consistent, predictable manner.
“If you look at a painting, you know
there was a painter... and yet we are to look at creation and believe
that there is not a creator.”
Assumed conclusion, per above.
False equivalency: We know that a
painting has a painter because it is clearly distinct from nature.
The same cannot be said of natural phenomena.
“Natural selection can explain the
diversity of life... But how can it explain the soul?”
Unsupported assertion: No support is
provided for the idea that such thing as the soul exists.
“You believe in the existence of a
human soul. How do you explain this?”
Strawman: Atheists do not believe in
the existence of a soul.
“How can you explain life as having
evolved?”
Misleading question: The evolution of
life is very well-understood and explained by science.
“By life, I mean the power that gives
the body, once assembled, the power to live.”
Strawman: Bodies are not assembled;
they develop from the union of a sperm and egg cell in a
well-understood and predictable manner.
“All of the world's scientists, over
all of history can make them [“Frankensteins”] live.”
Strawman: Science has not attempted
this in the way that is being suggested. Scientists are, however,
capable of cloning living things.
Strawman: The inability of science to
accomplish anything at its present state of development does not mean
that such a thing is impossible.
“We can not even make the wing of a
gnat in the perfection that it is made by our creator.”
False conclusion: Science is in fact
capable of cloning gnats.
Assumed conclusion: The existence of a
creator has not been established.
“That is why, when a body is dead,
science is not able to revive a dead person.”
False conclusion: Medical technology
can in fact revive a person who has been dead a very short time.
“There are some who accept that
explanation, but I submit to you that it is not of those who are
enlightened.”
No True Scotsman: One cannot be
enlightened and accept a position other than the one advocated.
The video ends with an extended
argument from analogy, claiming that an Arab parable somehow mirrors
reality with no support for the intended connection.
The title of this page is all too accurate. Check the title bar.
ReplyDeleteDVD Bach's Blog: An exercise in logical fallacies
To see DVD Bach get soundly refuted check out
http://ephesians4-15.blogspot.com/2013/01/atheism-and-grief.html
http://americanvision.org/7063/did-you-know-youre-related-to-a-rat/
http://americanvision.org/6988/atheists-want-you-to-have-a-personal-relationship-with-reality/
You'll have to scroll down and read all the comments.