Atheism vs. Christianity

Thank you for challenging me to this debate. I to have been a fan of some of your debates. In this round, I will give only my opening statement and withhold rebuttals until the next round. Moreover, since my opponent is a Catholic, my arguments may be Catholic-specific (i.e., the Papacy). I will divide my arguments in two party. In part one, I will discuss atheism. In part two, I will discuss Christianity. Part 1: Atheism When discussing atheism, there are two key types of Atheological arguments: (a) Logical arguments: These attempt to show the God-concept is self-contradictory or inconsistent with known facts; (b) Evidential arguments: These show that there are known facts that are incompatible with the Christian God such as Biblical errors, Problem of Evil, etc. Pro 1: Non-Cognitivism The following syllogism is taken from Magic8000’s debate1: I. There are three attributes of existents which concern us particularly, these being: a. Primary Attributes - The basic nature a particular thing is composed of. What a thing is, specifically, that it may do particular things or affect those around it in a particular way. The following two types of attributes provided below can only be applied to a thing if they can be related to an existent’s primary attribute and the primary attribute is positively identified b. Secondary Attributes - Character traits or abilities a particular thing may enact or possess. examples: being generous, kind, powerful, wise c. Relational Attributes – What we associate with the character. For example, in the case of President Obama, the fact that he is the President of the United States is an example of a relational attribute. II. B as well as C are dependent upon and must be related to an existent’s A in order to be considered meaningful. III. The term “God” lacks a positively identified A. IV. Because of this, the term “God” holds no justified A, B, or C. (From 2) V. However, an attribute-less term (a term lacking A, B, and C) is meaningless. VI. Therefore, the term “God” is meaningless. (From 3, 4, 5) VII. Therefore, the god concept is invalid. When someone says to you, "God exists", how do you normally respond? For most atheists, the answer is simply "prove it." However, this is a bit premature. Before we can get into whether or not God exists, we must first know what a God is. Indeed, many intellectuals have discussed and debated the subject as to what God is throughout history. The fact remains that from its original form, the ANC has stood as one of the most significant threats to the Christian/Theist worldview. For example, consider the following dialogue2: Mr. Jones: “An unie exists.” Mr. White: “Prove it.” Mr. Jones: “It has rained for three consecutive days—that is my proof.” If this exchange seems less than satisfactory, much of the blame lies with Mr. White: his demand for proof was premature. Mr. Jones has not specified what an “unie” is; until and unless he does so, “unie” is nothing but a meaningless sound, and Mr. Jones is uttering nonsense. As W. T. Blackstone puts it: “Until the content of a belief is made clear, the appeal to accept the belief on faithis beside the point, for one would not know what one has accepted. The request forthe meaning of a religious belief is logically prior to the question of accepting that belief on faith or to the question of whether that belief constitutes knowledge.” Conclusion Until my opponent specifies what a God is, the god-concept is invalid and “god” is just an utterly meaningless sound. Pro 2: Incoherence of God’s Attributes The following argument is tied in nicely with the last. Theists have attempted to provide us with a list of what God is. According to the 1968 National Catholic Almanac, God is3: [A]lmighty, eternal, holy, immortal, immense, immutable, incomprehensible, ineffable, infinite, invisible, just, loving, merciful, most high, most wise, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, patient, perfect, provident, supreme, true. As you noticed, these answer the secondary attribute, but fail to answer the primary attribute. Moreover, and more important, the above definition is incoherent. If God is incomprehensible and ineffable, how can the other attributes of God be known if he can neither be understood nor described? Anything with contradictory attributes cannot exist. God has contradictory attributes Therefore, God cannot exist. Part 2: ChristianityPro 3: Failed Prophecies in the Bible According Deuteronomy 18:21-22, if a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and that prophecy fails then he is obviously a false prophet. There are prophecies within the Bible that have failed. Ezekiel Failed Prophecy on Tyre Ezekiel 26:7-14, “For thus says the Lord: "Behold I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a hosts of many soldiers. He will slay with the sword your daughters on the mainland; he will set up a seige wall against you. He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers...With the hoofs os his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people with the sword and your mighty pillar will fall to the ground...they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses... I will make you a bare rock...you shall never be rebuilt, for I have spoken," says the Lord God.” The whole passage prophesied the attack and destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar. However, none of this happened. After a long siege of 13 years, Nebuchadnezzar lifted his siege and compromised with the people of Tyre. Thus, king Nebuchadnezzar did not destroy Tyre as Ezekiel said that it would.4 Ezekiel later admitted his error: Ezekiel 29:17-20, ...the Lord God came to me: “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labour hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare; yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labour that he had performed against it...” I rest my case. References http://www.debate.org... Smith, G. “Atheism: The Case Against God” 1968 National Catholic Almanac, edited by Felician A. Foy, O. F. M. (Paterson: St. Anthony’s Guild, 1968), p. 360 http://rejectionofpascalswager.net...