Answering the 10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer: Conclusion

It's time to wrap up this series. This will be my last post on this video.

After having asked all 10 questions, the video spends a few more minutes exploring how these questions might be answered if God were truly imaginary. It is at this point the video really looses any credibility it might have had remaining. It begins it's closing monologue with perhaps the most egregious example of a No True Scotsman argument that I believe I have ever seen. Here is the text from the video (italicized and blue):

“We have looked at 10 fascinating questions.” How self congratulatory.

“In order to believe in God, you have had to create all sorts of strange rationalizations and excuses. If you are an intelligent, college-educated person, all of these excuses and rationalizations probably make you feel uncomfortable. If you think about it honestly, using the critical thinking skills that you learned in college, you have to admit that your answers to these questions make no sense at all.” Note the not-so-subtle implication that “If you are an intelligent [person],” you will see that believing in God makes no sense at all. Like I said; it's a textbook No True Scotsman.

“Now let me show you something remarkable. What if you instead assume that God is imaginary? A funny thing happens... The answers to every one of these questions make complete sense. Just look at all ten questions as an intelligent person...” My goodness! How more blatant can it be? The video is literally saying, “Stop thinking like a Christian and look at the questions like an intelligent person.” Give me a break! I might have mistook this for parody but I'm sure it's meant to be serious.

After spending so much time positioning the No True Scotsman argument, the video digresses into a false dichotomy. A false dichotomy is where someone presents two alternatives as though they are the only options when in reality other options exist. In this case, the false dichotomy is between an irrational belief that God is real and the rational belief that God is imaginary. Another option exists – namely a rational belief that God is real. In fact, for many of the questions, the idea that God is imaginary is possibly the weaker and more irrational option. Let's look at a few:

#1) God doesn't heal amputees because He is imaginary. Is that really the better alternative? Here an analogy: Doctors supposedly heal sick people yet there are still sick people. What if I said, “there are sick people in the world because doctors are imaginary?” Does that make any sense? There are a lot of reasons why there are still sick people. Some may have not gone to the doctor. Some might have been to the doctor and are just not better yet. Some might have a disorder that doctors can't heal. There are a lot of reasons why there are still sick people. If doctors were imaginary it would explain why there are sick people but it is the least attractive explanation. Likewise, saying that God is imaginary might explain why He doesn't heal amputees but that doesn't it make it the best alternative.

#2) There are starving kids in the world because God is imaginary. Like I said in my response to this question, this would be like me saying, “There are starving kids in the US because the President is imaginary.”

To question #3), “Why does God demand the death of so many innocent people?" the video's (supposedly) intelligent response is, “Because God is imaginary, and the Bible was written by ridiculous, ruthless men rather than any sort of a loving being.” When it comes to questions of right and wrong, I don't think the makers of this video realize the extreme consequence of believing God is imaginary. If there is no God, then who decides what is right or wrong? Does society decide? If so, then on what grounds do they call these ancient men “ridiculous [and] ruthless”? What makes us right and them wrong? If there is no absolute standard of right and wrong, then all morality is subjective. Neither would there be anything wrong with owning slaves (question #5) except that we don't do it now. We can't say we are right and they were wrong because, without God, there are no moral absolutes.

Another puzzle is this: if men wrote the Bible, why would they create a moral code that no one is able to keep? I mean, if I were to set myself up as the head of a new religious movement, I wouldn't invent a set of religious instruction that even I couldn't keep. In my opinion, that doesn't make any sense.

#4) The Bible contains so much anti-scientific nonsense because God is imaginary. I believe it makes far more sense to believe that the universe had a Creator rather than to claim there is no Creator. In order to believe God is imaginary, a person must believe that matter has either existed eternally (a divine-like attribute) or that it was created. If it was created, then did it create itself? If not itself, then what created it? Where did that creator come from? Still another creator? You can see the dilemma here. Ultimately, there must have been a first creator. But in any event, matter can be neither eternally old (a violation of the second law of thermodynamics) nor can it be naturally created (a violation of the first law of thermodynamics). To believe there was a Creator makes far more sense, scientifically, than to believe there is no creator.

I could go on but you get the idea. Claiming that God is imaginary isn't the missing piece of some cosmic puzzle that suddenly explains everything.

After going through the 10 questions from the “God is imaginary perspective”, the video once again makes a No True Scotsman claim:

“Our world only makes sense when we imagine that God is imaginary. This is how intelligent, rational people know that God is imaginary. When you use your brain, and when you think logically about your religious faith, you can reach only one possible conclusion... The “god” that you heard about since you were an infant is completely imaginary.”

Excuse me while I have a chuckle. It's like watching a 10-year-old explain the meaning of life. It's nothing but child-like arguments about serious issues. Yet the logical fallacies and sophomoric arguments were merely a crescendo leading to this amazing climax:

“Now let me ask you one last question... Why should you care? What difference does it make if people want to believe in a “god”, even if he is imaginary? It matters because people who believe in imaginary beings are delusional. It matters because people who talk to imaginary beings are delusional. It matters because people who believe in imaginary superstitions like prayer are delusional. It's that simple, and that obvious. Your religious beliefs hurt you personally and hurt us as a species because they are delusional. The belief in any “god” is complete nonsense.”

There you have it folks. Christians are delusional! This is another appeal to emotion only now it's appealing to our fears. To say that someone is delusional suggests they are dangerous. Why, we could snap at any moment!! And the video makes the outrageous claim that our religious beliefs actually “hurt us as a species”! What can I say? Newton, Pasteur, Mendel, da Vinci, Kepler, and scores of others were overtly Christian; Exactly how did they hurt us as a species? How about Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Lincoln? It seems to me they've made a few contributions to humanity. Of course, there are all those Christian organizations like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Young Men Christian Association, and others; have they also hurt us as a species? But if we're going to play this game, what can be said about the tyrannical regimes of 20^th century atheists: Marx, Stalin, Pol Pot, or Zedong? I would say that believing there is no God has done far more harm than good.

I know I've used a few pejoratives while discussing this video. I've called it a rant, sophomoric, and worse. But hopefully I've been able to show why all of these descriptions are accurate. After having thought about the questions and more carefully considering the comments made in the video, I might have to lower my grade for the video from a C- to a full blown D.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Answering the 10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer: Part 7

#9) Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood?

Here we have a blatant appeal to emotion or what might be called an argument of outrage. Note carefully the language the video uses: “It sounds totally grotesque, doesn't it? Why would an all-powerful God want you to do something that, in any other context, sounds like a disgusting, cannibalistic, satanic ritual?” There is absolutely no substance in the question. It's merely an attempt to cast the Lord's Supper in a bad light through the use of loaded words.

Of all the questions asked in the video, this is perhaps the weakest. Actually, I might have said that already about the some other question because several are very weak but this one really is THE weakest. The makers of the video are either completely ignorant of the use of metaphor or they are intentionally invoking the argument of outrage in hopes that the viewer is ignorant of the symbolic nature of the Lord's Supper.

Isn't metaphor taught in middle-school English? When you compare two, unlike objects with the word, “is”, then you have a metaphor: “This car is my baby”; “My kids are my life”; “Love is a rose.” These are all metaphors. The Bible certainly uses metaphor: “I am the vine” (John 15:1); “I am the shepherd (John 10:11); “I am the door” (John 10:7). Likewise, Jesus said (paraphrasing) “This wine is my blood. This bread is my body” (Luke 22:19-20).

In the Bible, having a meal be representative of a historic event is not unique to the Lord's Supper. The Jews at the Passover eat the bitter herbs and the unleavened bread in remembrance of God delivering them from Egypt. Of course, it's hard to make that sound grotesque through loaded words. The Lord's Supper is very much the same thing: when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we do so to remember our Savior's death and look forward to His return (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). The bread and wine are merely symbols.

Metaphor is a common, literary device. It isn't hard to spot. Like I said, most middle-school kids can identify it. Why is it that seemingly bright and otherwise intelligent people suddenly can't read when it comes to the Bible?

#10) Why do Christians get divorced at the same rate as non-Christians?

The video isn't quite accurate on this fact. The truth is that Christians get divorced at nearly the same rate as the general population. Of course, the general population is overwhelming made up of self-identified Christians (75-80%) so it's no wonder the rates are about the same. In reality, though, many people who identify themselves as Christians are only nominal Christians. Anecdotally speaking, I've been to many weddings where the ceremony itself was the only time I'd ever seen either of the partners in church. Perhaps you've seen that as well. If you break the statistics down by faith groups, the divorce rate among evangelical Christians is noticeably lower than atheists or agnostics. Remember too that the rate of marriage among Christians is far higher than among atheists – the latter being more likely to cohabitate. When unmarried couples break-up, it doesn't count as a divorce thus skewing the statistics against Christians.

Having said all that, I concede that the divorce rate among Christians is too high. It's alarming and sad that God's people do not take marriage more seriously – especially given that marriage is an earthly reflection of Christ's relationship with His church (Ephesians 5:22-28). However, a high divorce rate among Christians is not evidence that God is imaginary. Instead, it attests to the fact that we are sinners. Jesus Himself said that God did not intend there to be divorce but only allowed it because of the hardness of our hearts (Matthew 19:8). To imagine that there should be no divorce among Christians because God has joined them together would be like saying that there should be no murders because God has forbid murder. God does not want us to sin but He doesn't stop us.

I am curious what these same skeptics would say if God did indeed keep married couples together against their wills. No doubt they would consider God cruel for forcing couples to stay together in an unhappy marriage. This may not be the weakest question, but it's another obvious fail.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 8

Answering the 10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer: Part 6

The next two questions aren't directly related to each other as some of the previous questions but both require relatively short answers so I am including them both in a single post.

#7) Why didn't any of Jesus' miracles in the Bible leave behind any evidence?

I'm not sure of what to think of this question. The video doesn't explain what type of evidence it would expect nor did it even explain the point of asking this question. It merely asks the ambiguous question and follows it with a few loaded words: “It's very strange isn't it? You've created an excuse to rationalize it.” I've never attempted to “rationalize” it because I've never given it a second thought.

A few of the more notable miracles in the Bible are Jesus turning water into wine, the multiplication of the loaves and fish, His walking on water, calming the storm, various acts of healing, raising Lazarus and a few others from the dead, and finally His own resurrection. Of these many miracles what kind of evidence would anyone expect to find? The fish, the loaves, the wine, even the people are all gone now.

Is this truly a serious question? I could ask why George Washington's crossing of the Delaware left no evidence. What evidence would there be of such an event? All the participants are now gone. All we have left is the written record that it happened. Similarly, we have the written record of Jesus' miracles contained in the gospels. John and Matthew were first hand witnesses to many of the events they recorded. Why don't these critics consider the Bible to be evidence of the miracles? Why do they hold the record of events in Jesus' life up to a different standard than the events of Washington's life? I think we all know why.

Indirectly, we do have the testimony of an empty tomb. After His resurrection, the popularity of Christianity exploded. In a few short decades, Christians even caught the notice of the emperor, Nero. The Roman or Jewish authorities could have quickly quashed any false rumors of His resurrection by merely producing His body. Why didn't they? It's because the physical evidence was consistent with the Resurrection: the tomb was empty.

This question is a total fail. For many historical events, the only evidence we have is what has been written down. The miracles of Jesus are just as historical and we have the written evidence that they occurred.

#8) How do you explain the fact that Jesus hasn't appeared to you personally?

While promoting his movie, Religious, irreverent comedian Bill Mahr asked a similar question: “Why doesn't God just show Himself and tell us which is the true religion?” Questions like this have a sort of doubting-Thomas feel to them. Thomas, you will recall, refused to believe in the resurrection of Jesus until he saw the risen Savior for himself. He was fortunate because Jesus did appear to Thomas prompting him to exclaim, “My Lord and my God.” It seems natural to think that if God appeared to anyone then that person would believe. Thomas saw and believed but Jesus said that those who believe without seeing would be even more blessed. I certainly look forward to seeing Jesus but so much evidence exists for His life and resurrection that I don't need to wait until I see Him to believe.

First off, I'm puzzled by the premise of this question. What obligation is there for God (in the Person of the Son) to appear to us? God has already given us His revelation in the form of the Bible. There is nothing else we need in order to know how to be saved. If someone wishes to ignore the written word of God and insist that God appear to him personally, then that is his loss (and a very great loss it is).

However, even though God has no obligation to appear to us, He already has! John 1:14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” While on earth, Jesus gave us many signs and miracles as evidence of who He was, He told us He was the only way to the Father, He promised eternal life to everyone who believed in Him, and we have the written record of His words and miracles. What more exactly do these people want? Do they expect Jesus to appear every couple of years just to remind everyone that He is real and meant what He said?

Even if Jesus appeared on earth right now, I don't believe that would be enough to convince the skeptic anyway. At His first appearance, many of the people who heard His words and saw His miracles still not believe (John 12:37). I suspect the same would be true today. Additionally, we know that His one death on the cross was sufficient to atone for every sin (Romans 6:10, Romans 7:27). Therefore, there will be no more incarnations of the same kind as the last one. Someday, though, there will be a glorious appearance of Jesus. At that time, every knee will bow to Him and every tongue shall confess to God (Romans 14:11). Unfortunately, it will be too late then for the non-believers. How sad.

So how do I explain the fact that Jesus hasn't appeared to me personally? I wasn't alive during His ministry on earth. It's just that simple. You might as well ask why neither Augusta Caesar nor George Washington has appeared to me. What would be the point? Are Caesar and Washington imaginary? I only know these people existed because of the written evidence we have of them. Again, how can this video justify holding Jesus to a different standard than any other person of antiquity? Am I to believe that these critics do not believe in any person they have not seen personally? Yet incredibly, they claim it makes more sense to believe that Jesus doesn't appear to us because He is imaginary! No wonder they are having trouble with the other questions.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 7

Part 8

Answering the 10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer: Part 5

#4) Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?

In this question, I see the video committing at least three logical fallacies. First, it makes a series of bald assertions. A bald assertion isn't an argument; it's merely a statement presented as fact without any attempt made to support it. A bald assertion isn't automatically wrong but it doesn't go very far to persuade. They also can be rebutted with another assertion:

“God did not make the world in 6 days 6,000 years ago like the Bible says.” Yes He did.

“There was never a worldwide flood that covered Mt. Everest like the Bible says.” Yes there was although Mt. Everest was not at its present height at the time.

“Jonah did not live inside a fish's stomach for three days like the Bible says.” Yes he did.

“God did not create Adam from a handful of dust like the Bible says.” Yes He did.

That was easy. You see, since bald assertions have nothing backing them up, there's nothing to debate. To say Jonah did not live inside a fish is not a scientific statement. What kind of animal was it? How large was it? What experiments have been done to demonstrate how a person might live inside such a creature? The video doesn't address any of these questions – it merely says it didn't happen which leads us to our second logical fallacy: the argument of incredulity.

The argument of incredulity basically asserts that something isn't true on no other grounds but that the person doesn't believe it's true. If I read that 1,000,000 earths could fit inside the sun, I might say, “That's impossible. Nothing is that big.” Now, I've not said anything that disproves what I've read; I've merely said I don't believe because it seems impossible. The video does exactly the same thing. As we've seen, the video provides no details about how the account of Jonah could not be true. It merely asserts it's not true for no other apparent reason than it doesn't believe it.

Finally, the video commits the fallacy of argumentum verbosium (proof by verbosity). Did you notice how the video introduced this question by saying, “You know how science works. You happily use the products of science every day: Your car. Your cell phone. Your microwave oven. Your TV. Your computer. There are all products of the scientific process. You know that science is incredibly important to our economy and to our lives.” Wow! That's a lot of words to say how important science is. So what's the conclusion? “God did not make the world in 6 days...” ??? The details given do nothing to support the points. They are merely words to bulk up the argument. Cell phones, microwaves, and computers do not disprove the Bible. Neither is there anything in the Bible that contradicts the scientific process. Indeed, many scientists are Christians and many scientific disciplines were pioneered by Christians. By the way, did you know that Dr. Raymond Vahan Damadian is the inventor of the MRI and also a young earth creationist?!

Interestingly, much of science contains anti-scientific nonsense. Try reading a science book from 200, 100, or even 50 years or so ago and see what once passed for science. Things many scientists were once certain of are constantly being discarded in light of new findings. Scientists say that is a good thing. Perhaps it is but how can anyone claim the standard of science disproves the Bible when we really can have no confidence in the standard?

If the video had contained anything specific, I would be happy to address it. I've discussed the evolution v. creation issue at length on my blog. I've also addressed such arguments as “The Bible says bats are birds.” To ask, “Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?” is an empty question. Since there are no other specifics, all I can say in answer is – IT DOESN'T!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8