Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence
A few days ago, in another post, Jim mentioned that he misses the Colonel. I don't think he meant that literally, instead I think he meant he misses the argument provoking fantastic claims the Colonel would make. In a sense, I agree. It's fun to have someone around who challenges logic and reason. I think we all enjoy a good challenge.
Good news! The Colonel has been immortalized. No, he didn't die and go to heaven. What I mean is that you can listen to the Colonel on YouTube. Well it's not actually the Colonel but if you listen you will understand what I mean. This is a 1 hour debate between a Christian apologist/philosopher named Greg Bahnsen and relatively obscure atheist writer named George Smith.
Bahnsen eerily makes many of the same absurd arguments that the Colonel did right here on UTI going back a few months. He has trouble with the definition of atheism and constantly refers to the atheist's "worldview." He has trouble believing in morality without god. He twists logic so badly it comes out looking like a pretzel. Now do you remember our friend the Colonel?
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
I thought Smith eviscerated Bahnsen. Bahnsen didn't do much in the way of promoting a rational belief in Christianity. As a matter of fact, it didn't sound like Bahnsen knows the difference between faith and reason. He actually claimed Aristotle had a xian worldview:)
Bahnsen was funny. Not that he meant to be, but I found myself cracking up quite a few times. The guy loves to make wild claims. For example, Bahnsen thinks I actually do believe in god deep down. He thinks that I am just pretending to not believe in god. Bahnsen also thinks that god gave man the ability to reason, and that reason itself, is impossible without god. Oy vey.
Overall, I would say that like most Christianists, Bahnsen forgets the elementary rules of logic; that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and that what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.
This debate must have taken place many years ago (before '95). It's interesting to note that Smith mentions Richard Dawkins as a figure of authority long before he became a celebrity. I also should mention that Bahnsen passed away in 1995 due to his non-intelligently designed heart, at the age of 47. Apparently he was a very well respected philosopher and one of the pillars of Christian Reconstructionism.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Painful to listen to
Almost made it through part three before it felt like my head was about to implode... oh so many logical fallacies and rhetoric.
I for one
don't miss him. After suffering thru his extended arguments and obstinacy a few times, I found myself simply scrolling thru all his posts and ignoring him. What happened to him anyway, did I miss something?
Got fed up.
Well, he got beat up pretty badly in this thread, and I think the final straw for him was this comment I made. My read was he finally got fed up with our unwillingness to play his game, decided it wasn't worth it.
Dirk may be right that we'll see him back under another handle, when his scars heal a bit.
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Are you sure?
Dirk, are you sure this isn't the Colonel? Sounded like pretty much the same kind of arguments and argumentation...
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Eerie
That's exactly what I thought at first. So I looked Bahnsen's name up on Wikipedia. It was freaking me out how similar they sounded, so I had to check. According to Wiki, he died in '95.
I shouldn't be that surprised. Before the Col named himself the Colonel he used to come to UTI and called himself Joe. Once, Joe admitted to being a professor of theology, but wouldn't say where. As a theologian, I imagine Bahnsen is someone he was familiar with.
My guess is that the Colonel will be back with a new moniker and start the whole thing all over again. Sneaky christians....
I remember the Colonel, long
I remember the Colonel, long winded, large vocabulary. He could beat around the proverbial bush for a long time before finally getting back to where he started. He did prompt some responses on this site but even he could not defend that which cannot be defended. I always wondered how someone that articulate could believe the garbage he spewed.
A plethora of chimerae
Our erstwhile Christian representative was one of many chimeras that I have run into. In fact I have run into one recently. The chimeras have to accept science because the technology that it spawns is all around them. Its existence and efficacy are undeniable, and yet as they accept science they simultaneously try to view the universe through the narrow window of ancient Semitic myth. It is rather like hitching an ox up to your car and using the engine only to power the radio. I am not sure just how it is that they manage to live serenely with that kind of mental conflict and yet some seem to.
Post new comment