Atheist Answer To Spotlight Ministries

Answers to: Spotlight Ministries, Vincent McCann - Questions for Atheists and Skeptics to Think About Spotlight Ministries: If we live in a purely material world then how do we account for the many supernatural experiences that people have, such as encounters with God, ghosts, spirits, etc (obviously, exactly what all of these encounters actually are are all interpreted by different people in different ways but the fact remains that people encounter things that do not fit a purely naturalistic world view). Are we really to conclude that all of these people are delusional, deceptive, or mad? Or could it be that people are having real encounters with real supernatural beings not explainable through purely scientific mediums? Reply: Early in the 19th century it is claimed that the angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith with golden plates which has given us the Book of Mormon. Tell me, do you believe this? Judging from the anti-mormon articles on your website, I would guess that you don't. Christians generally do not accept or validate the spiritual experiences of people of other faiths. To add to that, many claim to have seen Bigfoot, UFO's, weeping statues, Loch Ness monsters etc, but as we investigate these claims, we consistently come to the same conclusion: these people are delusional, deceptive, or mad! Spotlight Ministries: Where does all of the incredibly complex information come from that is stored within DNA? Information doesn’t just appear by itself. Someone has to put it there. Reply: Things are complex, but this not an argument for the existence of a divinity. For instance, most organisms do not reproduce, and most fertilized zygotes die before growing much. A divinely designed process would be expected to minimize so much waste. We also have to wrestle with death, disease, and decay, something all life is privy to. A divinely designed digestive tract shouldn't make rabbits eat their own excrement (which they do)? Examples such as this abound...what do they tell us about a supposed intelligent designer? Spotlight Ministries: Why does humanity seem to have an innate desire and need to worship something, or someone? Why is there such a universal religious sense within humanity? Reply: For the longest time, most people believed the earth was flat. This does not validate such a belief. In fact, history indicates that people in the past universally had wrong ideas about astronomy, medicine, geology and most other sciences. The reason why there was such a universal sense of being wrong on many things in the past was simply ignorance and stupidity. You are arguing for God from a pool of people that was largely illiterate. Spotlight Ministries: Isn’t it a bit extreme to assert "God does not exist"? To make such a statement you would have to have complete knowledge and to have been everywhere in

the universe. Maybe God dwells somewhere in the universe you don’t know of or have not been to? Is that possible? Reply: I can argue that you are being extreme by asserting pagan gods do not exist. Or that at one time that unicorns or leprechauns have not existed. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Bertrand Russell demolished your argument some time ago with his famous teapot argument. As his response appears to me to be perfect, I simply offer it here: "Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of skeptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time." Spotlight Ministries: Where does all the matter in the universe come from? Reply: Where does God come from? and who created the creator of God? and who created the creator of the creator of God? Infinite regress without termination. Spotlight Ministries: How do you explain the changed lives of millions of people throughout history who testify to a life changing experience with Jesus Christ? Reply: How do you explain the horrors and persecutions perpetrated by Christians over the past 2 millenia? I was raised in Christianity, and I know of many of the claims made by Christians, but I also knew about the hidden secrets, the drinking, the divorces, the depressions, and I am not even discussing the higher crime rates in Christian countries compared to secular ones. Spotlight Ministries: How do we account for the historical Person of Jesus Christ? He has made such an impact upon history that we even measure our calendar by Him. 2000 years on and millions still follow Him. Reply: Our calendar also pays homage to pagan gods Janus, Mars, Maius, Woden, Thor, Saturn etc., but this does not prove the claims made of them by their followers, nor does it prove their existence. Jesus probably existed, and other people in history have also had a significant impact on many people. Mohammed existed, and still has an impact on 1 billion people, but even you do not believe the angel Gabriel actually visited him.