I'm always struck by how oblivious the because-the-Bible-says-so crowd is of the circular reasoning behind its authority.
On the other hand I find the first poster rather weak. It contains quite a bit of misinformation and logical fallacies:
Adam & Eve (strawman fallacy): It really didn't matter whether they could differentiate between good and evil before eating from the tree of knowledge. God told them not to and they disobeyed - that's the reason for "the fall".
A "Sin cannot be inherited", "A blood sacrifice cannot pay for a person's sin", etc.: Says who? The author finding it "abhorrent" (appeal to emotion) or claiming it an "archaic view of morality" (appeal to novelty) are really not arguments but personal views.
Mithra: WTF? Sure Mithraism was a competing religion in early Christianity and there was lots of borrowing from it. But the Jesus/Mithra parallels in the poster seem to be mostly made up. The common understanding of Mithra's birth (born as an adult from solid rock) have more in common with Greek mythology than with Christianity.
The Mithra reference reminded me of Zeitgeist but not knowing the 'true' myths of Mithra I can't say if the writer is correct, or not.
As to your other points, I don't see a problem with the writer's opinion. The stories of Adam & Eve and sin are, themselves, opinions. One could also say that the stories have no evidence of truth therefore they are assumed false for now. At worst, a believer would hopefully read what the writer says and see an alternative to what they believe is the truth.
Great posters! I'm the Design Editor for American Atheist magazine, and host an online religious debate at my very own blogspot. I've also got a series of 'wallpapers' I've designed.
3 comments:
I'm always struck by how oblivious the because-the-Bible-says-so crowd is of the circular reasoning behind its authority.
On the other hand I find the first poster rather weak. It contains quite a bit of misinformation and logical fallacies:
Adam & Eve (strawman fallacy): It really didn't matter whether they could differentiate between good and evil before eating from the tree of knowledge. God told them not to and they disobeyed - that's the reason for "the fall".
A "Sin cannot be inherited", "A blood sacrifice cannot pay for a person's sin", etc.: Says who? The author finding it "abhorrent" (appeal to emotion) or claiming it an "archaic view of morality" (appeal to novelty) are really not arguments but personal views.
Mithra: WTF? Sure Mithraism was a competing religion in early Christianity and there was lots of borrowing from it. But the Jesus/Mithra parallels in the poster seem to be mostly made up. The common understanding of Mithra's birth (born as an adult from solid rock) have more in common with Greek mythology than with Christianity.
Thanks for your comment!
The Mithra reference reminded me of Zeitgeist but not knowing the 'true' myths of Mithra I can't say if the writer is correct, or not.
As to your other points, I don't see a problem with the writer's opinion. The stories of Adam & Eve and sin are, themselves, opinions. One could also say that the stories have no evidence of truth therefore they are assumed false for now. At worst, a believer would hopefully read what the writer says and see an alternative to what they believe is the truth.
Great posters! I'm the Design Editor for American Atheist magazine, and host an online religious debate at my very own blogspot. I've also got a series of 'wallpapers' I've designed.
Is the wheel of power an original design for you?
David Smalley
http://davidsmalley.blogspot.com
I'd love to hear from you.
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