1. Atheists don't believe in anything

Comment #82285 by daddy_phantom on October 26, 2007 at 1:54 am

Note: I think that what you are calling "gravity" is really just a distortion in spacetime cause by the presence of a large mass. But I am still poking into General Relativity and have a very long way to go before I can do more than quip about it.

The point is that the more we learn the more we find out that what we used to know ain't so.

:-Dan

2. Atheists don't believe in anything

Comment #82283 by daddy_phantom on October 26, 2007 at 1:53 am

I tend to reject the word "believe" in a discussion or debate. It often translates into "think something is so without any reason or evidence". In a debate it can be detrimental to start arguing the meaning of the words early on. I suggest every time your opponent says "believe", rephrase with "think" or "understand" and work in the word "evidence" often.

I also like what "Not the Messiah" said in Comment #81993:

The argument is muddied by confusing the phrase "to believe in something" with "to value something", at which point it descends into the argument that "atheists have no morals/capacity for love/appreciation of art" ..or whatever.

3. I believe that there is no God.

Comment #52700 by daddy_phantom on June 27, 2007 at 7:52 pm

As a "religious" listener to Penn's old radio show, I remember hearing him complain about two aspects of the "This I Believe" segment.

1) NPR takes the highs and lows out of his voice
2) The requirement for the essays is that the be "positive".

I think he did a very serviceable job.

:-Dan