Comment

Comment by Tim Garrett on July 15, 2009 at 6:25pm

Katie,

See the video I shot of a different view of a rainbow...

http://atheistnexus.org/video/halorainbow-1

Optics.

Comment by Billy Deaton on July 1, 2009 at 5:39pm

Katie, your friend, Rainbow Not-so-bright, is using an argument known as "God Of the Gaps." It's easily refuted — just ask her why she thinks God made rainbows, but Zeus doesn't make lightening bolts. Or show her this:

Comment by Uncle Roger on July 1, 2009 at 3:35pm

You could always counter with "I went to a bar and was drinking pretty heavily. Next thing I knew, I woke up the next morning in my bed, buck naked. Did God undress me and put me there?" On the other hand, you could also say "I don't know all the details; let's go look it up." and head for wikipedia.

Comment by Katie the Ninja on July 1, 2009 at 10:46am

Replying to your comment, Jason Spicer, you have a really good point. About the dvd player. I agree with you. Everytime they have an atheist cornered where they can't provide the answer the creationists are looking for, they think its God. it IS very frustrating. And there are still alot of things scientists don't know and science can't explain. But with new technology and evolving intelligence we will find out the answer. Just because we don't know something does not mean it has to do with a supernatural creator. I loved the comment Jason! Thank you.
and yes! I love invisible unicorns! lol I worship them! hahaha just kidding. Great comment.

Katie

Comment by unholyroller on July 1, 2009 at 12:31am

You can always use my favorite...."Google it!"

Comment by Jason Spicer on June 30, 2009 at 10:40pm

Actually, Katie, you had it about right. The raindrops act like little prisms. Sunlight goes through the raindrops, reflecting off the back of them and refracting through them to make the rainbow. Next time you get stuck in an argument like this, just leave off the "and stuff". You'll sound more confident, even if you're not. And if you're wrong, so what? You were sure your debating partner was wrong, so if you're both wrong, it's a scoreless tie game.

It is frustrating and bizarre that religious people take this approach in debating atheists, that if you don't know something about science, then the answer must be God. First off, just because you don't personally know a scientific explanation for something doesn't mean there isn't one. For that matter, you knew perfectly well that there is a sensible scientific explanation for rainbows, you just weren't sure of the details. If you need the details, you can always look them up. It's not like science is a big secret. But even if nobody has a scientific explanation for something, it doesn't mean God had anything to do with it. It just means nobody knows. Yet. There could be any number of explanations. Picking God as the right one or even the most likely one is just playing favorites. Might as well pick invisible unicorns.

I derive enjoyment out of knowing scientific facts, but even so, I can't possibly know them all. Nobody can. But religionists are just fooling themselves if they think that by finding an area of ignorance they have convincingly refuted atheism. In fact, that's a logical fallacy known as the argument from ignorance--concluding something based on things you don't know.

If you want a general purpose answer for this kind of debating trick, no matter what the scientific question, just point out that even if you don't know how a DVD player works, that doesn't mean God makes it work.

Comment by John Q. Antichrist or Rosco on June 30, 2009 at 4:31pm

On a more serious note, theists tend to think that Atheist should know everything about science. I have yet to understand why my belief that there are no deities makes a theist think that I'm a scientist. I know that coming to atheism makes me seem pretty damn smart, but it doesn't make me a rainbowologist. My fave comedian, Mitch Hedberg, has a joke where he wonders why long hair has to signify drug use - why can't it signify a love of cake? Well why does being an atheist have to mean you know everything about science? Why can't it mean that I'm a pretty fly dancer? I'm not, but go ahead and start that rumor. Aloha!

Comment by John Q. Antichrist or Rosco on June 30, 2009 at 4:21pm

Well of course, a rainbow is God's promise never to flood the world again. Whenever you have questions like this, just go to Christian Answers. I go to that site whenever I'm confused or if I just need a good laugh. I also like when they review movies, like The Hangover.