Perhaps you've heard of these absurd creationist challenges: Kent Hovind challenge of $250,000 for scientific evidence of evolution; Joseph Mastropaolo's challenge of $10,000 to "prove evolution"; Ray Comfort's challenge of $10,000 to show him a transitional fossil. They all sound like easy money, but don't try: they've loaded the dice in every case.
Dana Hunter gives a 19th century example I did not know about before. Alfred Russel Wallace accepted a bet to show the curvature of the earth by a flat-earther, and he did it, too, with a simple and clever observation. You'd think he'd be wallowing in the cash -- £500 -- that he'd won, but you don't know denialists. They never change.
The flat-earther, John Hampden, did not accept the results. Surprise.
They were at an impasse. At first, Hampden refused an umpire to decide between the referees. Eventually, he agreed to have Walsh review the results, and both sides sent in sketches and reports. Walsh weighed the evidence, decided it did indeed prove the earth was spherical, and published both materials and his conclusion in the Field.
Hampden threw a fit. Carpenter wrote “a long argument to show that the experiments were all in Mr. Hampden’s favour.” This diatribe didn’t sway Walsh. He declared Wallace the positive winner, and, despite Hampden demanding his money back, gave the winnings to Wallace.
Unfortunately, British law didn’t protect gentlemen’s interests when it came to bets, even if the wager was strictly along scientific lines, and would eventually force Wallace to give the money back. Of course, by then, that amount was offset by the judgements entered in Wallace’s favor against Hampden, who had embarked on an extraordinary 15-year campaign of abuse and libel that landed him in both jail and court several times. He sent vitriolic letters to everyone he could think of, including Wallace’s wife:
“Mrs. Wallace,—Madam, if your infernal thief of a husband is brought home some day on a hurdle, with every bone in his head smashed to pulp, you will know the reason. Do you tell him from me he is a lying infernal thief, and as sure as his name is Wallace he never dies in his bed.
“You must be a miserable wretch to be obliged to live with a convicted felon. Do not think or let him think I have done with him.
“John Hampden.”
Eventually all the costs and hassle were worth more than what Wallace had won.
So let that be a lesson to you. Don't bother taking these 'challenges' by creationists, they'll never pay up, and they'll just make you miserable. And also, there were internet trolls before there was an internet.
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Atheists are losing the battle. Everyone knows that the Big Bang is ridiculous and one of the poorly written sci-fi novels if our time.
Christians are being illegally imprisoned by immoral and corrupt men in America -Watch-> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AUVh_oYCwg
It's time for Christians to reclaim America
@1: I'm not going to watch a video by a creationist - It's a sin for a Christian to watch such evil lies. I will pray for you nd hope that God opens your eyes to the truth.
The Pope says the Big Bang is real, and he says Evolution is real:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-declares-ev…
Regrettably, the Hovind critique repeats the atrocious claim that "a rule of logic is that one cannot prove a negative".
No, NO, a thousand times: 100%, without a doubt: NO!
The law of non-contradiction prohibits the existence of anything that is both A and not-A at the same time and in the same regard.
Thus, no simultaneously All-Just and All-Merciful deities can exist, when mercy is defined as withholding just punishment, for example. There are other huge swaths of deity claims similarly provable as non-existent...just like a circular triangle.
Thomas - than please enlighten me...
|Craig - the Pope is not a real christian, the roman catholic church has given real christianity a bad rap....
Buck - lots of words for pointing out that atheism and the big bang needs as much faith as you would need in God... The truth is there is more scientific, archeological and historical fact that Christ did live and that the entire bible is more accurate than any other "fake new age religion" out there.... As far as your "circular triangle" claim which is hilarious (you are so intelligent sir) God asks us to obey him, if we do not (free will) we have to deal with the consequence... if we Obey God he always helps us when we are in trouble and gives us what we need ALWAYS (if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God you have all the proof you need).
Freekent #5
"(if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God you have all the proof you need)."
Can you prove that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God?
If not, your statements are unconvincing.
Well no, there is no real physical evidence he existed, or historical fact (references internal to the bible are not, after all, independent of the question of his existence: those who wrote and rewrote it had a vested interest in making him prominent), and there is certainly no scientific evidence of the existence of him.
could there have been a person (or persons) named Jesus? Certainly. Evidence any were the son of a god? Nope.
Note that the big census discussed in the bible didn't happen: crucifiction wasn't used the way it was described in the bible: there is no evidence of a huge earthquake at the time he supposedly died on the cross, there is no evidence of thousands rising from their graves when he died (as mentioned in matthew 27.51-27.53)
In short, you don't have evidence - you got nothin'.
"if we do not "obey God" we have to deal with the consequence… if we Obey God he always helps us when we are in trouble and gives us what we need ALWAYS "
There are so many amazing things to learn and embrace about the this universe we are briefly in, and so many live their short lives stuck in Santa Claus mode, waitng for imagined presents when they die. Sad.
#FreeKent #5
"if we Obey God he always helps us when we are in trouble"
Why?
There is just no end to the idiocy in this world.
The church was buying back all the properties confiscated. They aren't interested in paying the fine. His "lawyer" friend though if he started mailing bogus claims to the title companies around their area, it would reduce the price of the properties.
Basically the hovind church runs a bunch of properties. They rent houses, apartments and flip other properties. He was paying his staff and church members with under the table cash. I thought this was unusual but apparently lots of churches are also businesses. It employes their family. They can get their members to work for almost nothing as "missionaries." And they make lots of money. He was clearing profit of 1M / year when the IRS first noticed him operating like this in the 90s.
#5 - we will have to rename the "no true Scotsman" fallacy.