The Paradox of Power....

[Rhondazvous]

The first 15 of these deal with evidence that people that existed, mostly foreign kings, were mentioned in the bible.  In what sense does that show the bible is "true?"  Even fictional novels may refer to real people in history.  So what?  This doesn't prove the flood or the exodus happened, so those parts of the bible are false.  What do you call a book with false stories in it?  Fiction.

Absolutely. For instance: the Louvre exists. Paris exists. Westminster Abbey and the Temple Church in London exist. Rosslyn Chapel exists. Leonardo da Vinci was a real person. So clearly The Da Vinci Code really happened.

Alternatively: New York exists; therefore Spiderman.

So what do we call this? A non sequitur.

I've heard Christian leaders say that although the science and history of the Bible may contain errors, we should still trust the salvific
passages. Excuse me. If their basic arithmetic is sketchy, why should I trust their calculus? If they can't get the things that can be proven straight, why should I believe the things that can't be proven?

[Randy Carson]

Pope Francis speaks to a massive crowd on the National Mall, Washington, DC:



Richard Dawkins speaks to a sparse crowd at the 2012 Reason Rally at the National Mall:



Estimates of crowd size ranged from a paltry 8,000 to an generous high of 30,000.

(N.B.: God did not show up to dry the atheists off miraculously as He did at Fatima.)

Yeah we know there are fewer atheists than Catholics.  Nor is Dawkins or anyone else the pope of atheism. 

And unlike Catholics atheists tend not to expect miraculous help.  Like to see this miraculous drying off bit though.  Last Fatima miracle I looked into turned out to be a common desert atmospheric condition plus eyestrain.

Like the Shroud is just a medieval forgery which, ironically, no scientists have been able to explain or reproduce - especially the 3-D characteristics of the image.

[Jenny A]

Archaeologists keep finding evidence that supports the Old and New Testaments; this find dates back 3,000 years or so:

Israeli archaeologists may have found fabled Maccabees tomb
By DANIEL ESTRIN
Sep. 21, 2015 4:32 PM EDT
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b2dd69492...abees-tomb

Your description is a trifle overblown.  From your source:

Israel's government Antiquities Authority said Monday that an ancient structure it began excavating this month on the side of a highway appears to match ancient descriptions of the tomb of Jewish rebels who wrested control of Judea from Seleucid rule and established a Jewish kingdom in the 2nd century B.C.

Scholars in Israel's quarrelsome archaeological community tend to agree that the site, in an Israeli forest west of Jerusalem and a short walk from the West Bank, is a significant burial site but reserve judgment about its connection to the Maccabees. Now the Antiquities Authority, which sometimes relies on private funding to help finance digs, is soliciting donations so it can keep searching for evidence.

"We still don't have the smoking gun," said Amit Reem, a government archaeologist who helped lead the dig.

* * *

Oren Tal, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University who was not involved with the dig, said the mosaic cross is not necessarily a significant clue. He said the burial niche may have been converted into a Byzantine chapel, where a cross would have been standard.

But he agreed with Reem about other characteristics that correspond to the biblical account and to an account by ancient historian Josephus Flavius. Both describe the Tomb of the Maccabees as a tall structure that could be seen from the Mediterranean Sea, featuring columns and seven pyramids.

* * *

Reem said he cannot yet date the site to earlier than the 5th century A.D. He wants to excavate more, to look for an inscription or architectural elements that could associate the structure with the time of the Maccabees.
.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b2dd69492...abees-tomb emphasis added

Most of the OT is either unverified archeologically, or positively falsified like Exodus or the conquering of Canaan.  Undoubtedly some of the history in it is true.  But since so much clearly isn't, it's hardly a reliable source, let alone a good source with which to prove the supernatural.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Like the Shroud is just a medieval forgery which, ironically, no scientists have been able to explain or reproduce - especially the 3-D characteristics of the image.

Actually, Costanzo and Nickell both reproduced the so-called '3-D' characteristics on the Shroud, and did so without any miracles.

Boru

[Athene]

First of all, I wouldn't go listen to Dawkins speak if someone paid me to.
If the point is that atheism doesn't inspire people as religion/the Pope does, I would say..so what? 
It's not supposed to.

[Cyberman]

Pope Francis speaks to a massive crowd on the National Mall, Washington, DC:

---

---

Richard Dawkins speaks to a sparse crowd at the 2012 Reason Rally at the National Mall:

---

---

Estimates of crowd size ranged from a paltry 8,000 to an generous high of 30,000.

(N.B.: God did not show up to dry the atheists off miraculously as He did at Fatima.)

And here's Queen playing to a crowd at a little gig you may have heard of:



What's your point?

In fact, are you able to make any point that isn't an appeal to popularity or a non-sequitur of Wembley proportions?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Pope Francis speaks to a massive crowd on the National Mall, Washington, DC:

---

---

Richard Dawkins speaks to a sparse crowd at the 2012 Reason Rally at the National Mall:

---

---

Estimates of crowd size ranged from a paltry 8,000 to an generous high of 30,000.

(N.B.: God did not show up to dry the atheists off miraculously as He did at Fatima.)

And here's Queen playing to a crowd at a little gig you may have heard of:



What's your point?

In fact, are you able to make any point that isn't an appeal to popularity or a non-sequitur of Wembley proportions?

That depends. Is there a long article he can copy and repost sans comment?

[brewer]

To put it another way, if someone tells me Dawkins is speaking in D.C., I think, "Oh, that's neat."

If someone tells a Catholic the Pope is speaking in D.C., they go "ohmygod it's better than Bieber; drop everything, we have got to go to this!!"

Maybe they just showed up to see what they had been paying through the nose for, for years.

[Homeless Nutter]

[...]

Richard Dawkins speaks to a sparse crowd at the 2012 Reason Rally at the National Mall:

---

---

Estimates of crowd size ranged from a paltry 8,000 to an generous high of 30,000.

Not bad, considering he's not promising anyone eternal life and doesn't have 2000 years of forceful conversion and indoctrination behind him, like the f-ing Poop... I mean Pope.

(N.B.: God did not show up to dry the atheists off miraculously as He did at Fatima.)

So instead of "raising the dead" and "healing the sick", like he allegedly used to do thousands of years ago - your god is now reduced to "drying the wet"? Impressive... lol

Isn't it convenient, that religious people's expectations of their deity are so low these days? Soon you'll be telling us how Jesus "miraculously" cleared the crust off your a**e, while you were taking a bath...

[Angrboda]

Archaeological evidence contradicts all four stories that make up the foundations of the Bible

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/24...al-History

Archaeologists keep finding evidence that supports the Old and New Testaments; this find dates back 3,000 years or so:

Israeli archaeologists may have found fabled Maccabees tomb
By DANIEL ESTRIN
Sep. 21, 2015 4:32 PM EDT
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b2dd69492...abees-tomb

Nice non-story, Randy.

Reem said the cross is a clue. It appears on the floor of a burial niche at the site. It is the only Byzantine-era site where a cross decorates the floor of a burial vault, he said, indicating that it may have marked the spot of an important figure. He thinks it is likely that the Byzantines — early Christians — identified this site as the Maccabees' tomb.

"What other important figures would be here?" Reem said, standing in the deep pit of the archaeological site.

Oren Tal, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University who was not involved with the dig, said the mosaic cross is not necessarily a significant clue. He said the burial niche may have been converted into a Byzantine chapel, where a cross would have been standard.
. . . .
Reem said he cannot yet date the site to earlier than the 5th century A.D. He wants to excavate more, to look for an inscription or architectural elements that could associate the structure with the time of the Maccabees.

(bold mine)