What's the lamest defence of Theism you've ever heard?

[vorlon13]

Talkie Toaster says, "Indeed!".

[MTL]

One of my favorites was a viewer call on the Atheist Experience:  "how do you know the Big Bang actually happened?  Were you THERE???"  

The most annoying for me, personally, is this one:  

Theist: "I have evidence that the world and everything in it had to be designed."

Atheist: "Okay, what is your evidence?"

Theist: "well...everything LOOKS designed!   Duhhhh.  I mean, it's obvious.  We were designed."  

*facepalm*

[MTL]

Serious question: are televangelists like porn stars in that they pick their own names?  Ray Comfort? Creflo Dollar?

YES.  And don't forget Ernest Angley.

[MTL]

Yeah, I agree.  I realized how irrational it is to even consider intelligent design once I learned just the basics of natural selection.  It reminds me of an example a member here used once (paraphrasing):  "It's like looking at a puddle in the road and saying, 'how amazing that water was perfectly designed to fit into that hole!"  

See also: the platypus

Well, at least Platypus are cute, in a backasswards sort of way.

But consider God's magnificent design in these unfortunate beasts:


the "Blob-Fish":



the "Sea-Pig":



the Angler-Fish:



The Lamprey Eel:



and my personal favourite,

....the star-nosed mole:




Well Done, God.

[Tiberius]

I pointed out that the distance of those planets from the earth was not constant, and indeed not constant in exactly the way we would expect if all of them - including the earth - was orbiting another body that occupied the exact position that the Sun happens to be in.

None of the planets have "constant" distances from the Sun though. All the planets have elliptical orbits, so their distance from the Sun fluctuates over the course of the year.

We moved on to evolution, and I invited him to visit the Smithsonian to review the mountain of evidence. His reply was "what evidence?".

What makes that odd is that the Catholic Church accepts evolution as fact, so he's going against his own church.

[vorlon13]

Now I know where the inspiration for this schlocky sci-fi critter came from.

Thank you Mr. Blobfish.

[MTL]

It's the self-centredness humans have. I thnk it's ironic when people look at the world like that, like it was designed for us. It's the opposite, we wouldn't exist if we didn't evolve to survive here.

I agree but don't put it like that, because while we did adapt to get where we are now, we are not the best species at surviving everything. Cockroaches survived what killed the dinosaurs, humans wouldn't survive something like that. There are far more species of life better at reproduction and survival than humans. Our biggest problem as a species is our own ignorance of our place on the planet and and in the universe.

Cockroaches have found a successful survival model
which significantly surpasses the tenure of human life on Earth, yes.

However, they've never risked adaptation beyond that successful survival model
...hence, they are still just cockroaches.

Better to attempt to evolve continually, and risk annihilation,
than to remain a cockroach for eternity, just to be on the safe side.

I mean, what's the point of surviving forever,
if you're just going to be a cockroach for eternity???

Survival at the cost of Evolution is worthless, IMO.

[God of Mr. Hanky]

My personal favorite for amusement purposes is Wendy Wright screeching out to Dawkins "Were you THERE?!!" I don't think I've ever seen such a hysterically stupid person before, and I have met a lot of very stupid religious people!

Oh, and we also had a perfect troll who claimed to be a top biology student, while insisting that every life form shows "perfect design" - yeah, how could I not see how obvious that is?

[MTL]

It's the self-centredness humans have. I thnk it's ironic when people look at the world like that, like it was designed for us. It's the opposite, we wouldn't exist if we didn't evolve to survive here.

I'm a Star Trek nerd, and every time I see the argument from design I think back to Star Trek IV when Spock essentially said that human arrogance makes them/us think that everything "must be meant for man."

It's an idiotic assumption to make.

Oh, that reminds me of one....

I can't find it right now, but someone made a meme out of it;

Basically a Theist was addressing an Atheist, with words to the effect of:

" How can you be so arrogant as to assume that the Universe and Earth was NOT created for Man's use? "


(???????????)

[vorlon13]

I agree but don't put it like that, because while we did adapt to get where we are now, we are not the best species at surviving everything. Cockroaches survived what killed the dinosaurs, humans wouldn't survive something like that. There are far more species of life better at reproduction and survival than humans. Our biggest problem as a species is our own ignorance of our place on the planet and and in the universe.

Cockroaches have found a successful survival model
which significantly surpasses the tenure of human life on Earth, yes.

However, they've never risked adaptation beyond that successful survival model
...hence, they are still just cockroaches.

Better to attempt to evolve continually, and risk annihilation,
than to remain a cockroach for eternity, just to be on the safe side.

I mean, what's the point of surviving forever,
if you're just going to be a cockroach for eternity???

Survival at the cost of Evolution is worthless, IMO.

Minor point, on the edges of the cockroach's preferred habitat, isolated groups of cockroaches may have split off (continental drift, vulcanism, climate change, etc) and, in fact evolved into what ever cockroaches evolve into, presumably other forms of icky bugs and used car salesmen) but as long as the 'home group'  of the cockroaches is in a stable productive environment, they aren't going to change much, at least till I come along with a sprayer tank of bifenthrin . . .