RationalWiki article on Craig.

[The Grand Nudger]

I do when they know full well what the defects are and try to lie about it.

At least used car salesmen usually have a used car to sell. "Two Citations" Craig is selling the Emperor's used car, that you can only see if you can believe in it.

He's not really selling god.  He's selling the feeling believers get when they come to possess what they believe to be rational arguments for their faith.  The product is very real.

[Jehanne]

At least used car salesmen usually have a used car to sell. "Two Citations" Craig is selling the Emperor's used car, that you can only see if you can believe in it.

He's not really selling god.  He's selling the feeling believers get when they come to possess what they believe to be rational arguments for their faith.  The product is very real.

Craig did have an open moment during one of this recent debates where he admitted on stage, "I spend most of my time reading atheist literature."  I definitively want to track down the video so that I can post it to the RationalWiki page, but some observations are in order:

1)  There is not that much atheist literature to read.  Perhaps Craig is a slow reader, but it is clear from his statement that he simply spends all of his time preparing for his next debate.  True scholars, of course, do not do this; rather, they spend their time teaching (about 40 to 45 hours per week) and doing research (another 25 to 30 hours).  They do not sit around preparing months in advance for their next 2-hour show.

2)  Craig does not teach nor does he do research.  His is just a 'traveling show' to sell his evangelical Biblical literalist bullshit and to make a sales pitch for his "school", Talbot Theological Seminary, which he hardly ever visits anyway and does not even have an office there.

[The Grand Nudger]

Craig did have an open moment during one of this recent debates where he admitted on stage, "I spend most of my time reading atheist literature."  I definitively want to track down the video so that I can post it to the RationalWiki page, but some observations are in order:

That's a requirement for the service he offers.  He need to know what it is his audience is likely hearing from non-believers that rubs against their faith...otherwise, he won;t know what to assuage at any given moment.

1)  There is not that much atheist literature to read.  Perhaps Craig is a slow reader, but it is clear from his statement that he simply spends all of his time preparing for his next debate.  True scholars, of course, do not do this; rather, they spend their time teaching (about 40 to 45 hours per week) and doing research (another 25 to 30 hours).  They do not sit around preparing months in advance for their next 2-hour show.

Craig isn't a scholar, so..why would he spend his time doing what scholars do?

2)  Craig does not teach nor does he do research.  His is just a 'traveling show' to sell his evangelical Biblical literalist bullshit and to make a sales pitch for his "school", Talbot Theological Seminary, which he hardly ever visits anyway and does not even have an office there.

He's not really selling the bible, or biblical bullshit.  His intended audience has already purchased -that- product.  He doesn't make the product, and he doesn't sell the product...he's the guy that that come in afterwards to reduce buyers remorse and build brand loyalty. Service provider, not a producer.

[Edwardo Piet]

I think that if Billy Lame Craig suffers from anything.... it's Being A Massive Douche Syndrome.

[The Grand Nudger]

Here, maybe this link will lead to something that helps someone make sense of why person x does what they do.

Religious economy refers to religious persons and organizations interacting within a market framework of competing groups and ideologies.[1] An economy makes it possible for religious suppliers to meet the demands of different religious consumers.[2]By offering an array of religions and religious products, a competitive religious economy stimulates such activity in a market-type setting.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_...us_economy

[Astonished]

I don't think he's a narcissist or a sociopath.

I think he's a fraud who doesn't give a fuck and is trying to make money and may or may not believe the utter shit he says.

It's hard to tell the difference, but here is the DSM-V criteria:

[*]Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
[*]Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
[*]Exaggerating your achievements and talents
[*]Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
[*]Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
[*]Requiring constant admiration
[*]Having a sense of entitlement
[*]Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations
[*]Taking advantage of others to get what you want
[*]Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
[*]Being envious of others and believing others envy you
[*]Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner

[*]

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-condi...n-20025568

Of those I have highlighted in bold are clearly indicative of Craig.  As for the others, they would have to be ascertained from those who know him personally.

[*]

I would argue that preoccupation with success, sense of entitlement and requiring constant admiration are also needing to be bolded.

[Edwardo Piet]

I didn't know you two were psychiatrists!

Oh wait you're just two guys who are quoting symptoms at me.

[Jehanne]

I didn't know you two were psychiatrists!

Oh wait you're just two guys who are quoting symptoms at me.

I never claimed to be a psychiatrist.  And, yet, any psychologist and/or psychiatrist will tell you that any diagnosis will begin with someone who is a non-specialist.  After all, psychiatrists are not "on patrol" going about looking for individuals who have a mental illness, rather, all such diagnoses are always the result of a referral.

[Astonished]

I didn't know you two were psychiatrists!

Oh wait you're just two guys who are quoting symptoms at me.

If the shoe fits. It's called making observations and educated guesses based on past and present evidence. Something WiLCo clearly holds no truck with.

[Edwardo Piet]

So you guys are more than happy to trust the symptoms written by psychiatrists and say it fits, and yet are completely happy to ignore the fact you'd have to apply those symptoms to a proportion of the population far greater than psychiatrists say it subscribes to.

Okay you two go and play in the sandpit, maybe one day you'll realize how diagnosis actually works and recognize that you can read symptoms to a great deal of conditions and see them in yourself but it doesn't mean you have all those conditions yourself, and that the mistake you're making here fails by exactly the same poor logic.