Myths, Lies and Howlers from the Fringes of the New Atheism

smacl

Anyone else read this one by Nick Park? https://www.amazon.com/Myths-Lies-Howlers-Fringes-Atheism-ebook/dp/B07SRKKHRB Seems to be an attempt at Christian apologetics in the form of critiquing some rather ancient boards posts from this very forum. Of the posters referenced, @Pherekydes is the only one that is still occasionally seen in these parts. While Nick references all his own arguments in a bibliography, he doesn't link any of the threads from the posts of which he is critical. This leaves the book feeling like a very one sided piece of rhetoric designed largely to preach to the choir. At 84 pages, it is a short read, but in my opinion you'd find better and more balanced content by reading through some of the better threads here. I'd kind of hoped it would be a bit more fun than it actually is but found it rather dull and really couldn't recommend it.

robindch

"many younger Christians possess insufficient knowledge and understanding of their own faith to refute these attacks"

"their own faith"? Isn't it somebody else's faith if people neither know it nor understand it?

But thanks for the heads up. Mr Park used to be well known hereabouts and certainly knew as much about christianity as many of the better-informed non-religious posters.

Pherekydes

Famous at last! To be fair, that was probably when I was going through my 'angry with god' rebellious teenage phase.

I'm amused that I can only read one review (apart from the above, obviously), and it just happens to be a 5* review.

By the way, what's a practicing atheist?

Maybe Nick will have a second coming and tell us. 🤔

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121089101#Comment_121089101

I guess a practicing atheist is one who regularly attends atheist group meetings with a shared goal of promoting the value of atheism in one's life. Nearest I could think of is humanists, though Atheist Ireland meetings could be similar (never been nor likely to).

Without properly referencing the posts and threads of which @Nick Park is critical, the book essentially amounts to strawmanning and nutpicking.

magicbastarder

it's a long way down from wallace and gromit!

Peregrinus

Even though it's free, I admit that I haven't actually read the book yet. But, per the blurb, it focuses on the arguments which are (in the author's view) the most easily refuted — the silly, the ill-informed, the half-understood.

The internet being what it is, there is no shortage of silly, ill-informed arguments in favour of any position, even — gasp! — atheist positions. Engaging with these is basically shooting fish in a barrel. It might amuse you for a while, but the amusement will wear off fairly quickly. And for onlookers, it's pretty boring from the get-go. (Which is possibly why despite being free, the book is only in position #2,967,323 in the Kindle store best-seller list.)

A much more interesting book would be an account by a believer of arguments advanced by atheists that they found difficult, troubling or challenging, or that led them to develop or modify their own beliefs. Or the reverse, a book by an atheist of arguments that they found challenging, etc. Those, I might read.

magicbastarder

i was wondering something similar - what brought smacl to that book and sparked his interest in reading it?

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121095776#Comment_121095776

It came up on my Kindle recommended reads list and caught my interest, had plenty of to and fro conversations here with Nick some years ago and was curious to see if any of them were referenced. Not entirely sure why it came up as recommended as my Amazon account doesn't have much religious stuff listed other than some books on the Cathars and a couple by Bart Ehrman. Not had any interaction with Nick outside of boards and theoretically the Amazon engine shouldn't know anything about my boards membership, so I'll go with the mysterious ways clause on this one ;) (I do follow a lot of linked articles from boards to be fair so I'm guessing a bit of cookie sharing is more likely)

magicbastarder

ah, i hadn't copped he was on here. so it's largely a case of 'here's a book about some arguments i had with people online years ago'?

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121096219#Comment_121096219

aka 'Here's me having the last word in arguments I had with people online years ago in a medium they cannot reply to'

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121095763#Comment_121095763

Agreed entirely. I, for one, enjoy having my views challenged, particularly by those with more knowledge on a subject than I might have. I'm also open to changing my views as a result and have often done so. The fun bit is often the back and forth which is where dialog on boards such as this come into play. In terms of challenging arguments on an atheist theme, I'd be more interested in a believer's thoughts on the like of Ehrman than Dawkins.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058312941/myths-lies-and-howlers-from-the-fringes-of-the-new-atheism

if that's not against site-wide rules, it's still bad form, it's always been an unwritten rule that what happens on boards, stays on boards

Down with this sort of thing 😛

The "getting the last word in in an argument from years ago where the opponent has no right of reply" comment is on point.

A bit pathetic really.

Nick's account hasn't been used since 2020 but isn't closed either. He could have a discussion here if he wanted to.

Hotblack Desiato

Hmmm let's edit that intro slightly...

There are many Christians who are thoughtful, fair-minded and capable of engaging in reasoned debate. There are also semi-literate keyboard warriors on social media who attempt to assail atheism with a tired litany of misconceptions and falsehoods. Sadly, many younger atheists possess insufficient knowledge and understanding of their own viewpoint to refute these attacks. In this short book, Pherekydes explores some of the most popular Christian urban legends, revealing their foundations of ignorance, deception and an astonishing disregard for facts or history.

👍️

Hotblack Desiato

Those "I was an atheist now I'm a balls-deep evangelical Christian" stories always get the side-eye from me. I don't really buy it in other words.

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121119749#Comment_121119749

More than a touch of zeal of the convert to be sure.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124572#Comment_121124572

Nick or Hotblack? 😉