Comment:

I would like to address the question in your webpage concerning a friend that is being persuaded by people like Hitchens and Dawkins.
I hope that you pointed out to this person these unarguable facts.
No one has ever seen God.
Not one prayer that has been prayed has come true by divine intervention.
There is no event in the bible that has been verified by archeologists.
The creation of the universe and the placement of his "chosen people" on this earth has to be the work of either a homocidal maniac or a complete idiot. No other choices are logical.
Thank you for your consideration

PS failure to provide both arguemets in a debate is not particularly moral.

Response:

First of all, the article you read was not a debate. It was from a person asking for some arguments from a particular perspective. You will notice that in my comments I noted that there are other views and other arguments, but, because I was asked, I provided what I believe are reasonable arguments. I do not see this as immoral. When I teach on science and religion at my college, of course, I present both "sides," but if my student asks me to give an argument for a particular proposition, I try to provide such arguments. Perhaps you can explain why this is not moral. Besides, I thought that atheists did not believe in morality (they tend to believe in ethics, but not morality), as morality implies a moral authority.

In your comments, you provided literally zero argument. You made a couple of statements, but did not provide a single substantiating piece of information. So, this makes it hard to know how to respond.
How do you know that no one has ever seen God? What is your evidence for this statemnt? Unsubstantiated claims are not very helpful.
How do you know that no prayer has ever come true by divine intervention? What is your reasoning and what is your evidence?
These are unsubstantiated claims for which you provide literally no argument at all.

About your third statement this is clearly a false statement. A number of events described in the Bible have been confirmed by archaeologists. For example, the tunnel dug by Hezekiak has been found, with an inscription confirming details of how it was dug, in agreement with biblical statements (2 Chronicles 32). Also, the sending of Jehoachin to Babylon and his subsequent support under Nebuchadnezzar has been confirmed because the supply list for Jehoiachin has been found in the ruins of Babylon. I could give dozens of examples of archaeological finds which have confirmed biblical statements(tel Dan inscription, Pilate Stone, Taylor Prism, Babylonian Chronicles, Moabite Stone, etc.), so this statement is simply false. I believe that no archaeologist would defend this statement.

Your fourth statement is also unsubstantiated and not even explained. In my opinion, it borders on offensive. You seem to be saying that if the universe and people were created, then the one who created these things had to be an idiot. Personally, I do not believe it is the act of an idiot to create intelligent life. How is the creation of the universe and of intelligent life the work of a homicidal maniac? This statement simply makes no sense, unless you can perhaps explain why you said this.
I look forward to your response.

John Oakes