# In re: Atheists v. Christians debate **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 19, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153 "2015-10-19T17:19:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/21 "2015-10-19T18:49:23Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > “Socks versus the Human Resistance” As in [this documentary photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Wikipedian_activates_a_sock_puppet.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/22 "2015-10-19T18:57:21Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Would a Christian Predator look anything like [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=praying+mantis&num=100&newwindow=1&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMI7d6qt5jPyAIVTHA-Ch346g6m&biw=1280&bih=586)? (Possibly not Christian, but definitely pious.) Several years ago, I was at a local park with the cross-country team for a workout. I was perched on the end of a picnic table when I noticed a praying mantis right next to me, reared up and making threatening gestures with its front claws. I thought it very brave, this tiny creature defending itself from a giant thing that could snuff out its life in an instant. So I crushed it. Not really. But how else was i supposed to end the story? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/23 "2015-10-19T19:02:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Several years ago, I was at a local park with the cross-country team for a workout. I was perched on the end of a picnic table when I noticed a praying mantis right next to me, reared up and making threatening gestures with its front claws. > > I thought it very brave, this tiny creature defending itself from a giant thing that could snuff out its life in an instant. > So I crushed it. > > Not really. But how else was i supposed to end the story? Good thing you didn’t crush it. If you had, God would have killed a kitten and added a very weak thread about a debate in the pit. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/24 "2015-10-19T19:04:16Z")
Every time a gay person masturbates into a sentient sock, God kills a kitten. Well that’s what I _heard_. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/25 "2015-10-19T19:06:47Z")
My challenge to god, stolen from an old website: Pi, rounded to thirty-three places, would be precise enough to describe the diameter-to-circumference ratio of a circle comprising hydrogen atoms that could enclose the entire universe. Therefore let God change mathematics such that pi is rounded to thirty-three places; and I’ll be a believer. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/26 "2015-10-19T19:11:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > As far as I know, Torrance is always open to the public. But is the public open to Torrance??? Bit Torrance is open to anyone, but I’m not sure it is right to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/27 "2015-10-19T19:13:55Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > I have no idea what is being pitted here, but in my desire to contribute, I have decided to discuss the history of the sock. Sock it to me: St. Rowan and St. Martin 10:5 ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/28 "2015-10-19T19:15:33Z")
“Halvah is a form of pie, 3.1416 and a specific heat. and it has a specific gravity of of .31416.” –Donald Knuth ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/29 "2015-10-19T19:16:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > My challenge to god, stolen from an old website: Pi, rounded to thirty-three places, would be precise enough to describe the diameter-to-circumference ratio of a circle comprising hydrogen atoms that could enclose the entire universe. Therefore let God change mathematics such that pi is rounded to thirty-three places; and I’ll be a believer. He said he’ll get around to it right after he’s finished addressing this “God screwed up and made Tony a boy instead of a girl” issue. Probably early 2017 he thinks. Anything else you’d like me to pass along for you? We’re having lunch tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/30 "2015-10-19T19:17:06Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Depends, **John**. Does Torrance conform to community standards? Also, has Torrance accepted Christ as its savior? > > ETA: In response to this: We were. In six years we lived in three different addresses in Torrance. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/31 "2015-10-19T19:26:28Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Weakest comeback ever. SO IS YOUR MOMMA! …You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/32 "2015-10-19T19:28:11Z")
Would there be an actual topic to this debate, dougie me lad, or this more of a Clint Eastwood "empty chair’ charade where atheism is to be represented by no more than what the Church Elders determine an atheist would think? I like warm pie with vanilla ice cream. Oh, and in keeping with pit etiquette, you are a weak-minded individual for even thinking you could get away with a pit this weak and mindless. End of Line. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/33 "2015-10-19T19:45:12Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Depends, **John**. Does Torrance conform to community standards? Also, has Torrance accepted Christ as its savior? > > ETA: In response to this: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/34 "2015-10-19T19:59:34Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > In the distant future, socks will gain sentience due to being implanted with electronic devices, and will one day rule over us, which wouldn’t have been possible if we had just stuck to normal socks without any blended fabrics or add-ons of any kind. Just say no to blended fabrics, kids. It’s in the Bible, not that you atheists would know that. :mad: Maybe it’s already happening: My electric-heated, blended-wool socks seem to keep disappearing into another dimension from the dryer. Woe upon humanity when they return with a vengeance. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/35 "2015-10-19T20:34:56Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > See [www.branchofhope.org](http://www.branchofhope.org) are you now shilling for them? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/36 "2015-10-19T20:39:44Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I saw an announcement in the local newspaper about a scheduled atheists-versus-Christians debate scheduled for later this week in a Presbyterian Church in Torrance, CA. If the response to this statement warrants I will add details. > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Weakest comeback ever. > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > See [www.branchofhope.org](http://www.branchofhope.org) > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > “Halvah is a form of pie, > 3.1416 and a specific heat. > and it has a specific gravity of > of .31416.” > –Donald Knuth > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > We were. In six years we lived in three different addresses in Torrance. So Dougie, can you give us any hint as to why you started this thread and what you wanted it to be about? There doesn’t seem to be any theme connecting your posts. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/37 "2015-10-19T20:48:00Z")
Will this debate settle the issue once and for all, so we never have to hear about it again? And will there be cookies later? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/38 "2015-10-19T21:00:37Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > So Dougie, can you give us any hint as to why you started this thread and what you wanted it to be about? There doesn’t seem to be any theme connecting your posts. Dougie is trolling for attention - its as simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/39 "2015-10-19T21:35:51Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Depends, **John**. Does Torrance conform to community standards? Also, has Torrance accepted Christ as its savior? > > ETA: In response to this: > [@simster](#): > > Dougie is trolling for attention - its as simple as that. You’re entitled to your opinion, Simster. My posts have no connection with each other; I was hard put to find any connection between any others’ replies and my OP. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153/40 "2015-10-19T21:41:41Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > You’re entitled to your opinion, Simster. My posts have no connection with each other; I was hard put to find any connection between any others’ replies and my OP. And the rest of us were hard put finding any connection between your OP and a pitting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-atheists-v-christians-debate/735153.md?page=3)