Richard Dawkins slams video that claims to 'destroy atheism'

 Reuters

Richard Dawkins has dismissed a Christian video that claims to undo atheist reasoning about God, saying the argument was "pathetic".

In the video a woman tells a dentist that saying you don't believe in God because of suffering in the world is like saying you don't believe in dentists because some people have bad teeth.

"If there are dentists in the world, then why are there so many broken, infected and missing teeth?" the woman asks.

The dentist replies: "I can't help people that don't come to me to have their teeth fixed."

Evangelist Joshua Feuerstein shared the video with his million plus Facebook followers in December, but the video has had renewed interest this month.

Speaking to the Huffington Post, Dawkins said: "If this is the best the faith-heads can do by way of 'demolishing atheism', I hope you will give it maximum publicity in order to demonstrate how pathetic the 'argument' is. It's so weak, no reply is needed. To anyone of any intelligence at all, it replies to itself."

This isn't the first time Dawkins has responded to Feuerstein's claims to unpick atheism. The Arizona-based evangelist shared a three-minute video in May last year in which he said he would "demolish evolution" in three minutes. Dawkins subsequently wrote a detailed rebuttal of Feuserstein's arguments in a post on his website.

Dawkins wrote: "Everybody and their grandma is sending me this clip of some random guy in a facebook video who claims to destroy almost the entire field of biology in three minutes. No studies, no experiments, no peer review, no degree (undergrad or otherwise) in biology, just chillin' in the back of a car taking a selfie. This is an unfathomably arrogant pretension for somebody who tries to sound humble by calling himself a nobody in his twitter bio. But then again, apologists have never been renowned for their humility."

The evolutionary biologist continued with an 18-point critique of the evangelist's arguments.

related articles
Richard Dawkins suggests it\'s faith that makes people capable of committing evil on the scale of the Taliban and Islamic State
Richard Dawkins suggests it's faith that makes people capable of committing evil on the scale of the Taliban and Islamic State

Richard Dawkins suggests it's faith that makes people capable of committing evil on the scale of the Taliban and Islamic State

Richard Dawkins makes scathing remarks about religion after Charlie Hebdo attack
Richard Dawkins makes scathing remarks about religion after Charlie Hebdo attack

Richard Dawkins makes scathing remarks about religion after Charlie Hebdo attack

Richard Dawkins condemns shooting of three Muslim students at University of North Carolina
Richard Dawkins condemns shooting of three Muslim students at University of North Carolina

Richard Dawkins condemns shooting of three Muslim students at University of North Carolina

News
Surge in searches for local churches
Surge in searches for local churches

The Church of England has been buoyed by latest figures showing a leap in visits to its church finder website. 

Church safeguarding is firmly rooted in Scripture
Church safeguarding is firmly rooted in Scripture

Safeguarding is indeed every Christian’s responsibility.

Australian judge rules against puberty blockers for 12 year old in 'stunning victory for sanity'
Australian judge rules against puberty blockers for 12 year old in 'stunning victory for sanity'

The idea that gender identity is not affected by external factors was found to be unsupported by evidence.

Egypt's Christians face 'constant pressure to hide their faith'
Egypt's Christians face 'constant pressure to hide their faith'

Despite being 11 million strong, Egypt's Christians face persistent persecution