Atheist-Christian Debates

31: Ambiguous Words and Phrases

The following words can cause a lot of heated arguments due to their loaded, ambiguous nature. Atheists and agnostics like to use these words to presuppose what they're trying to prove.

• Accuracy
  • Atheist: (Whatever it means). "The scientific method is designed to describe the universe as accurately as possible."
• Evidence
  • Agnostic: "What physical science has proven, and what scientific theory states." Basically, anything that doesn't indicate intelligent design or miraculous events. Those types of things are automatically dismissed.
  • Christian: "Information that can be supported by scripture or by scientific research."
• Fact
  • Agnostic: "What physical science has proven, and what scientific theory states."
  • Christian: "Information that can be supported by scripture or by scientific research."
• Impartial
  • Agnostic: "Anything that denies the existence of anything spiritual."
  • Christian: "Anything that considers all possibilities."
• Intellectually Corrupt
  • Agnostic: "Any religious belief, or belief in anything spiritual and/or religious."
• Massively Important
  • This phrase can be used to expel a Massive burst of hot air. An atheist or agnostic can argue this about anything, whether they are things of consequence, such as the existance of God and the afterlife, or to argue the most ridiculous, pointless discussions, such as animal souls and whether Jesus farted. For example, say, if they wanted to say that `Christianity is worthless because it doesn't say if furries have souls or not,' they can throw in the phrase "massively important" to give it an artificially heightened value. "To take such an approach to the most massively important question possible is worthless in principle and diverts intellectual effort from useful pursuits." Sure, the moral implications of robotic intelligence, cyborg consciousness and vampirism could be argued with the same argument of alleged "massive importance."
• Myth
  • Agnostic: "All religions except the one I believe in, atheism."
  • Christian: "All religions except the one I believe in, Christianity."
• Observable Fact
  • Agnostic: "Repeatable events and phenomenon that can be tasted, touched and put in a test tube."
  • Christian: "What we observe with science and non-repeatable miracles that have been observed."
• Proof
  • Agnostic: "What it means (i.e. normally no explanation)." All the Christian knows is that he or she `wants some.'
  • Christian: "Information that can be supported by scripture or by scientific research."
• Real
  • Agnostic: "What is in the physical world as we know it, a world without God."
  • Christian: "What is in the physical world as we know it, a world where God is involved in our day-to-day lives."
• Reality (Or "Concrete Reality")
  • Agnostic: "The physical world as we know it, a world without God."
  • Christian: "The physical world as we know it, a world where God is involved in our day-to-day lives."
• Soul
  • Agnostic: "The mind, the gray matter in your brain, , responsible for who you are, your personality and conscious awareness," or "Electrical impulses that control your conciousness and the sum of all the physical interactions of your corporial body. Nothing extra-physical, spiritual, or mystical about it - just a term to sum up one's experiences as perceived thru physical senses and mind, and understood to whatever degree those permit...Christians believe that it's a tiny ball of light that lives in your mouth, or some other small entity, which can be sold and/or stolen, and has nothing to do with consciousness or what we experience with our bodies, which is what really matters." Implied: "Souls can be taken, and once they are, we're still `there' in the body, as soulless entities, so they are of little consequence."
  • Christian: "A soul is what makes us what we are. An invisible entity that exists independently of gray matter, responsible for who you are, your personality and conscious awareness," or "It's definitely extra-physical and/or spiritual, independent of the body. It might have something to do with electrical energy, but I don't believe the brain is all there is to it." Implied: "We are our souls, and we are `there' where our souls are. If the soul has left the body, we are not `there' in the body any longer."
• Sound Reasoning
  • Agnostic: Scientific naturalism. "If it can't be tasted, touched, put in a test tube, it doesn't exist." This is super hypocritical because they like to believe and imagine anything they want, and they accept all kinds of theories which have no such grounding.
  • Christian: Reasoning based on biblical principles and science and law.
• (Sudden, positive unpredictable event)
  • Agnostic: "Chance or luck."
  • Christian: "Miracle."
• (Sudden, negative unpredictable event)
  • Agnostic: "Fate or bad luck."
  • Christian: "Test, trial, learning experience, punishment or demonic influence."
• Truth
  • Agnostic: In his or her own idealistic language, "What physical science has proven, and what scientific theory states." In actual language, it's more like, "Anything that science says is true, and what I want to believe and not believe, according to my own tastes, preferences and prejudices."
  • Christian: "What information is sent to us from God, both physical science and moral and spiritual wisdom," or "Anything the bible says, what God says, and what other sources of information, such as science say, provided they don't contradict the bible."
• Unsatisfying
  • Agnostic: "Whatever I don't like, especially religion."
• Useful
  • Either side can use this phrase in misleading ways. To an agnostic, it could be easily used to argue that the bible is somehow not `useful' because it doesn't tell you how to splice wolf DNA with that of a human being. "To take such an approach to the most massively important question possible is worthless in principle and diverts intellectual effort from useful pursuits."
• Validity/Valid
  • Agnostic: "Anything that science says is true, and what I want to believe and not believe, according to my own tastes, preferences and prejudices."
  • Christian: "What information is sent to us from God, both physical science and moral and spiritual wisdom," or "Anything the bible says, what God says, and what other sources of information, such as science say, provided they don't contradict the bible."
• Worthless
  • Either side can use this phrase in misleading ways. To an agnostic, it could mean anything, even `that which doesn't tell me how to fix a 72 Chevy Mustang.' "To take such an approach to the most massively important question possible is worthless in principle and diverts intellectual effort from useful pursuits."