Richard Dawkins Responds to Anti-Atheist Viral Videos

Famed atheist Richard Dawkins responds to viral videos of Christians denouncing atheism.

Videos that espouse one religion or denounce another are rather common on the internet. However, a recent video that says that it can “destroy atheism” has attracted the chagrin of the famous atheist, Richard Dawkins. In return, Richard Dawkins has taken aim at the video and has disregarded it as propaganda and as being “pathetic.” While it is not often that Richard Dawkins responds to religious claims against atheism he was apparently taken aback by the nature of the video and the fact that it had become so popular.

The Famed Dentist Video

The video at the center of the controversy was first shared back in December 2014 by a self-described evangelist . When it was first put up on his Facebook account, he claimed that the video “destroys atheism in one minute” before asking that it is shared by those who are faithful.

In the video itself, there is a young woman who is talking to a dentist about the nature of God and suffering in the world. The woman asks the dentist why there are so many rotten teeth in the world if there are dentists in the world. The dentist simply replies that he cannot possibly help those who do not come to the dentist to have their teeth fixed. The message is that there is suffering in the world because people are not willing to seek God to fix their ills.

Richard Dawkins’ Response

While the inspirational video captured the hearts of over a million people who viewed and shared it, some atheists took offense to the terminology of “destroying” atheism through a video. That is what drew Richard Dawkins to this particular video. In his typical confident manner, Dawkins said that he hopes the video achieves the utmost publicity so that others can see just how weak the argument is. His response to the video was also somewhat typical of his beliefs, and he said “To anyone of any intelligence at all, it replies to itself.”

This is not the first time that Richard Dawkins has found himself at odds with Joshua Feuerstein. Last year, there was a video that challenged evolution and with promises to “demolish” it within the three minute confines of the video. Dawkins posted a long, detailed response to what he considered the utter absurdity of the video.

With new videos appearing on social media all the time, it seems as though a new counter appears for each viral video on both sides of the religion issue. The disagreements between religious and atheist elements will continue, but there is always the hope that neither will continue to use such inflammatory language.

Resources

• Huffington Post
• Christian Today

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