Instigator / Pro
8
1377
rating
62
debates
25.81%
won
Topic
#594

there is a god

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
6
Better sources
4
4
Better legibility
2
2
Better conduct
2
0

After 2 votes and with 4 points ahead, the winner is...

Lernaean
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
5
Time for argument
Three days
Max argument characters
12,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
12
1501
rating
2
debates
50.0%
won
Description

No information

Criterion
Pro
Tie
Con
Points
Better arguments
3 point(s)
Better sources
2 point(s)
Better legibility
1 point(s)
Better conduct
1 point(s)
Reason:

Pro gets conduct for having more rounds filled in. Otherwise, it would have been even. Both debaters were perfectly polite. Pro made arguments that were technically true but turned out to ultimately be non sequiturs. Con categorically rebutted Pro's claims using proper skepticism and did not jump off the ledge onto a positive claim, so no BOP was need on Con's part. Both sides did well and Con ultimately had the more defensible position and played the situation properly to it's logical conclusion.

Criterion
Pro
Tie
Con
Points
Better arguments
3 point(s)
Better sources
2 point(s)
Better legibility
1 point(s)
Better conduct
1 point(s)
Reason:

1.) Medication. Pro claims that the existence of natural medicine proves Gods existence. To support this pro appears to make an argument from incredulity - how else but God? which is not a particularly strong on its face - but he asks a relevant question that, in part, provides at least a weak justification for incredulityz

Con questions how pro can determine that natural healing properties of organisms do not occur naturally. Now: while pro has overall burden of proof - on this point it’s much harder for pro to prove there is no method by which complex healing chemicals cannot arise naturally.

I feel con has some burden of explaining why medicine can originate naturally, or least undermine the incredulity - he doesn’t have to go in depth, but there is some need to rebut.

Con doesn’t do this.

With his forfeits, and pros anti-evolution “argument”, which was unrefuted - I have to conclude that organisms were created

However, whilst con doesn’t provide justification to believe these plants do not need a creator - he does argue that it need not necessarily the Christian God. This salvages this point a little - and means this point alone can’t win the debate for pro.

This point is largely to pro - but doesn’t prove the resolution. Resolution requires one or more additional points.

2.) The Bible said not to drink while pregnant.

Pro sets up an argument that claims we only knew about issues with alcohol and pregnancy in the 1970s - and the bible said not to drink while pregnant.

This doesn’t seem a strong point, but it seems valid on its face.

Con, however points out that there were suspicions up to 384 BC, meaning that it’s. Not necessarily unreasonable for someone to make this claim.

Secondly, con points out it’s not necessarily the case that it meant that alcohol would be harmful - only that it would make the boy unclean.

Both of these are good rebuttals to the point, and pro doesn’t really address them at all other than to assert his position is obvious. This goes to con.

3.) Depression. Pro makes an argument, then seems to ignore the rebuttal.

The charge is much like the alcohol - that the writers bible knew about depression, and this shows the bible is accurate.

As before, con argues that this example could well have been common knowledge at the time - which fits as pro doesn’t show that it is unreasonable for people at the time to have already figured this out.

There seems to be no further rebuttal. So this goes to con.

4.) floating earth

There seems to be no argument as to why the bible being correct on basic points is proof of God - Pro needs to show that the only way the bible would have included this information is by divine revelation.

Con frames up this argument rather well by basically asking pro to justify why this knowledge relies on revelation - thus God.

Pro didn’t do this, so this point goes to con.

5.) revelation.

The end times prophecy seems largely irrelevant to the resolution. I think the world needs to end to determine whether the end times prophecy is accurate.

6.) haunted house. This is tenuous at best - pro mostly relies on anecdotal evidence - so I don’t feel pro provides warrant here.

7.) mitochondrial eve.

Pro argues that mitochondrial eve and the age of the earth are the same. Con argues this doesn’t support the resolution as even if that is true it only refutes our current understanding of origins - but doesn’t necessarily mean that God exists as claimed.

Summary: con wasn’t harmed by the two forfeits - as pro didn’t really address the issue he raised with cons point. Pros arguments were mostly without warrant - and con merely pointed out the reason why.

The exception is the medicinal plants - pro gave reasons to be incredulous - whereas con didn’t feel he needed to argue that these plants could have originated naturally. I don’t agree, while con didn’t need to do a great deal, he needed to do more: however he saved himself by pointing out that any God - not just the Christian God could do this.

As a result, con clearly wins this debate.

Conduct to pro for the forfeited rounds.

Pro again simply asks the incredulous question - how could such chemicals occur naturally, and cure diseases.

Cons rebuttal again, is to point out that pro is manic a hasty generalization, and to point out that pro can’t substantiated complexity requires