Dear Atheist, Stop Using This Attack on Religion — It’s Embarrassing (For You)

This ridiculous argument needs to die

Cartoon generated via Ideogram by the Author

“So, you’re a Christian, huh? Well, if you had been born in India to Hindu parents, you’d be Hindu.”

Okay, Sherlock, and your point is…??

As I wrote very recently, this argument against religion based on origin is one of the stupidest arguments made by skeptics and critics these days.

It refuses to die, even though it should have done so long ago.

Here’s how this often plays out:

• Someone explains or defends a point of Christian doctrine or belief.
• A critic responds, not by addressing the point, but by suggesting that the Christian’s beliefs are due to how he or she was raised. “Most Americans are raised in church” and “If you had been born in India, you’d be Hindu.” And so on.

This rhetorical move seems clever. It feels (at least to some) like a mic drop.

And some people of faith don’t know how to respond.

Yet this is a silly argument. If you’re a critic of faith, you need to do yourself a favor and stop using it.