The Dumplin' Dumbash Page

Dumplin' Dumbash doesn't do himself a whole lot of credible good when he makes mistakes like these:

1. He criticizes my article on the atonement on the basis of a view of hell which I don't even hold;
2. He criticizes an article as allegedly mine which is actually Glenn Miller's (who also doesn't hold the view of hell he criticizes)

But really, it's all just whine and more whine from Dumplin', as he uses the excuse that we don't see God doing what he thinks God should do in the world, like erase all evil RIGHT NOW. Not later, at judgment, but right this instant. As I have noted, people who use this complaint seem universally to not be doing all THEY could to erase evil and suffering RIGHT NOW, so by their own logic, this means they are evil themselves, that they do not want to do good or are not able to, etc. Or don't exist. It doesn't matter that they are not omnipotent -- they DO have some power, and as the argument runs, if they are not using what power they have right this instant to correct evil and stop suffering, they themselves are incorrigibly evil. Either way, they expect God to hand it all out on a silver platter. They whine about starvation; well, God gave us a fertile planet fully capable of supporting us. But Dumplin' says that isn't enough; God has to actually out food into the mouths of starving people or else He is evil, or doesn't exist. It reminds me of the dialogue Bill Cosby used (sort of like this):

GOD: Don't eat of the fruit of that tree, Adam.

ADAM: Okay. Where did you say this tree was again?

That said, once we wash away the two mistakes above, Dumplin' still can't get what's left right. For example, Glenn answered the question, "Can’t God just forgive sins?" in the negative. Dumpy plows right into indiocy with the duh-ah response that this "denies God’s omnipotence." Say WHAT? This is the classic error of the ignorant, who define "omnipotence" to mean the ability to do illogical and contradictory things. News flash: Making 2 + 2 = 5 is not a "power" issue. It is an issue of logic and coherence. Omnipotence can't ever change such things because power doesn't change epistemic realities. In this case, God cannot simpy forgive because His nature is to be just and fair and to react to sin as appropriate. His own nature is not a "force outside his control".

In the rest of his entry, Dumpy repeats this error again, combined with his erroneous attribution of certain views of hell to myself and Miller, and further whines about God not acting right now to stop evil darn it, which leaves nothing else new to say here. It is doubtful that Dumpy would have much use anyway for our explanation of atonement in terms of patronage (he'd think that was "bolting on a context" anyway, as uninformed as he is) so maybe it is just as well he never read anything further from me before he mouthed off. In close, we note Dumplin's own explanation for Christian origins in a busted nutshell:

The whole doctrine is rooted in the primitive animism behind animal sacrifice, mingled with the denial the disciples went through when their erstwhile Messiah ended up dead on a cross. The idea of "atonement" satisfied a purely emotional need at the time, but like any rationalization, it has problems when you try and impose it on the real world.

Ah yes. An "emotional" need. It's so much easier to attack the person than attack the argument; but to be fair, Dumpy isn't competent in even knowing what the arguments are, or even who is making them, so who can blame him?