Atheism Resource

During my time as an evangelical Christian, and later after I became an atheist, I've routinely heard Christians argue that "The odds of the universe being the way it is by chance are only 1: [Insert some large number here]. There's no way something like that could've happened by chance. Ergo, the universe must have been created by a deity. Therefore God exists." I've even heard some Christians try to claim that anything beyond "1:1*10^50" is "mathematically impossible" so the universe  absolutely  would've needed a guiding hand.

A few years ago now, I participated in an impromptu religious debate on a university campus, between a Muslim, a Christian, and an Atheist (myself). I was at a bit of a disadvantage being much less familiar with Islam than with Christianity, but at one point in the conversation I characterized the Abrahamic deity as a bloodthirsty maniac, especially focusing on  Hosea 13:16  in which Yahweh commands the death of the people of Samaria, to include young children, and even commands that the pregnant women be ripped open. The Christian among us responded that Yahweh is loving and so she could not imagine him ever commanding the death of children, to which I responded, "You don't have to imagine it, it's right there in the Bible!" Again, I must stress that this was an impromptu debate between students. None of us had had time to prepare, so I can hardly fault her for not being ready with a response. At any rate, she was clearly taken aback by this Bible story that she had ...