We get Muslim email (part 1)

Yes, it's true. Christians often accuse us of picking on them and ignoring what they consider the more dangerous religions like Islam. (PZ Myers' readers coined the term "Fatwa envy" to describe such complaints.)

The mundane truth, however, is that we don't often talk about Islam simply because we rarely get feedback from Muslims.

With a few exceptions. Naturally, in the interest of being equal opportunity offenders (sorry -- moral equivalence fallacy anyone?) I must showcase this letter... which, in fairness, makes about the same bad fallacies as any Christian apologist.

Subject: I want a feedback on these possible suggestions that creationism exists.

Hello my name is Muhammad *****-*****

I would like a feedback on these suggestions.

1. Energy exists as a result of different dimensions interacting with each other and among those dimensions is time itself. These dimensions interacting with each other = God. Without these dimensions interacting with each other, energy never would have existed. Now I know in your mind you are asking how do you know that these dimensions = God. Well its the fact that things must come out of things. The only way for something to happen if there is another thing acting on it to make it happen. The fact that energy always existed and never was created or destroyed is confusing because this so called energy that always existed could have just sat its ass up there without cause (being sarcastic) the fact that it didnt just sit its ass out there and that it eventually shat out the universe means there was a particular point in its existence some specific point in its existence that shat out the universe. The fact that it shat out the universe in point A and not in point B means there was some sort of intelligence involved. The only possibility is god therefore by deduction god exists. You cant give me another explanation to explain why point A is where it shat out the universe and not point B without including something intelligent. You cant say well it randomly occured at point A because the fact that it was random means means I would have to go back to my original statement that it could have just sat its ass out there and nothing happened but it didnt, something happened, meaning there has to be something that caused it to happen.

You can say the same and tell me well how did god exist in the first place who created god. No matter how many blocks you build you will still have blocks. No matter how many times you say supernatural created supernatural created supernatural created supernatural, THERE IS A SUPER NATURAL involved

2- My second statement has to do with cause. Its not really an explanation but its something you should look at. Why dont you go ahead and kill a random person on the street. What causes you to say no thats just wrong? I mean if you look at it youre just made up of a bunch of interacting atoms just as a carboard box is made of a bunch of interacting atoms. You can break the cardboard box without even thinking but cant do the same for a human being. What makes you think you can kill cows freely when cows are just as interactive of atoms as you are. Is it because they are below you in the food chain? You can canabalize humans cant you. What is your ultimate cause? Why are you doing what you are doing today?

Here's my reply. For brevity, I will truncate some of the quoted passages that I already posted, which you will see marked with leading ellipses.

Hi Muhammad,

1. Energy exists as a result of different dimensions interacting with each other and among those dimensions is time itself.

Speaking as someone who has been through numerous physics classes, this appears to be pure gibberish which superficially sounds like science. Dimensions don't "interact with each other." They are units of measurement.

These dimensions interacting with each other = God.

What additional information do you get from calling it "God?" Even assuming that "dimensions interacting with each other" made sense as something other than a bunch of words strung together, why wouldn't you just keep calling them dimensions? Do the units of measurement become conscious when you apply this label? I don't get it.

...that it eventually shat out the universe means there was a particular point in its existence some specific point in its existence that shat out the universe.

You're making a bunch of statements that are not supported by any observation. We don't know whether it's in some way more likely for energy to "sit on its ass" than "shit," because we have nothing outside of this universe to compare it to. Science doesn't currently have any definite position on whether there is some kind of metaverse, containing more energy which either sits or shits. We don't have any statistical data. For all you know, free floating energy has no alternative but to shit universes. Or whatever you're trying to say.

The fact that it shat out the universe in point A and not in point B means there was some sort of intelligence involved.

1. To what are you referring when you say "point B"?
2. Where the heck did intelligence enter the conversation? As far as we've observed, intelligence only comes as the end product of a universe which exists, generates life, evolves brains, and executes consciousness as a behavior of those brains. Until you demonstrate that there is some kind of stuff that behaves like a brain outside of the universe, you're just making stuff up.

...I would have to go back to my original statement that it could have just sat its ass out there and nothing happened but it didnt, something happened, meaning there has to be something that caused it to happen.

Why?

There are two uninhabited patches of land. On one of them, it rains. On the other, it does not rain. Does this require somebody to "intelligently" choose to make it rain in one place and not another? Must everything be uniform, all the time, unless there is divine intervention picking between two places? If so, what is your justification for this claim?

...THERE IS A SUPER NATURAL involved

I think you skipped a step that explained what "A SUPER NATURAL" is and how you know it exists.

2- My second statement has to do with cause. Its not really an explanation but its something you should look at. Why dont you go ahead and kill a random person on the street.

Why would I want to do that exactly? Austin has an excellent police force which solves murder cases with a fairly high rate of success. It may not be a guarantee that I would be caught, but I think it's pretty likely that I would wind up sent to jail or executed myself. And even if I did wind up getting away with it, many of my friends would probably have awkward questions for me, probably even fear me. As a result, I would certainly lose contact with many people whose love and friendship I value highly.

I don't know what reality you think you're living in, but here in this world, usually actions have consequences. When I look at all the consequences of killing random people on the street, I can't see how the benefits even come close to outweighing the drawbacks.

...What is your ultimate cause? Why are you doing what you are doing today?

I enjoy living free, I enjoy friendship, and I find it fulfilling to be able to support myself and get things that I want. None of those goals are furthered by killing strangers. So I'm going to have to ask you to explain what kind of stupidity would cause me to entertain such an action.

Let me turn around and ask you the same question. I would ask you what your ultimate cause is, but I'm presuming the answer will be something like "to serve my god."

So instead I'd like to ask: what is your god's purpose for existing? Why does the god do the things that it does? What drives it? Why does it do whatever you think it is doing?

There has been one followup exchange, which I will post later if there's enough interest. Needless to say, though, "Muhammad" did not respond to anything in my reply, but instead went on to talk about how miraculous it was that his namesake was capable of writing a book.