Viviano presents himself as an "atheist activist" and "secular" and hosts an online amateur webcam program entitled "Atheist Hangouts." In my email to him, I was not combative and simply invited him to my blog for a simple debate to exchange ideas and perhaps form a friendship.
His response? He was reluctant to debate me.
Here are my tweets informing the Twitterverse of my challenge to David Viviano:
I contacted atheist hangouts' David Viviano for a debate. Let's see if he replies. #catholic #atheists #atheism #atheisthangouts
— Sacerdotus (@SCDTVS) September 25, 2014
I contacted atheist hangouts' David Viviano for a debate. no reply #catholic #atheists #atheism #atheisthangouts pic.twitter.com/qADyyqxdPf
— Sacerdotus (@SCDTVS) September 28, 2014
It wasn't until October 1, 2014 that he finally replied with the typical atheist smugness. Instead of reciprocating the respect and civility I presented to him via an email on Youtube, he resorted to ad hominem. As you know, an ad hominem is an indication that your opponent has no argument left and resorts to personal attacks. It's funny how this pretty boy is very vocal and zealous in regards to attacking religion and promoting atheism, but runs away from me when I challenge him.
Here is David's cowardly response:
@KeesEngels @CatholicGadfly @Atheisthangouts because he wants attention and I'm not giving a troll attention
— David V (@GammaAtheist) October 2, 2014
It seems that David Viviano does not have the intellectual confidence to engage me in a debate and instead, resorts to slander. He spends much of his time broadcasting sophism via his amateur "Atheist Hangouts" program and other outlets pretending to be an expert on religion, logic and science, yet cannot defend his views against me. It seems like he sees me as the bully trying to enter his "Atheist Hangout." His shows are full of nonsensical leftist rants that completely misrepresent religion, God, science and the like. It caters only to those who agree with his views. His audience is mainly young Caucasians who seek an atmosphere of rebellion to fuel their desire for irreverence, anarchy and what not. God forbid I or even Dr. William Lane Craig should appear on it. We would probably be cut off or muted. It is already obvious that David is scared to debate me and understandably so. He does not come across as someone who has extensive college education as opposed to me who has several degrees in the sciences and philosophy. Moreover, I am a former atheist who knows atheism and its arguments well perhaps making me a formidable opponent against current atheists.
Moreover, I found it odd that he was asking for donations and seems to not be doing well financially (see: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/8jdQ0). This is disturbing indeed because in today's world, people will do anything for a buck. I found several tweets indicating that he has been milking other atheists of their money. See:
@CaptnAtheist @GammaAtheist
http://t.co/08KjwVFk9W
Here's my donation
— Mike Esola (@Mesola32) April 26, 2014
Hey tweeps!
Huge favor to ask, times are getting tougher. Please if you can go to http://t.co/0AbYdLeHfA and drop in a small donation
— David V (@GammaAtheist) April 5, 2014
Please consider helping #atheisthangouts
http://t.co/CXTIMIwwEf for bonus material
small donation http://t.co/gmUmaCRW4p
— David V (@GammaAtheist) March 15, 2014
Want to help me & #atheisthangouts?
As you know I am having computer troubles, please consider making a donation on http://t.co/dlp317NSMU
— David V (@GammaAtheist) November 26, 2013
A BIG thanks to @GammaAtheist for giving us the idea/help to get a donation page up for our trip to #SSAeast!
http://t.co/lYFVIKD9Yx
#SSA
— The Bible Reloaded (@BibleReloaded) May 21, 2013
@jpak1888 @hamsterwind Its not just the money for me, I have my girls to take care of as well
— David V (@GammaAtheist) April 26, 2014
@uga_2015 @SecularDad ooo you have to donate money first
— David V (@GammaAtheist) April 26, 2014
@CounterApologis @DJGrothe yeah my problem is money.
— David V (@GammaAtheist) March 13, 2014
.@gammaatheist needs our help.
Please RT this appeal, donate if you can, and help reach the goal.
#helpgamma
http://t.co/VPg2iPpq22
— Kev the Infidel (@_k_j_s) February 1, 2014
If you can...
http://t.co/iZZrxKqhIy
— David V (@GammaAtheist) January 30, 2014
Can someone say fishy?? This seems like a scam to me. Why would an able bodied young man need to ask for donations? If he loves science so much, why didn't he study it and get a career in it? I don't think this kid even has a college degree. Nevertheless, this would not be the first time someone has used atheism to sucker others into donating money.
See:
http://www.sacerdotus.com/2013/10/atheist-scam-alert.html
http://www.sacerdotus.com/2013/11/atheist-scam-ii-ad-sense.html
I find it disturbing that atheists (so called) are quick to believe things on Twitter, especially donation pleas. Atheists pride themselves on being "freethinkers," "skeptics" and the like, yet it is easy for someone to claim he/she is an atheist in need and immediately other atheists will jump in to donate without verifying the claims of this supposed atheist in need. This should be a red flag for the atheist community. Anyone can easily pretend to be an atheist just to make money off of other atheists!
Nevertheless, I am disappointed that David Viviano did not have the intellectual confidence to face me with his opinions and arguments. He is so misinformed that it is hard watching his oovoo webcam programs. The claims he and his guests make have answers, yet they state them as if they have found strong weaknesses in religion and God when in fact they are merely misconceptions that have answers to them. Unfortunately, people are getting exposed to programming like Viviano's and are so naive that they fall for their chic word plays and sophism. Not many bother to research the claims Viviano and his guests make and blindly agree with them believing them to be the nails and hammer that seal the coffin of religious belief, so to speak.
If only David Viviano would have mustered up the courage to debate me, perhaps he would learn the answers to his questions. Our debate would have served to clarify the many misconceptions atheists have regarding God and religion.
Viviano is extremely confused regarding the Bible and other religious beliefs. Like other atheists, he falls into presentism and interprets the Bible via his confirmation bias making the Bible turn out to look like some out dated evil primitive book that we must get rid of in order to live in a modern world. His ignorance is clearly demonstrated in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEAc51il3DQ
He claims things in the Bible that he read didn't "click" and that science was first in his life. Well, I would have helped with the clicking had he accepted my challenge instead of running away using insults as a cover. I too was an atheist, and a graduate of the sciences who didn't settle for atheism as the final say in my life since I was a skeptic; but instead kept searching for the truth until I found it. Atheism is nothing more than a circle of sophism. It presents nothing of substance and is why atheists continue to search via their fixation with God and religion (see: http://www.sacerdotus.com/2012/12/why-do-atheists-care-about-god.html).
My offer still stands. I'm sure he will gain even more popularity once he accepts and carries through with the debate. Most atheists on and offline know me. I am confident that they will love to see their favorite online atheist "champions" debate me. My intent is only to bring about both sides in a clear and rational manner. There is so much misinformation being fed to atheists by atheists that it is just horrendous. A debate with me will clarify this misinformation and allow people to make up their own minds when the real facts are presented, not atheist misinformation.
So David Viviano, my challenge still stands. I will continue challenging any other vocal atheists out there that I may encounter on or offline. My experience as a former atheist as well as my knowledge in the sciences, philosophy and religion allow me to challenge any atheist without fear. I already know their arguments and how to destroy them.
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