There is this one popular scientific YouTube creator named Professor Dave [Explains]. My teachers have shown his videos on several occasions to explain certain scientific phenomena. However, a while back (and more recently as a result of some other discussions in other posts here) I noticed that Dave has made several other posts that ridicule Christians (which I’ll put below). What are your guys views of his claims?
(Many others have given me wonderful advice on avoiding fighting online. I’m certainly not going to hope onto YouTube and start fighting him but I was still interested in how, as a Christian, I should ponder the assertions he is making, especially when he makes it seem (as it seems many other prominent atheists like Neil deGrasse Tyson do) that religion is false from the get go).
Dave Farina engages in sociopathic levels of hostility not only to Christians, but anyone of any persuasion with whom he disagrees. Sure, some have it coming, but I’ve stopped listening to any and all of Dave’s videos no matter what subject, because I just do not need that in my life.
You got me there. A lot of these claims I do posit here are videos and such that I ha witnessed long before getting the advice I got here, so usually whenever I think of it again it tends to bring some bad memories of upsetness up. But, I do think I need to control my anxiety-induced curiosity. Thank you for helping me with my bad habits .
P.S. My source tells me: Just for clarity: Dave Farina is not a university professor with a PhD. He has a background in chemistry and science education and has teaching experience, but “Professor” is part of his YouTube branding, not an academic title. That doesn’t automatically invalidate anything he says — arguments stand or fall on their merits — but it’s worth being precise about credentials when someone speaks with strong authority on scientific and philosophical matters.
Hmm… Good question. I’d recommend reviewing syllabuses for college courses that catch your interest and check their reading lists. That can provide some focus or direction to pursue and a jump start with a curated collection of recommended works.
I never personally watched his science explainer videos, but there is a need to explain challenging scientific concepts better than other people. I personally, despite having a PhD in Physics (though Biophysics) myself, went through dozens and dozens of Youtube videos until I finally found someone I thought explained how gravity is actually supposed to work in the framework of General Relativity. So I think it’s a good thing to have many voices explaining these scientific concepts, and from what I can tell, he has some solid science explainer-type videos.
This being said, I can empathize with Dave a bit in his frustration with certain claims of Christians, especially the anti-science ones. I share his frustrations (though didn’t always) with the way that young-earth creationists or the Discovery Institute talk about science. I share Dave’s sentiment, where he criticizes the god of the gaps. For example, I started working on a paper related to a small part of the origins of life (like a real science one, not a theological or philosophical work). It frustrates me to no end that many fellow believers just utilize the lack of scientific explanation for the origins of life as an argument for God’s existence. To me, there’s no curiosity, no passion to discover, just apparent delight in ignorance. I think that if Dave met more genuinely curious and passionate Christians, both in faith and who do or agree with real science, I think it might be helpful for him instead of continually butting heads with YEC and DI folks.
I completely agree. Actually, for the longest time, what had me running I circles with my faith was that I was convinced that off science didn’t completely prove God’s existence, then I couldn’t believe in a God. However, through Biologos, I was able to put these sentiments aside and be able to develop a true faith.
.