The Mirror Game
This is an overview of the mirror game. Basically, it is used to show the atheist use of double standard, and hold a mirror up that allows them to see themselves in a new light.
They will not realize that right away, and it is better if they do not. More importantly it is designed to teach you something about the people you debate on the internet, or in person. When you debate someone in this game, a really strange thing happens. They will tell you how unreasonable you are being, when you are actually doing the exact same thing they do when debating you about your faith. Something also interesting happens. You get to see their faith, and belief in what they think they know.
They will of course post links that “prove” their argument. This “proof” is usually in the form of written manuscript. This “proof” will contain something someone else knows, but they only believe. However, they will post this belief as “knowledge” instead. (unless they happen to be an actual scientist, with access to very sophisticated equipment, in which case it will still be a belief).
Basically, I thought of this during a debate that had escalated to such point that the owner of the debate group joined in. The moderators even got into a rather heated discussion as some tried to remove some of my comments, and outright ban me from the group. Interestingly, two of the mods (a wiccan witch), and an atheist, were actually putting their foot down in my favor. According to them, I had actually broken no rules. This became quite nasty, and I decided to leave the group voluntarily.
My point had been made.I will adopt what I see to be the jist of the atheist argument.
During this debate, several mods joined the discussion, and eventually, the owner. The Holy Spirit has what I call (for lack of a better phrase) “a pure logic”. He will bring all things to light. What He showed me was this. If I were to adopt the opposition’s strategy, they wouldn’t be able to prove anything at all exist, not even their own mother. So, just being me…I said as much.
What?
I explained that if I adopted the attitude, and strategy that my opponents had, they would not be able to prove something exist, even if we all already agree that it does.
Thus, the Mirror Game was born.
I remember quite a bit of the Buddhist teaching I studied when I was “searching for truth” in the early seventies. I have practiced many different disciplines before someone I had met introduced me to Jesus. Sure, I had known about Jesus all my life, but I hadn’t known Him personally. He is a true Teacher of teachers. The mirror trick has been modified a thousand ways, and if you ask anyone that has had some sales training, you’ll find out they use the same tactic.
To become the person you are talking to…
For this game I like to use atoms as the debate subject for several reasons.
1) We all agree they exist.
2) Although they exist, they can not be seen.
Okay, read this carefully. Actually, we really do not know if they do exist. In fact….they actually do not. The word “atom” was invented to label something someone discovered, observed, watched, and documented. This is still however only a name that a group of people settled on to describe something “they” saw. Did “we” actually see any of them?
No, we did not.
We were told “this is what they are….and this is what they do”. This reported observation was then delivered in the form of “word of mouth”, and eventually documented…then shared. Another word for shared? Testimony
There was testimony given about them by the ones that made up the name for them. This testimony was tried (by some…but not all), looked at, studied, talked about, shared some more, and today…..we have atoms.
Or do we?
This brings me to the number three reason atoms are a good subject for our game.
3) Their existence is believed by many, but only known to a select few.
Does this sound like anything else we know about? How about our faith? Our faith is also believed by many, but only known by a few. This makes the game all the more fun to play. If you think about atoms like atheist think about God, what will change? Why does everyone so readily accept their existence without actually knowing if they exist or not? Two simple words.
Belief, and Faith
Now to set this game up, I will issue a challenge to an atheist, or any type of unbeliever that I happen to find myself in a discussion with. Anyone that displays typical atheist debate strategies. You should be familiar with some of them already. Typically, it boils down to them claiming that there is no evidence to support a belief in God. Any and all conversation will be corralled back to this single declaration…
“If you have evidence…then present it now!”.
In the first post I described how they will restrict the “type” of evidence you are “allowed” to present. They will then accept or dismiss your evidence on the basis of rules that nobody seems to be aware of but them. Then they will usually call for peer approval. They will use the phrase “we know this”, and this….and…when actually, they do not know any of it. They only believe what they have been told about it, or have read about it. According to them this is not belief, but instaed faith.
“It’s knowledge!” they will say.
If you want to see something interesting, (and a tad bit funny) when they use the phrase “we know this…” ask them how they know this is true, instead of just believe it is.
THE GAME
The next time you find yourself being censored, regulated, and herded like a cow toward the conclusion they have all planned out… that is the time to start the game. In a nutshell, this is the actual mirror game…
Explain to them that if you were to adopt their criteria for evidence submission, they wouldn’t be able to prove something exist, even if you both agree that it actually does.
This will raise some eyebrows. When they ask you what you mean, tell them to try to prove that atoms exist.
Tell them to give you some evidence that supports their belief in atoms.
The smart ones will disappear quickly at the beginning of this game, but you will see the snake come out in some of them. someone is bound to say…
“You’re on!”
Game On! What is interesting is this very simple fact…Atoms can not be seen, so the only “types” of evidences they can possibly present, are the very same types they say are not acceptable as evidence when you argue for your faith.
One poor lad actually posted an image of an atom taken with a powerful camera. It looked sort of like a caterpillar, so….
I posted an image of a caterpillar. Then I asked him how he knew the image he posted was an atom, and not a caterpillar. This may seem silly, but it is exactly how they treat any evidence we present.
Finally, I got to be the one to post about the spaghetti monster =)
Obviously, they will post a links to sites, with articles that explain that atoms exist. But…
This of course does not prove atoms exist…it only proves the articles say they do. It also proves that they believe what the articles say with a total “blind faith”, without actually knowing anything at all about atoms…except for what they have been told. Sound familiar?
So there are a few things you can say about their links. Here are a few, but if you play this game often, you can get quite creative with your responses. I try to mimic the ones they themselves use. A classic example…
“Anybody can post a link”.
You can say, “this link does not prove atoms exist, it only proves you can find someone that agrees with you.” Or…you get the idea.
Now they might say that “yea, I can find a lot of people that agree with me that atoms exist. You would have a hard time finding someone that doesn’t.” Then you can do the atheist cop-out, and provide a fallacy term…”appeal to numbers fallacy”.
During your debates with atheist, you will find out that they have a phrase for everything. You have probably seen them. This particular one is known as “an appeal to numbers”. I don’t know who dreams these things up, but they are documented. Appeal to numbers is a fallacy that states that just because most people are ( ) doesn’t mean everyone is ( ), or make it true. In the case for Christianity, they are free to use words such as delusion, indoctrinated, hallucination, mental disorder, and so on. Here is the problem with this.
An appeal to numbers is actually sound logic,and more importantly, reason. Think of it like this.
Is it reasonable to believe that millions and millions of sane, rational thinking people around the world believe in something such as Christianity, without any evidence whatsoever? Is it reasonable to believe that these same millions and millions of people are all mentally ill? Hallucinating?
When intelligent people engage in a controversy, it used to be that a common ground was sought that was “within reason”. The most probable, or logical. This is actually why we have scientist that are also Christians. They see no reason not to believe in the resurrection, miracles, and the like…and actually there is no evidence against any of that.
This post is running a bit long, so I am going to sum up this segment. It is my aim that you learn something about these atheist. We’re not here to save them, condemn them, advise them, teach them, enlighten them, or anything of the sort. We are here representing the witness that our Lord Jesus, the Christ, has given each of us. This varies from person to person. I do not know what you know. You do not know what I know. But we both know the Jesus that caused us to know what we do know about Himself…whatever that might be.
I will continue the game later this week. Keep this in mind. I don’t know anything at all about these atheist. This I do know. I was sent as a witness to what I know, not what I believe. (John 20:21). I also know this. Atheist are atheist because of the false witness of the church. Basically, they think we are full of sh…t. This is because it is all they have seen…people claiming to be Christians, and that is all they were offered. I have seen Christians say that other Christians were not “real” Christians….because… Because what?
What is a Christian?
First, let me explain something. Faith works 24/7 for us all. We are God’s children, so what we believe is what we will experience. Satan knew this, and Adam became naked. Was he really naked? What were God’s very first words to Adam when he told God he was naked? He said “Who told thee that thou wast naked?” Now it really doesn’t matter why atheist believe what they do, but what they believe is exactly what they will experience. If they believe that this life is all there is, and after death there is “nothing”…if they die with this thought, that is what they will experience.
The Gospel literally means, “The Good News”. We don’t have to die, then it is over, and the resurrection is proof of this. It is the job of a witness to show the atheist how we know Jesus is alive now.
Make sure of your witness. Ask Jesus to strengthen your witness with signs and wonders, so you will know what you are talking about. He loves to do that.
Atheist have already heard Christians that do not have a clue. Remember. They are blind to what we see, dead to what we know of as life, possessed with different spirits that they think are only thoughts in their head, and they are lame because although they can walk, they walk in circles.
That being said, this is a “real” Christian according to Christ Himself…“Theses signs shall follow those that believe. They will cast out these devils. Cause these blind to see. These lame will walk. Raise these dead people that don’t realize they are content to die before they have even lived.” A “real” Christian is a witness to whatever Christ has shown them…
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me to the uttermost parts of the earth” Acts 1:8
A Christian is a witness to Him. Tell only what you know.
This game has life or death consequences. We will mirror the people we talk to.
We will also mirror the One we are talking to them about.