I had an interesting argument with a Christian during my regular Tuesday drunken pool night.

She made the assertion that the Catholic Church is on the “forefront” of advancing human rights.

I don’t deny this gold encrusted establishment, does advance some human rights, such as freedom of religion (at the expense of other rights).

But to say it is the on the “forefront”, I think, would require some evidence.  I am a skeptic after all.  Evidence is my air, food and water.

The evidence for this claim was very spotty indeed.  A generalization about “condemning the atrocities in Africa” and the invocation of some new initiative about charity work “without” borders was given as example of the Churches innovation, which neither Googling nor Bing-ing could find for me.

It’s not that I’m trying to make this person out to be simple minded, (she’s not at all). But as Carl Sagan said “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. From my perspective, that is an extraordinary claim.

But perhaps from her perspective the claim wasn’t such a stretch and thus required little or no serious evidence at all.

I say this as advice to all self-declared atheists out there.  To believers your claims will require extraordinary evidence (and it exists) but you better be able to provide it.  It will be expected of you.