I'd agree that there can be no successful argument for or against an unverifiable opinion, consensus-based or not (taking your first point a bit further).
But my claim is that a consensus of scientists is an authority on matters of fact of the natural world, specifically. In the same way that a consensus of programmers would constitute an authority on programming. So that it's fair for Dawkins, who views the (non)?existence of god as a fact of the natural world, to appeal to scientists as an authority.
But my claim is that a consensus of scientists is an authority on matters of fact of the natural world, specifically. In the same way that a consensus of programmers would constitute an authority on programming. So that it's fair for Dawkins, who views the (non)?existence of god as a fact of the natural world, to appeal to scientists as an authority.