The First Pages of "God and Horrendous Suffering, 2nd Edition"

This is a final draft of my Preface, Blurbs, Contents, and Introduction to the 2nd edition of "God and Horrendous Suffering" at Academia.edu. CLICK HERE! Enjoy.

Which Gospel Is the Worst of the Four?

When theology overwhelms story telling

Once upon a time—a very long time ago—four guys who had written stories about Jesus submitted their works to the Bible Screening Committee. They each received a notice to be near the screening committee’s headquarters on a certain day. By unhappy coincidence, they all chose to wait at the same bar, about a block away. They really didn’t like each other, but managed to be polite as they waited for word from the BS Committee. They each got a text message on their phones at the same time: “Congratulations! Your story has been approved for inclusion in the New Testament we’re putting together.” Each author was about to gloat—until they realized that all four versions had been given the okay, and even worse than that: the BS Committee was planning to print the four versions of the Jesus story together. They all knew that would be a disaster. At least there was potential for disaster. They had no clue that many centuries later, when lay people finally had access to the New Testament, reading the gospels carefully—comparing them carefully—would not become a habit.

One of the Most Dangerous Cults in the World

The Catholic church thrives on make-believe and

authoritarianism 

Okay, I admit it: I was raised in a small town in rural Indiana, which had three Protestant Church—I belonged to the Methodist brand—and one Catholic Church. We got used to being taunted by the Catholic kids: we were going to hell because we weren’t members of their one true church. But mind you, it was a peaceful community; many true friendships developed despite the religious divides. Of course, on our Protestant side of the divide, we believed in our share of nonsense, but the older I got, the more I came to see that the Vatican is a champion at pushing nonsense.

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay No. 6

Bad theology in the Old Testament

Not too long ago I saw a video: a conservative woman being interviewed by a man who wanted to know her opinion about what should be taught in public schools. She was adamant that the Bible should be included in the curriculum, but that books that advocated immoral or radical ideas must be banned. The man mentioned that he knew of a book that described a sordid family story: a man had two daughters who got him drunk on two successive nights, took turns having sex with him—and got pregnant. The woman didn’t hesitate: of course that book should be banned. The fellow then pointed out that this story is in the Bible, Genesis 19:30-38, about Lot and his daughters. The woman was shocked…that the interviewer could tell such a lie.

Christianity Doesn't Make Any Sense--My BAHA Talk

LINK to PowerPoint Slides 

When you get to the slides click on VIEW then SLIDESHOW.

A Second Visit to the Cahan’s:

Figure 1: The Cahan’s Meeting House’s unused Presbyterian pulpit. My fellow Ulsterman, Ignorant Amos, thought this picture hauntingly meaningful when discussing the decline of Christianity in Ireland. As pointed out in a previous post, the Cahan’s is now more of a Community Centre than a house of worship.

I attended another wonderful meeting in the Cahan’s Presbyterian meeting house in Stranooden, County Monaghan, in the Republic of Ireland. Monaghan, my home county, is part of the Province of Ulster, but not a part of Northern Ireland, which is sometimes, poetically, called “Ulster”. Again, the topic of Presbyterian decline came up. 

Do You Know God?

The Gospels Fact-Check Themselves, Including Two Kickers!

Biblical Scholar Dr. David Madison has written:

If we are expected to take the gospels seriously as authentic accounts, we would need to see the rigorous disciplines that historians follow. Take a look at any modern biography, at any modern description of an historical era: the ends of these books have dozens of pages of notes on the sources used: letters, diaries, newspaper quotes that were researched in libraries and archives. Because real historians don’t rely on their imaginations or inspiration. They base their accounts on verifiable facts. LINK.

Couldn't be better said!

On Facebook Matthew Flannagan objected: So seeing Josephus doesn't have dozens of footnotes or follow the conventions of modern historians we can dismiss his account of the Jewish wars as imaginative history?

A Major Gimmick of Religions: The Promise of Eternal Life

But how to get it? New Testament authors didn’t agree

I recall how stunned I was, many years ago, when a devout Catholic women told me about sitting with her dying mother—who had drifted off to sleep, but was still breathing. The daughter was talking loudly to her, giving her messages to deliver to deceased relatives in heaven. I found this troubling on three levels: (1) Many devout people are sure that deceased relatives are “looking down on them”—monitoring their behavior. If so, why would they need messages from a new arrival? (2) Wasn’t this a breach of protocol? How would the god-in-charge feel about sneaking messages into heaven this way? (3) How could this pious daughter know for sure that deceased relatives had indeed made it to heaven? Isn’t that an unverifiable assumption? Was she totally unaware of the conflicting opinions in the New Testament about how to gain eternal life?

My Paper, "An Atheist Morality without God", by John W. Loftus

Comment on it as you wish.

Robert G. Ingersoll On the Necessity of Belief

David Madison's post this past Friday summarizes the many authors and voices of unbelief, starting with a quote from Ingersoll. Here's another fantastic quote from Ingersoll:

The NECESSITY OF BELIEF, by ROBERT G. INGERSOLL (1833-1899):

How is it when a jury is sworn to try a case, hearing all the evidence, hearing both sides, hearing the charge of the judge, hearing the law, are upon their oaths equally divided? Six for the plaintiff and six for the defendant? Evidence does not have the same effect upon all people. Why?

Our brains are not alike. They are not the same shape. We have not the same intelligence, or the same experience, the same sense. And yet I am held accountable for my belief. I must believe in the Trinity--three times one is one, once one is three, and my soul is to be eternally damned for failing to guess an arithmetical conundrum. That is the poison part of Christianity--that salvation depends upon belief.

That is the accursed part, and until that dogma is discarded Christianity will be nothing but superstition.

No man can control his belief. If I hear certain evidence I will believe a certain thing. If I fail to hear it I may never believe it. If it is adapted to my mind I may accept it; if it is not, I reject it. And what am I to go by?

Reality Seems to Be Gaining Traction: Religion Is Fake News

“Christianity is peddling an inferior product…”

 
Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) was a prominent lecturer in post-Civil War America, and he voiced his resistance to Christianity. He was known as the Great Agnostic; this is an excerpt from one of his speeches: 
 
“Then I asked myself the question: Is there a supernatural power—an arbitrary mind—an enthroned God—a supreme will that sways the tides and currents of the world—to which all causes bow? I do not deny. I do not know—but I do not believe. I believe that the natural is supreme—that from the infinite chain no link can be lost or broken—that there is no supernatural power that can answer prayer—no power that worship can persuade or change—no power that cares for man.”

Major Important Debate! What Better Explains Reality? Naturalism or Theism? (Jeffery Jay Lowder vs Frank Turek)

I just noticed this debate from 2017, having been focused for so long on book and blog writing. See what you think. I'm posting it before watching it because both deabters are very good at debating, and very knowledgeable philosophers(!) What do you think?

Better to be a Goat than a Sheep:

The moment you realise you're a sheep, not a goat like the others 😂 pic.twitter.com/byOROm8XTl

— 💪🎭..Rai ji..💪🎭 (@Vinod_r108) July 24, 2025

Video 1: The title of this video is: ‘ When you realize you are a Sheep and not a Goat’

Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) once said:

‘Shepherds only have three interests in sheep: to fleece, fuck or eat them.’

Captain Cassidy, likewise, has written a number of times that Christians have not really thought out the Shepherd-sheep metaphor. The good shepherd does not look after his sheep for altruistic purposes, but because he is hoping to fare sumptuously upon a mutton casserole.

The Latin for shepherd is ‘pāstor’. This is why a Bishop carries a shepherd’s crook or crozier. This is why Pastafarian, John Hamill, calls a Bishop’s Episcopal dress:

‘ … his Bo-Peep outfit!’

It is wild to me that people go about calling themselves ‘pastors’, as though that was a sensible profession. What they are saying is that they are sheep-herders of humans, and I question the need for humans to be herded about by self-appointed human-sheep-herders.

Richard Swinburne On the Need For Corroborated Testimony

I went to a philosophical conference two weeks ago which highlighted the work of Paul Draper at Purdue. It was really informative. I got to meet up with some important philosophers, like Paul himself, Michael Bergmann (who accepted a free copy of "The Outsider Test for Faith"), James Sterba, (pictured with me), and Graham Oppy (via Zoom), plus a bunch of cool informed younger philosophers. The highly esteemed Richard Swinburne (back of head pictured !!) was there. I got into a discussion with him which I found interesting. When I described what evidence reasonable people need to believe, he said "you can't have that!"

Afterward I initiated that same discussion via email:

Honest Sermons on the Gospel of Mark: Chapter 11

It’s a bankrupt chapter: no verifiable history, but cult promotion

 
For centuries Christian clergy have pushed the claim that the gospels are authentic accounts of Jesus—indeed, that these accounts were divinely inspired. At the same time, they have commonly not pressured their devout congregants to read, reread, and carefully, critically study these documents. Because they know very well that the gospels abound in flaws and contradictions—which means that they also abound in theological problems.

Fact-Checking Trump On "The Apprentice"

Hitler Was a Christian! End of Story!

Did you notice the Christian religious focus at Charlie Kirk's memorial service? Way too much of it sounded like a worship service, or a revival! 

It also sounded like Hitler:

Sure, Hitler's Christianity and that of his executioners was different. It was closer to the KKK organization when it came to white supremacy. But it accepted its essential doctrines! They read about genocide in the Bible and didn't think differently when it came to killing the Jews, and others.

I fact-checked this below:

Hey, Devout Folks: Facing Reality Would Be a Smart Move!

No god has “the whole world” in its hands

It was reported that on the Sunday following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, church attendance in the New York area was higher than usual. Perhaps people were searching for comfort, but my own fantasy was that these folks who showed up at church were there searching for a crucial answer—or to hold god accountable: why hadn’t their all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful deity done something to prevent the attacks? Was his attention captured by crises in other galaxies—or was diverting airplanes beyond his skill-set?

A Comment On Charlie Kirk

With regard to the killing of Charlie Kirk, bad ideas that are communicated respectfully still cause harm and must be opposed even though the person who espouses them is a respectful person, and even though he was unjustly murdered.

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay No. 5

The Book of Acts, chapters 1 – 5: Our Jesus Cult is the RIGHT Cult
 

Among Bible-reading church-goers, I suspect that the gospels get more traffic than most of the books of the Old Testament. They also probably avoid the letters of the apostle Paul, which are not easy reading: sometimes his theology, his claims, can be confusing, even alarming, leaving devout folks puzzled. I wonder, however, if they venture into the book that follows the gospels, The Book of Acts—that is, the Acts of the Apostles.

How Strong is 2nd/3rd Handed Testimony?

From Jack Johnson on Facebook. He studied Biblical academics and counseling at Baptist Bible College, Baptist Bible School of Theology, Trinity Seminary. He says: "All three of these apologists think 2nd and 3rd hand accounts of the life and times of Jesus are "eyewitness" accounts and evidentiary in a court of law. So say their books: The Case For Christ (Strobel), Evidence that Demands a Verdict (McDowell), and Cold Case Christianity (Wallace)." [Click for more.]

Honest Sermons on the Gospel of Mark: Chapter 10

Another mix of flimsy theology and cult propaganda

There are several different topics in this chapter, but the author’s agenda of cult promotion is transparent.
 
Condemning divorce 
 
At the outset (verses 2-12), Mark’s holy hero Jesus makes pronouncements about divorce, positioning his decree as superior to that of Moses. Pay careful attention to two Jesus-scripts in this section:
 
1.     “…from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh.Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (vv. 6-9)
 
2.     “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (vv. 11-12)

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay No. 4

Matthew 7: A good start, then cult severity and bragging

It might be a good idea to compile a list of the Top Ten Bible Texts that Christians Ignore—and, no surprise, these can be found in the gospels, especially in the Jesus-script. The final section of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7, includes a classic example of ignored text:
 
“Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)

Round Two Edits On My Paper Concerning Atheist Morality

I received a huge endorsement from Philosopher Jersey Flight on X. What a nice thing to hear! It happened on the same day I finished the first round of edits from my peer reviewed paper on atheist morality. This paper is a 24 page bad boy. James Sterba said that, given what one reviewer said it was clear he was "threatened" by it. 😉 Good!

Two Christian philosophers with Ph.D.'s are reviewing it, neither of whom seem to know how to respond with anything I have not considered before. Next is round two.

Oh the Irony: Religion Is Shooting Itself in the Foot

Disbelief and atheism are on the rise

 
A few years ago I had the misfortune of attending a First Communion service at a suburban Rhode Island Catholic Church. The place was packed, parents and relatives eager to see the children going through this important ritual of the faith. I was not at all surprised to see that the clergy had mastered show business—performing the meticulous ceremonies in their impressive costumes. And the interior of the church was of unexpected grandeur for its suburban setting. Yet I found myself wondering two things: 
 
(1)  What percentage of the hundreds of adults who showed up actually believed the idea that the priests were pushing? Namely, that through the miracle of the Mass, the kids were getting to eat Jesus for the first time. These adults live, work, and survive in the modern world. Do they really accept the superstitions/magical thinking that the Catholic hierarchy still pushes? 
 
(2)  Why was anybody bothering to attend? Why isn’t membership in the Catholic Church down to zero by now? Why do people still show up, in the wake of the world-wide scandal of priests raping children; the most recent figure I have seen is that the church has paid more than three billion dollars in damages.