Reza Aslan Interviewed on Fox News About His New Book, "Zealot"

Reza Aslan, a religious scholar with a Ph.D. in the sociology of religion from the University of California, and author of the #1 ranked Amazon book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,went on Fox News to promote it only to asked ignorant questions by Lauren Green.

While I think Reza Aslan went overboard in stressing his credentials and scholarship, this was an ignorant Fox News interview by an ignorant person who asked several ignorant questions, and who quoted from ignorant reviewers. Just once I'd like Fox News to interview William Lane Craig in the same antagonistic way by questioning his credentials, by saying his books are controversial, by asking how his books could be accurate since he's biased for Jesus, and by quoting from a scholar who said his claims have been abandoned and refuted a long time ago (which is true). While I think Aslan was allowed to get the message of his book out, this interview was surrounded by way too much irrelevant noise. Aslan said it best: "I do think it's perhaps a little bit strange that rather than debate the arguments of the book we are debating the right of the scholar to actually write it." I just wish Aslan would be consistent by examining his own Muslim faith-based claims with the same level of skepticism he now applies to the Christian faith he rejects. LINK.

Silly Sayings of Jesus : Now You Are My Friends

I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
John 15:15 (NLT)

Okay Jesus. So at first glance, this sounds kind of cool. You were telling your disciples that they got a status upgrade - promoted from your slaves, to your friends! Now I’m sure that being your slave was pretty cool and all, but seriously, who wouldn’t want to be in the Friend Zone with Jesus? Instead of slaving away to fulfill your whims and orders, they could hang out and be buddies instead. And, you're telling them the top-secret communications which you receive from your Sky Daddy!

Unfortunately, you kind of killed the moment, by saying this, just before you made the big announcement:

You are my friends if you do what I command.
John 15:14 (NLT)

Pope Francis Moves Closer to Atheistic Morality and Away From Biblical Morality

"In an 80-minute press conference onboard his flight home from Brazil, Pope Francis told reporters, "If someone is gay and he seeks the Lord and he has a good will, who am I to judge?" The Church has always held that homosexual acts are a sin, so what does this mean for gay Catholics?"  CBS News

The Coming Out Godless Store Project

At TAM I met a guy who runs an online store that uses some really cool sayings on merchandise. You can see a three of them below. I have the last one on a shirt and wear it quite a bit. I know they are a bit expensive but I think they are worth it. Check this site out for yourself. Which sayings do you like the best?

The Resurrection of Jesus - Fact or Fable?

Dan Courtney makes a very good case against believing in the resurrection.  He also has some great anti-presuppositionalism videos on his channel so be sure to check it out.

Two Awesome Guys, Frank Zindler and Dustin Lawson

I had a delightful day with Frank Zindler and Dustin Lawson (Dustin is pictured in the middle). Frank is awesome. I know a little about a lot of things whereas he knows a lot about a lot of things, it seems to me. He is the past president of American Atheists and editor of the American Atheist Press. They drove 3 1/2 hours to visit little ole' me. What an honor it was! I counted it a rare pleasure to hear him dramatically read the last chapter of his new book, Bart Ehrman and the Quest of the Historical Jesus of Nazareth: An Evaluation of Ehrman's Did Jesus Exist?He is one of the few people I think bested William Lane Craig in a debate, which can be viewed right here. Dustin Lawson is awesome as well. He was Josh McDowell's protege. McDowell goes around to churches telling them to try to disprove Christianity. Well, Dustin listened to him and followed his advice! Guess what happened? ;-) Dustin is the author of Christian Agnostic: The Doubt Jesus Requires his Followers to Have.McDowell will probably never mention Dustin unless asked. So ask him. See what he says. Frank brought together two former proteges of the two most famous evangelical Christian apologists. I liked it.

Stephen Law's "Response to Randal Rauser’s Response to My Response to his Shoddy Review"

The money quote: But even if Rauser had clearly corrected the misrepresentation, that wouldn’t alter the fact that my complaint that Rauser’s review misrepresents my argument is entirely justified.

How Christians Use Faith: Pay No Attention to the Truth and Reality Behind That Curtain of Faith

The Biblical God on His Judgement Throne

I can’t help but laugh every time I see this clip from the Wizard of Oz.  This really sums up Christian apologetics as well as the life of denial Christians live under as in the rhetoric of Faith, Free Will and God is just testing us. 

   I think Hollywood had religion pegged back in 1939!

(I would love to be projected back in time and show the Wizard of Oz to the Judeo–Christian Biblical authors.  I would have instant believers being scared shitless.)

"There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz."  (Job 1: 1)  Yes, and it looks like Job knew the Wizard Yahweh.

Meet Another Form of True Christianity: Tax Exempted and Protected By Law

Last week I received a Prayer Letter (likely one of millions massed mailed for the month of July) proclaiming that Jesus would “Bless someone in this home spiritually, physically and financially.” who followed its instructions. Hey, it even came complete with a  paper Church Prayer Rug which stated:

“This St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Prayer Rug is Soaked with the Power of Prayer for you. Use it immediately, then please return it with your Prayer Needs Checked on our letter to you.”  It must be mailed to a second home that needs a blessing after you used it.  Prayer works.  Expect God’s blessing.

But not so fast!  You'll also need the power of their Miracle Prayer Cross (which didn't come with the Prayer Letter), but (thank God) it can be ordered.

Life Support: Why Does Fundamentalist Christianity Need So Much Propping Up?

My years in a variety of fundamentalist Christian churches taught me something: despite all claims to the contrary, these Christians do not really believe that their faith would survive if you took it off of life support.

Believers claim to have the spirit of the all-powerful creator of the universe indwelling and empowering them as “new creations in Christ.” Purportedly, the Bible is the living, powerful word of God – “sharper than any two-edged sword.” The believer’s faith is said to be a shield, able to “quench all the fiery darts of the enemy.” And yet…

Two Graphics Worth a Thousands Words

Embracing Guerrilla Skepticism: Another Review of a Christian Book by Pseudo-Intellectuals

Susan Gerbic has spearheaded Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia:

The mission of the Guerrilla Skepticism editing team is to improve skeptical content on Wikipedia. We do this by providing noteworthy citations, and removing unsourced claims from paranormal pages. It is also our mission to improve the pages of our skeptic spokespeople. Why? Because evidence is cool. We train – We mentor – Join us. LINK.

I love this and encourage others to join her. For my part I'm going to embrace the same thing when it comes to reviewing Christian books on Amazon, as time permits. Here is another review I wrote this morning of the book, "Holy War in the Bible: Christian Morality and an Old Testament Problem." Link. What I'm doing is evaluating the sources they use. I aim to hold them to a standard by which they must engage the best criticisms of their faith, or I will call them out on it. This time it has to do with ignoring both Hector Avalos's book, Fighting Words: The Origins Of Religious Violence, and David Eller's book, Cruel Creeds, Virtuous Violence: Religious Violence Across Culture and History. Upvotes would be appreciated.

The Biblical Lies of God and Jesus

While the Bible is used so swear oaths on from the court room to political office and is often heard in the popular statement, “I’ll swear on a whole stack of Bibles.” evidently few people who use the Bible as a moral and ethical guide have ever really considered the true character of its two deities!

A Thought for Today Dedicate to God and His Tree of Knowledge

I'd rather be a "sinner" intelligent and free than a pampered moron held in a small garden called Eden!

Meet the Creator of All Evil: The God of the Bible

One of God's Creations Hard at Work

Last week I dump over a bucket that had collected rainwater which had become the nesting pond for hundreds of mosquito larvae. As I sent these immature parasites to their deaths, I couldn't help having a feeling of pride that I was destroying part of what my former God had created making my world a better and safer place to live.

Embracing Guerrilla Skepticism on Amazon

Susan Gerbic has spearheaded Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia:

The mission of the Guerrilla Skepticism editing team is to improve skeptical content on Wikipedia. We do this by providing noteworthy citations, and removing unsourced claims from paranormal pages. It is also our mission to improve the pages of our skeptic spokespeople. Why? Because evidence is cool. We train – We mentor – Join us. LINK.

I love this and encourage others to join her. For my part I'm going to embrace the same thing when it comes to reviewing Christian books on Amazon, as time permits. Here are two books I recently reviewed: Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Judgment, and In Defense of the Bible: A Comprehensive Apologetic for the Authority of Scripture. Notice the down-votes? Of course they don't like it. Join me by up-voting my reviews, please.

Ed Suominen's Review of My Book, The Outsider Test for Faith

LINK. Ed is the co-author (with Robert Price) and publisher of the book "Evolving out of Eden: Christian Responses to Evolution," which I recommend very highly.

Stephen Law Responds to Randal Rauser

LINK.

Skeptic Ink Meet-Up at TAM.

The Skeptic Ink contingent is pretty strong here at The Amazing Meeting. It's valuable just to meet up and share our experiences and views. Here’s a whole gang of us at the Del Mar Lounge: yours truly, Russell Blackford, Ed Clint, Jacques Rousseau, Caleb Lack, and Damion Reinhardt:

LINK

Are Christian Apologists Like William Lane Craig Dishonest?

Ed Clint posted a video of Jamy Ian Swiss's talk, "What Does a Villain See in the Mirror?" Jamy's focus is on psychics, and it's really good if you want to know how they can knowingly defraud people and still look in the mirror. Hint: they can, and they do. At the one minute mark he says: "If you're a spoon bender, for example, you know you're doing sleight of hand...and it's plainly impossible to deceive yourself into not knowing that you're doing such things. But...once you eliminate the element of physical manipulation...there remains a broad spectrum of behavior and thinking that makes it difficult to be certain about the inner workings of another person's mind, no matter what we may think of their behavior." I think what he says is relevant to whether Christian apologists like William Lane Craig are dishonest. You see, Craig and other apologists are not bending spoons. There is no obvious trickery going on. That makes a huge difference in my opinion. Nonetheless, even with outright frauds who know what they're doing, Jamy says (at 6:58): "Cognitive dissonance is hard-wired into us, a magic trick of sorts our brains play on us in order to make us feel right, or at least to prevent us from feeling too bad about being wrong, and even doing wrong." If this is such a powerful force in the minds of outright frauds then how much more is it when there is no obvious trickery going on? Take a look below:

Silly Sayings of Jesus: Tearing Out Eyes and Cutting Off Hands.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. Matthew 5:29-30 ESV

Really Jesus, you managed to pack so much silliness in these few sentences that it’s hard to know where to start! In fact, it goes well beyond silliness – perhaps ridiculously irresponsible would be a better description. Surely if you were God – all-knowing and wise – it might have occurred to you that encouraging people to pluck out their eyes and cut off their hands (even if you intended it metaphorically) might not be the best idea? Didn’t you realize that mentally unstable people might act on your words? Not very prudent of you to put those ideas so carelessly out there, now was it?

Some New Evangelical Books Coming Out. *Sigh*

Don't they know they're being dishonest? ;-) I've added them to my amazon wish list if anyone is interested in buying one for me. I'm particularly interested in the first one, "In Defense of the Bible," since it just came out. They are now willing to entertain the question of Adam's existence, and with it, they'll have to revisit the issue of inerrancy. Baby Steps. Baby Steps. Come a little closer children.

Zondervan's Book: Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Judgment

I hope Zondervan keeps putting these types of books out. The newest one is Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Judgment.Theologians cannot get it straight because the NT contains conflicting messages from a supposed divine mind, even though he should've known (or guessed) that 8 million Christians would slaughter each other in the wars following the Protestant Reformation over issues like this one. These issues were a matter of life and death to them. Be on the "wrong" side and you would be bludgeoned to death, along with your entire family. After four more centuries theologians still cannot get it straight. The only plus is that they're not killing each other over it. I'm here to remind them that they did. So Christian, sit in your comfy chair on your beachfront house porch and read it knowing these facts. Then decide which view best represents yours, or a combination of them, with the understanding that your life could be in danger from other Christians (heretics) if you got it wrong. Think also about the wisdom of that deity you worship.

Is Atheism a Religion? By Bill Maher.

In this hilarious video Bill Maher tells us why atheism is not a religion.

Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez Hired at Ball State University

Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, the creationist astronomer who has been the topic of a few posts on DC, has been hired by Ball State University. I gave a few comments to Inside Higher Ed about this hire. Read the full story.

For a previous DC post on Gonzalez, see: The Gonzalez case at Iowa State University.

See You At The Amazing Meeting 2013!

Some of us from SIN Network will be dong a workshop on "Skeptical Blogging" Thursday morning at 8 AM. Here's the program link. Now for the video:



This is gonna be good!

Several More Examples How Biblical Authors Stole Literary Ideas from Ancient Pagans

The wholesale plagiarizing of ancient Near Eastern literary themes didn't end with the Old Testament 's   reworking of much older cuneiform stories in Sumerian (4,000  – 2,000 BCE) and Akkadian (2,500 BCE – 100 CE) which recorded The Creation Epic (Enuma Elis), The Flood (Sumerian), The Story of Gilgamesh, The Decent of  Inanna / Ishtar to the Neither World (Jewish Sheol and Christian Hell) and The Legend of Sargon (the basis for Moses' birth story).
  

However, many people are not aware that the plagiarizing of established pagan myths can be found in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.      

As Yahweh Was Endowed With More Major Divine Attributes, So Did Both His Global Responsibilities and Theological Problems

I have noted many times in posts here at DC that the Jewish God (Yahweh) was a simple local West Semitic deity textually employed after 250 BCE to give a historical foundation for the descendants of the poor Canaanites from the hill country near Ugarit later known as Jews.

The New Theist: How William Lane Craig Became Christian Philosophy's Boldest Apostle

When, during a conversation in a swank hotel lobby in Manhattan, I mentioned to Richard Dawkins that I was working on a story about William Lane Craig, the muscles in his face clenched.

"Why are you publicizing him?" Dawkins demanded, twice. The best-selling "New Atheist" professor went on to assure me that I shouldn't bother, that he'd met Craig in Mexico—they opposed each other in a prime-time, three-on-three debate staged in a boxing ring—and found him "very unimpressive." "I mean, whose side are you on?" Dawkins said. "Are you religious?" LINK.

A Solid Theological Contradiction: An All-Knowing God Must Test People

No temptation (testing) has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted (tested) beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted (tested), he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.     
(1 Corinthians 10: 13)

Typical Tube Tester

When I first setup an electronic repair shop back in the late 1960’s (before the universal use of the transistor), one of the first pieces of equipment I bought was a tube tester to check receiving tubes in radios and televisions. Unless the tube was completely burnt-out or had turned white inside do to air entering the sealed vacuum enclosure, there was no way to find out if the tube was either good or bad without a tube tester which usually had a three level meter scale.  When the “TEST” button was pushed (after the tube warmed up) it was rated   as GOOD, “?” or BAD (and you hoped it didn't tested “?”!). So, unless a tube was visually bad, it was humanly impossible to know how the tube would function without testing it (due to the fact that a resistor or capacitor could be making the tube malfunction while in the circuit).

God's Burning Orphans - The Problem of Divine Hiddenness

Here is a nice summary of the problem of divine hiddenness (also called the argument from nonbelief) from Youtuber TheoreticalBS.

You may also be interested in this article from John Schellenberg, the man who pioneered the argument: What Divine Hiddenness Reveals, or How Weak Theistic Evidence is Strong Atheistic Proof

Countering The Accusation That There is Nothing New in My Books

One of the most common claims about my books, coming mostly from Christians but also from a few atheists, neither of whom have any credentials or body of work to their names, is the accusation that there is nothing new in them. I think the reason they say this is because it makes them sound intelligent. For it's very very difficult to come up with a new argument in this late stage of human understanding. Anyone can say this with little fear of being wrong (except when it comes to new scientific findings). Any ignoramus can say such a thing too. It makes them sound superior without actually doing the hard work themselves, of in-depth researching for the best arguments in the available literature and then trying to make a good case themselves. Confound the ancients, they've stolen all of our ideas! So here's my attempt at disabusing them of this claim, something I recently wrote in response to an atheist who said it about the book God or Godless?:

Christians Shouldn't Outta Do That!

I went to the local Christian bookstore yesterday and guess what I found? My book God or Godless?was displayed on a bookshelf with the cover facing the shopper. They had three copies. Woooo Hoooo! Little do Baker Books and those bookstores know but they have invited the devil into their houses. ;-)

An Open Letter to Chris Hallquist: Stop Embarrassing Atheists Before a Watching Christian Audience

The debate over whether Christian apologists are dishonest has been raised again by Chris Hallquist. Stubbornness is good in some cases but his continued ignorance isn't. I think I'll return Hallquist the favor and assert he is dishonest to continue arguing for this, since his case is that bad. (No, for the record I don't think Hallquist is dishonest either). He and Jeff Lowder have been debating this back and forth for years now. New to the mix is Randal Rauser, a Christian apologist. I side with Lowder and Rauser most emphatically, no if ands or buts about it. However, I don't think either Lowder or Rauser know how to answer Hallquist. To catch my readers up to speed you can start with Lowder's summation and argument right here. Look what Lowder is doing. He's trying to reason with Hallquist as if Hallquist can be reasoned with. He can't. Hallquist is reasoning exactly like a believer would. He has his mind made up and nothing can change it. Hallquist thinks (rightly) that the case for Christianity is bad, really really bad. But he wrongly concludes that since it's so bad Christian apologists like Ray Comfort, Josh McDowell and even William Lane Craig are being dishonest in defending it. Pfffft. Become informed Chris. Stop embarrassing atheists before a watching Christian crowd with this argument, even if many uninformed atheists, especially those who were raised as atheists, will applaud you.

Three Questions Concerning the Function of Theism in the Modern World

1. Should it be an ethical mandate for science to remove a whole section of God’s creation from the face of the earth (for example, the total elimination of certain harmful parasites, germs and viruses)?

2. If no (to protect theism), should humanity be left to suffer with these divine creations as the Will of God?

3. If yes, then should the logical next step be to eliminate God (Theism itself) as an ethical failure due to the fact that science is having to cleanup up God’s many malevolent creations?

Atheism 101: The Null Hypothesis

An excellent explanation of the null hypothesis and burden of proof from Youtuber AntiCitizenX. Be sure to check out his channel for more excellent videos on apologetics, as well as a fascinating Psychology of Belief playlist

"The Christian Delusion" is Arming This Generation's Atheists

This is from Alex Reppe who can be found here on Facebook.

An Analogy on How Most Christian Apologists Defend the Bible

An atheist arguing with a Christian apologist is like driving down a highway with him (or her) in your car. As you drive along, he continually and randomly points to land, cars, buildings and even planes in the sky stating: “My family owns that . . . and we own this . . . and we own that . . .I KNOW we do without a doubt along with much more!” However, common sense tells the atheist that these claims aren't logical, in fact, they’re impossible and the atheist tells this to the Christian.

Why the Fuss About Darwin & Evolution? Eugenie Scott At IPFW in Ft. Wayne

Open Thread for Comments On the Book "God or Godless"

Since so many people have gotten the free ebook God or Godless?: One Atheist. One Christian. Twenty Controversial Questions.let's now discuss what you're reading. What d'ya think?

"God or Godless" Now Ranked #1 in Free Kindle Apologetics Books

That's exactly where I want to be given today's free promotion. ;-)

Richard Carrier on the Free ebook Offer of "God or Godless"

There is one thing people should to know about my friendship with Richard. He was the first scholar to recognize and recommend my work, and for that I'll be ever grateful (Ed Babinski did so before him). As I look at the five books I've published in five years, Richard's influence on me is evident. You can see it with my use of him as a solid resource in support of my arguments, or as a contributing author for my anthologies, or as a blurber for my individually written books. Here's what he additionally said today about the book "God or Godless":

I’d recommend starting any debate online, for example, by having both sides read the corresponding mini-debate in this book, and then continuing from there. And if you just want some ideas for how to debate these topics in general, or even to help you think about them in building your own philosophy of life, this book is well suited as a primer for the task. Even if you don’t think either side is making the very best possible defense of their position, it’s even a useful task to think through how you’d do it better, since both are representative of some of the best approaches. So even then it’s a good place to start. LINK.

He joins other atheist reviewers like Robert Price in recommending this book. And, did I say you can get it free today, July 1st? That's right!.

Inspired With Error: The Gospel of Matthew Can’t Remember Who Said What in the Old Testament

The following was copied from Bruce Metzger’s A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed., p. 55.

(Click on to enlarge.)

 What is exposed is a total screw up / misquote by the author of the Gospel of Matthew (who is under divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit) when he thought that Jeremiah (Ἰερεμίου) made a prophetic statement about Judas:  “Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel,” Matthew 27:9.
Finally, we then see how later editors tried to cleanup this misquote by either re-assigning it to Zechariah or Isaiah or by leaving out "Jeremiah" altogether.