A Toast/Tribute to Dr. David Madison

Here was a toast to David Madison when he completed  his 300th post here at Debunking Christianity.

Now after achieving 500 posts we offer him this toast: "May David live long and prosper in our shared goals to convince people of faith based on truth and grounded in solid evidence." Let him know below how he's helped you in your search for truth, and/or desire to convince others still in bondage to indoctrination and enculturation.

 

This month marks his 500th post! He sent me this note: 

Profound Ignorance about Christianity Fuels Its Success

“We trust our clergy”—and that’s enough 

In fact, one of the primary roles of the clergy is to divert attention from blunt realities. They don’t want the devout folks under their care to become aware of basic facts that undermine the Christian faith. For example, the turmoil that Jesus studies have been in for decades, based on the very embarrassing truth that the gospels do not qualify as history. Not a single episode in the gospels, not a single Jesus saying, can be verified by the techniques that historians use to write authentic history. The clergy continue to get away with quoting feel-good Bible verses from the pulpit.

 

The true origins of the faith are never mentioned—and this is of vital importance. In the ancient world in which Christianity arose, there were other major religions that worshipped dying-and-rising gods—and promised eternal life. But it would take serious research and study on the part of laypeople to discover the painful truth that the early Jesus sect borrowed this idea and attached it to Jesus. As Richard Carrier has said in a major article on the context in which Christianity was born: “Jesus is just a late comer to the party.”

My Article Appeared in "Free Inquiry" Recently.

My article was published on how to change the minds of believers. You can see the pic here, and follow this link to read it: How to Change the Minds of Believers.

Does the Splintered, Bickering Church Represent Gospel Jesus?

Tough question, since there are major disagreements about gospel Jesus

In the article I posted here on 27 March 2026, I commented on the book by Karl and Laura Forehand, Out Into the Desert: Thriving Outside Organized Religion. This devout, evangelical couple had been very active in the churches they served (Karl as pastor), but arrived at the conclusion that the church was wearing them out. So they made their exit, and this book was written to explain the reasons for doing so.

 

A few days ago, 8 April 2026, Jim Palmer published a long essay titled, Christianity Has a Jesus Problem. He begins the essay with this blunt observation:

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay Number 9

The gospels don’t show a holy hero who was a superior moral

teacher

Mark Twain is commonly credited with saying that the best cure for Christianity is reading the Bible, but no matter who said it, the devout should be warned that their faith is jeopardized by a careful reading of their scripture. Cherry-picking of feel-good texts by the clergy is done on purpose, to divert attention from Jesus-script that is mediocre and alarming. In my article posted here on 30 January 2026, I discussed ten such supposed “quotes”—today let’s look at ten more.

Here is a Visual of the Book "God and Horrendous Suffering"

In case you need a visual this is a very B.I.G. book! 600+ pages! Just released! You’ll  get your money's worth. Get it. Review it. Laud it. Praise it. Love it. Hate it. It should challenge most readers to consider what we say. Can you deal with it? Try. How much will you agree? FAFO! :-) LINK

 

The World’s Most Dangerous Cult Continues to Thrive

The Catholic church qualifies for this title

Is it really fair to call Catholicism a cult? Or does this reflect my growing up in a mostly Protestant small town in rural northern Indiana in the 1940s-1950s?  We were good friends with the Catholics in town, but we were put off by their claims to be superior Christians—and the excessive pageantry their church is famous for. There are quite a few cults in the broad sweep of Christian brands, e.g., the mega-churches pastored by Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland. But there are well over a billion Catholics in the world. 

 

Let me make the case that their church is a cult—and a dangerous one at that.

Leaving the Church: A Welcome Relief or Trauma?

It can be a mixture of both

By the time I finished my PhD in Biblical Studies in 1975 (Boston University), I had become an atheist. Primarily because questions raised in the course of those years were not given credible answers, e.g., where can we find verifiable information about god(s)? Moreover, from my teenage years, growing up on the northern Indiana prairie, I had been fascinated by the night sky. I studied astronomy in college, and had come to appreciate that there are billions of galaxies and trillions of planets. Yet our theology was not aware at all of what other thinking creatures out there might have discovered about god(s). The faculty theologians were not at all bothered by this. In our profound isolation, how could we be so sure about what god was like? I had served as pastor of two congregations, and had been disappointed by the realities of church rivalries and politics. I gave up my ordination, and made my escape. It took a while—and it was a bumpy road—but I managed to make the change to a secular career.

A New Paper On Miracles Forthcoming!

I have published more than a dozen books on key issues relating to Christianity, beginning with my magnum opus "Why I Became an Atheist" [see the first comment below on it].

In the last few years I focused on the twin problems of horrendous suffering and miracles. 

Here is a bad boy I just finished on miracles (see pic). It just might be my best work on it. I respond to the respectful and sophisticated prompting of philosopher Don McIntosh, to be published next month at the Secular Web. It will join other key papers of mine. LINK

Christianity’s Role in Fueling the Nazi Holocaust

“Atheism Was Not the Cause of the Holocaust”

My subtitle today is, in fact, the title of an essay by Hector Avalos in John Loftus’ 2010 anthology, The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails. In this essay, Avalos provides a thorough, scathing critique of conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza’s claim that “atheism in Nazi Germany” caused “some 10 million deaths, including that of 6 million Jews.” (p. 368) D’Souza’s observation is part of a broader strategy to blame the holocaust on immoral atheists instead of on Christian beliefs
that have caused so much pain and suffering for hundreds of years. The origins of anti-Semitism can be found in the New Testament itself. In Mark 15 we find the story of Pilate releasing the insurrectionist Barabbas, yielding to the crowd that had been whipped up by the chief priests:

 

“Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’  Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus he handed him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:12-15)

My Debate Notes: "God Probably Doesn't Exist Given the Existence of Horrendous Suffering, by John W. Loftus

Get this huge book!!

I had mentioned this debate yesterday. Here is my planned opening statement: 

My focus is on heinous, hideous, horrific levels of horrendous suffering given the belief in a theistic God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfect good. Unless we focus on that kind of suffering, the kind that seems needless and absolutely inexplicable, we’ll fail to see this problem for what it is. Instead of focusing on bruises, sprained ankles, slaps on the cheek, a clump of hair being pulled out, or sicknesses like colds and the flu, let’s focus instead on people who have been burned alive, boiled alive, and buried alive.

God may well have good reasons to allow for a modest amount of pain since we have physical bodies and we will all die. So we can set aside that kind of suffering as largely uninteresting in this discussion. Horrendous suffering, by contrast, should be our focus. My perspective is a “minimal facts” approach to the problem of suffering. I’m arguing that God should not allow a specific kind of suffering, horrendous suffering. Failing to focus on it is a failure to honestly search for the truth, for when horrendous suffering is our focus, the standard theodicies don’t work.

My contention is that the theistic God probably doesn't exist given the existence of horrendous suffering. Just ask what we would expect to find if we woke up one morning for the very first time. Would we expect to find so much horrendous suffering on this planet? I submit that people would never guess there would be as much horrendous suffering as there is in our world if such a God existed. For it’s clear that God should never allow it. We wouldn’t expect the existence of God since he could prevent it, should prevent it, yet doesn’t prevent it.

The 1941 Babi Yar Massacre vs. God-Is-Good Theology

Horrendous suffering can never be ignored in guessing about god(s)

Please be aware that a primary role of the clergy is always to promote their own cherished version of the faith, despite the fact that there are thousands of competing denominations, brands, sects, divisions into which Christianity has shattered. Promoting their versions of faith commonly means discouraging curiosity. An elderly Catholic woman once told me that the priests warned children not to think about what they’d learned in catechism. Which is a way of claiming that the priests alone possess Christian truth—in other words, they are paid propagandists for their brand. 

It would be so refreshing if devout folks could grasp this reality.

The Cult-Goofy, Defective Final 16th Chapter of Mark’s Gospel

Wrapping up my honest sermons on this first gospel

For many centuries, religious scholars and laity alike had no clue that the final chapter of Mark is defective. But as ancient manuscripts came to light, there was a surprise: the original gospel ended at 16:8, “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” They here refers to the three women mentioned in verse 1, who had gone to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. How could the gospel end so abruptly? It’s possible that the original scroll was damaged, that is, the end of the scroll somehow got torn off. It just seems so unlikely that the author would have ended the gospel this way—although some scholars have argued that it’s possible.

"Why Adam and Eve Sinned & Problems with Free Will" by Edouard Tahmizian

"Why Adam and Eve Sinned & Problems with Free Will" by Edouard Tahmizian is Secular Web's Editor's Choice, Kiosk Article! Congrats goes to Edouard who is the Vice President & Social Media Manager of Internet Infidels! LINK

For Good Reason, Respect for Clergy Has Been in Decline

The clergy themselves are to blame

Many times on this blog I have wondered, “Why isn’t membership in the Catholic church down to zero by now?” Are its faithful members just not paying attention? Their church has paid more than four billion dollars in legal settlements for lawsuits involving clergy rape and abuse of children. Can we imagine any greater scandal? However, churches are not empty because Catholic theology promises eternal life, hence even alarming scandals can be dismissed or ignored. Moreover, its clergy have mastered show business. Their churches are magnificent, the rituals and ceremonies are impressive, and the budgets for clergy costumes must be especially excessive. Such razzle-dazzle keeps the congregants in awe: they show up to get their beliefs, their confidence in eternal life, boosted. Years ago I knew a devout Catholic woman who held on to their faith with fierce determination because she wants to see her mother again in heaven.

Convincing Evidence for a Real Jesus Still Can’t Be Found

Close study of the Bible and other ancient texts isn’t helping

My very devout mother was born in southern Indiana in 1905. It was always a puzzle to me that she was not a fundamentalist. I recall vividly that she never watched Billy Graham on TV—she was put off by his dramatic waving of the Bible above his head. She never attended college, but she read voraciously. While my father and I watched TV, she would go to another room in the house to read—especially history, biography. I remember so many books in the house. I’m grateful that her influence had more impact on me than my father’s devotion to TV.

 

When I was a teenager, she bought the 12-volume Interpreter’s Bible, a product of Protestant theology. I read it too and thought there was nothing unusual about this purchase. She once asked a new pastor at our church about something she’d read in one of the volumes—and he was stunned: “You have the Interpreter’s Bible?” Her non-fundamentalist piety rubbed off on me, and she allowed me to take those 12 hefty volumes with me when I went away to college.

"Christian Nationalism—The Danger That It Poses to Our Democracy" by John W. Loftus

The following link will take you to Google Slides for my presentation on this topic. It was sponsored by CFI Indiana this past Saturday.

LINK. Let me know this works. I press on the down arrow to switch slides. If you see the "Slideshow" click on it, or if you see the "View" tab click on it then click on "slideshow". Not bad if I say so myself! Keep in mind the state of democracy in the USA can change.

The Warsaw Ghetto vs. God-Is-Good Theology

Horrendous suffering can never be ignored to protect god(s)

Not too long ago, a post quoting Bertrand Russell popped up on social media. It was an excerpt from his 1930 essay, Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization? Much of this essay is devoted to demonstrating that the concept of a god who is all-loving, all-powerful, and all-knowing cannot be reconciled with the depth of pain and misery that we see in the world. His conclusion was that it makes no sense at all to believe in such a god. It was in 1927 that he published Why I Am Not a Christian. He also proposed a thought experiment, The Cosmic Teapot, pointing out that if he claimed that there was a tiny teapot orbiting the sun between Earth and Mars—that could not be detected by any telescope—it is an unfalsifiable claim. The analogy is that claims about gods likewise lack reliable, verifiable, objective data, and are thus not to be believed.

Honest Sermons on the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 15

The origins of anti-Semitism in this first gospel 

These 47 verses of chapter 15 should be read carefully, with curiosity fully engaged. How did the author of Mark’s gospel know—how did he find out about—any of what he depicts here? There is wide consensus among scholars that this gospel was written anonymously after the devastating war in Palestine that included the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 CE. The label Mark was attached to the gospel later, and there has been much discussion of the geographical errors the author made: it would seem he was far removed from scene of his story.

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay Number 8

There is far too much mediocre, alarming Jesus-script in the gospels

                                                                                                

On social media especially, there is a lot of criticism of Christianity. That is, people who claim to be Christians are accused of not following the teaching of Jesus—who is idealized, credited with a reputation that is not based on what we find in the gospels. Reading the gospels carefully, with critical thinking fully engaged, is not a common practice of the devout. If it were, there would be a lot of alarm and panic. 

 

Ironically, the alarm and panic can be reduced by a stark truth:  There is no way whatever to verify any of the sayings attributed to Jesus in the gospels, which is why the term Jesus-script should be used instead of Jesus quotes. As is all too obvious from comparing the four gospels, their authors had different agendas. Claiming that they were all divinely inspired is a phony diversion. The authors created Jesus-script out of their imaginations. And so much of it reflects their obsession with promoting the Jesus cult. There is a list of 292 bad, mediocre, alarming examples of Jesus-script at this website.