Bernie Sanders is the Future of the Democratic Party!
LINK. There's no denying it and no turning back. So we might as well nominate him over Hillary Clinton now! In my opinion he is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate! I'm an old, not dead yet, white man, and I approve this message.
At Victor Reppert's Blog My OTF is Called A "Dangerously Stupid Idea"
Mattapult's Checklist For Criticizing Religions
Scientology:
What L Ron Hubbard wrote is wrong because _______.
Mormonism:
What Joseph Smith wrote is wrong because ________.
Christianity:
What Jesus wrote...
What the disciples wrote...
What some anonymous author wrote 60 years later is wrong because _______.
What L Ron Hubbard wrote is wrong because _______.
Mormonism:
What Joseph Smith wrote is wrong because ________.
Christianity:
What some anonymous author wrote 60 years later is wrong because _______.
Quote of the Day, By Luiz Fernando Zadra
The brain can be cheated. We do it all the time for several reasons. When I buy a lottery ticket, I do it pretending that the odds are reasonable. It's a pretend game, deep down I know I'm just fooling myself. But when I'm buying the ticket, I don't care because it feels good to think you are buying a reasonable chance of being rich. It's the same thing with some religious people. I know it because I did myself before becoming an atheist.
A Short Twitter Discussion On the OTF
MonRoe X: @loftusjohnw hey dude, just got done reading your book. Curious... Where can I take the outsiders test for faith? Can't find it online.
------
John W. Loftus: Do you examine your own faith with a different standard than the ones you reject?
Y or N?
------
MonRoe X: @loftusjohnw is that it? No. Did I pass?
------
John W. Loftus: No. Are you being honest? That will depend on subsequent debates. At least you've agreed you cannot punt to faith.
------
John W. Loftus: Do you examine your own faith with a different standard than the ones you reject?
Y or N?
------
MonRoe X: @loftusjohnw is that it? No. Did I pass?
------
John W. Loftus: No. Are you being honest? That will depend on subsequent debates. At least you've agreed you cannot punt to faith.
My Interview With Carlos Vazquez of the Circle of Insight
Recently Carlos Vazquez of the Circle of Insight interviewed me. It starts off with a few minutes of my debate with Dinesh D'Souza. Initially the interview sounds like my volume is too high but it seems better as you listen to it. Enjoy.
Por qué no creo en la sanidad divina/Why I Don't Believe in Divine Healing
 |
| Neumann murió cuando sus padres usaron solo la fe |
En marzo del año 2008, Madeline Kara Neumann, una niña de 11 años de edad, murió en la ciudad de Weston en el estado de Wisconsin (Estados Unidos). Sus padres, los cuales son pentecostales evangélicos, creyeron que solo la oración la iba a sanar y no la llevaron a los médicos cuando ya estaba muy grave.
La enfermedad de la cual murió esa niña fue determinada ser diabetes, una condición que la medicina científica moderna puede controlar efectivamente. Sus padres fueron sentenciados por su crimen.
En octubre del 2015, Dale y Shannon Hickman, una pareja de Oregon en Estados Unidos, fueron condenados por la muerte de su bebé, David. El bebé nació prematuro, y sufrió algunas complicaciones médicas. Segun un reporte, “Un médico testificó en el tribunal que si los padres hubieran llamado al 911 [cuando] apenas nació, existían ‘99% de probabilidades de que el bebé sobreviviera.’”
Kara Neumann y David Hickman son solamente dos de millones de personas que han muerto desde el principio del cristianismo cuando dependieron de la fe en lo que llaman "Dios."
 |
| Yo mismo oraba por los enfermos |
En este ensayo explico por qué no creo en la sanidad divina aun despues de en un tiempo ser yo mismo un predicador pentecostal que oraba por los enfermos, muchos de los cuales testifacaron ser sanados despues de mis oraciones. La creencia en la sanidad divina carece de evidencia, y es tambien peligrosa.
Esta creencia se encuentra frecuentemente entre grupos pentecostales evangélicos modernos que usan pasajes bíblicos como Marcos 16:18 ("tomarán en las manos serpientes, y si bebieren cosa mortífera, no les hará daño; sobre los enfermos pondrán sus manos, y sanarán") para sostener sus creencias. Para estos grupos, la sanidad divina es una de las pruebas más poderosas de la existencia de Dios.
A pesar de algunos experimentos científicos recientes que reclaman la efectividad de la oración, la existencia de este fenómeno no se ha podido establecer por los investigadores científicos o por los médicos independientes.
Y aun cuando existen sanidades extraordinarias, esto no podría demostrar que tales sanidades sean hechas por el dios de los cristianos. Explicaremos más adelante también porque los experimentos científicos no pueden establecer la eficacia de la oración.
Anakin Tweet Tells Christians the Best $16 They Can Spend
If you have $16 to spend for this one of a kind counter-apologetics book, here is the link: Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity.
Hillary Got Bern’d in Iowa
This race was never supposed to be close at all. She was supposed to sail to a win this time. The socialist Senator was supposed to be a blip. He’d won the expectations game. LINK
The Democrats Effectively Tied in Iowa, But Sanders Won the Future
Slate’s Jamelle Bouie:
Sanders is already a historic candidate—the first socialist in a century to build a genuine mass movement in American party politics. And whatever the Democratic Party is in the next 20 or 30 years, it will owe a great deal to Sanders and all the people—young or otherwise—who felt the Bern. LINK.
We Are About to Watch the Rise of Purple America!
Purple America is America, Bernie's America! This is Democratic Socialism. Who's to blame if this is the wrong direction for America? The Billionaire class for the most part, who couldn't keep their dicks in their pants and f*cked it all up! I don't think this is the wrong direction for America at all. But if someone thinks it is, then the blame lies mostly with the unbridled greed of the billionaire class. Others have been complicit in it too.
Another Quote of the Day by Clayton Caroline On Bernie Sanders
This is the first US election I've ever followed. (I'm South African) I can see how important Bernie winning is for America and for the world. I hope enough of you turn up and vote for the only hope for all of us.
Quote of the Day On Bernie Sanders by formerlutheran
I am 70 YOA (years of age) and for the very first time, I will not have to vote in an insect election (the lesser of two weevils) when I mark my ballot for Bernie Sanders. Elsewhere on the inter web, I have answered a questionnaire specifying my views on a variety of subjects. The results indicate I have a 98% alignment with Senator Sanders. A vote for Sanders is a vote against the oligarchy which now runs our country and is the ONLY vote which gives my children and grandchildren a chance of living a life as rich and wonderful as I have enjoyed. Thank you Mr. Loftus for your support of Senator Sanders.
Libertarianism, Anarchy and Totalitarian Communism Are Morally Bankrupt Views
I am a democratic socialist. I have thrown my weight in the corner of Bernie Sanders. I am in the process of becoming a state and a national delegate just so I can cast a historic vote to support Bernie's revolution. Getting Sanders elected might be the single biggest thing we as atheists can do to promote atheism.
However, I cannot argue for so many things at the same time. It would mentally task me more than I'm willing to bear. And yet I am passionate about Bernie Sanders. So what to do? Should I personally make my own arguments on behalf of Bernie Sanders for President, or do I just state my conclusions and link to the Bernie Sanders campaign, who are making them without me? For the most part I've decided to do the latter. I don't plan on arguing for Bernie Sanders. But I wholly support him. Since I regard libertarianism, anarchy and totalitarian communism to all be morally bankrupt, don't waste my time arguing otherwise here at DC. Go somewhere else. I regard these views as akin to creationism. Start your own forum about it if you disagree. This is not going to be up for debate here. Try to turn this site into a debate about these things and I'll ban you. This is John W. Loftus and I approve this message.
The Rise of Bernie Sanders In the Polls Has Been Phenomenal
Probably the biggest political storm you'll ever see begins in Iowa on February 1st. Social media toppled dictators and will topple the billionaire class in America. #feelthebern
Why David Rohl's Response Fails
David Rohl, the main "expert" behind Patterns of Evidence: Exodus, has now responded to my critique. His response is in the comments section of that link. My critique has clearly touched a nerve.
I was hoping he would come armed with facts that would definitively refute my evidence, but he came armed with speculation. I address some of his specific responses here.
RE: “The first idiotic statement from this so-called expert was that he couldn't find any Yahwistic names in the Brooklyn Slave Papyrus. This guy clearly knows his Bible, because he thinks there should by Hebrew names bearing the Yah or Yahu element in them BEFORE Moses has the sacred name revealed to him on Mount Sinai!”
Note that Rohl does not deny that there are no Yahwistic names in the Brooklyn Papyrus.
Rohl chooses to believe that the name was revealed to Moses (e.g., in Exodus 6:3ff), but chooses not to believe that it was used since Genesis 4:26 and by other pre-Mosaic figures.
My Next Book "Unapologetic" For People Like Paul K. Moser Who Have Lost Touch With Reality
There is only so much a person can take when dealing with people who have lost touch with reality. Must we always maintain a patient attitude when we already know their arguments? Must we always respond in a dispassionate manner to people who are persuaded against reason to believe something delusional? We know this about them based on everything else we know (i.e., our background knowledge). I for one, see nothing wrong with dispassionately discussing the beliefs of philosophers who do little more than build intellectual castles in the sky without any solid grounding to them. I do this all of the time. But sometimes I don't. Sometimes I get too fed up with the pretend game of faith with its ever receding theology. I don't intend to write this new book with the jaded attitude I have today, so this is probably just for today. I'll not apologize for arguing it's time for the philosophy of religion to end though. It's time to put the hammer down hard on pseudo-intellectuals.
PATTERNS OF POOR RESEARCH— A Critique of Patterns of Evidence:Exodus
I received an e-mail recently asking what I thought of a new documentary called Patterns of Evidence: Exodus produced by Timothy Mahoney in 2015 (See film trailer). I had not seen it, and I was curious to learn if apologists actually had something new to say.
I ended up suffering through about two hours of repackaged arguments, many of which I thoroughly considered and rejected decades ago.
The documentary is largely based on the book, Exodus: Myth or History? (St. Louis Park, MN: Thinking Men Media, 2015) by David Rohl, whose book cover describes him as an “Egyptologist, historian and archaeologist specializing in the historical relationship between Pharaonic Egypt and the Bible.”
Otherwise, Rohl is known for espousing other theories that are not widely accepted by most scholars.
Ron Wyatt’s The Exodus (1998) and Simcha Jacobovici’s The Exodus Decoded (2006)—see Dr. Chris Heard’s excellent critique here )— are also part of this genre.
GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE DOCUMENTARY
Patterns has this general structure found in other apologetic documentaries:
B. Skeptics of biblical historicity are interviewed.
C. Advocates of biblical historicity are interviewed.
D. The conclusion claims that the evidence favors C.
This is a fairly routine approach found in the written works of Lee Strobel (e.g. The Case for Christ [1998]) among others.
We can trace this style of apologetics at least as far back as Simon Greenleaf (1783-1853), the Harvard Law professor who put the Bible on trial, and called witnesses in his The Testimony of the Evangelists, Examined by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice (1846). The verdict was predictable: The Bible is historically reliable.
The problem is that most of these documentary filmmakers often don’t have enough expertise to know which expert is offering good information. Mahoney cannot read any ancient languages that are crucial to evaluating some of the claims made, nor does he have the mastery of archaeology and Near Eastern literature necessary to detect the nonsense that Rohl offers him.
In reality, Mahoney did not evaluate carefully even the very archaeological artifacts and reports that he displays for the camera. He omits a lot of countervailing material (e.g., the Amarna letters, as I will explain).
To his credit, Mahoney admits that he is not an expert. I also will credit him for at least admitting that the majority position among scholars is the one his documentary opposes. But this will not save his documentary from some of the fatal flaws that were obvious to me upon first viewing.
Actor Danny DeVito Supports Bernie Sanders
I’m into Bernie Sanders. I think Bernie Sanders is somebody that we really have to focus on—especially now,” he says. “Whether or not the money buys the other contenders, we still have to stay together on Bernie because Bernie’s got the goods. He really knows what he’s talking about and he’s got all the issues down. He gets all these little donations because he doesn’t want to be beholden to anybody. Bernie will give us the best shot at getting equality for men and women, African Americans, and all people of color; he’ll give us the best shot at healthcare; he’ll give us the best shot at the international situation so that we don’t start blowing things up, and to try to pull back a bit on the Imperialism. We need to pull back on it. We can’t keep dealing with regime change and all this shit! You guys—the young people—have to look at this and say, ‘Enough of this crap!’”
He adds, “I think a lot of people are starting to Feel the Bern—that’s a funny saying, but people are starting to feel the heat and the responsibility that we all have to at least give the planet a shot. We want to try to keep the Earth in a stable position for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. LINK.
Curiosity, Superintelligence, and the Benzene Molecule: Some Notes on a Personal Philosophy
As many readers of this blog may know, I have a forthcoming book called The End: What Science and Religion Tell Us About the Apocalypse (Pitchstone Publishing 2016). It brings New Atheism into conversation with Existential Risk Studies, arguing that, on the one hand, advanced dual-use technologies will make religious extremism unprecedentedly dangerous in the future and, on the other, of all the risks within the categories of error and terror, religion is the most serious. In other words, it’s crucial that secularists pay attention to the field of existential riskology, and that existential riskologists pay attention to secular critics of religion. For reasons I explicate in the book, drawing from a wide variety of scholarship, I genuinely don't think it’s hyperbole to say that our survival through the current century may depend on it.
Got A Title for My Next Published Book
Unapologetic: Why Philosophy of Religion Must End. To be published by Pitchstone Publishing in November 2016.
A Picture of John W. Loftus
I finally decided to get a professional photo done of that rascal named John W. Loftus (anyone know him?). It was taken today. Put it on a coffee mug. Use it as your wallpaper. Or pin it to a dart board. When arguing against him use it. When agreeing with him use it. I'm John W. Loftus and I approve of this message.
How To Best Attack Ancient Religious Mythological Beliefs
More and more I'm finding that atheist intellectuals and philosophers of religion are granting too much when dealing with the coherence of such mythological nonsense as the existence of Yahweh, Satan, hell, the virgin birth, incarnation and resurrection of Jesus. It's like we skip a very important step, even a crucial one in my opinion, when we grant ancient beliefs that don't deserve any respect at all. Anyone who looks into the historical evidence for Yahweh, Satan, hell, virgin births, incarnations and resurrections will see these beliefs come from the ancient mythological past. The best way to kill such barbaric and utterly ignorant beliefs is to look at their mythological origins, and no appeal to the genetic fallacy can help the honest believer here.
When we take seriously an idea we give it some sort of respectability just by doing so. For instance, I doubt very much that philosophers would try to show why Mohammad could not have ridden a horse around the solar system by offering a detailed analysis of physics and horses.
There is a two pronged attack we shouldn't neglect. When we're dealing with an ancient religious belief we should first attack it by linking it to the mythological past where it belongs, and then we can attack its philosophical coherence. If I were to do just one and not both, I would link the belief to the mythological past. If my focus was on the philosophical coherence of the concept I would still write a paragraph or two about its mythological origins and footnote a few books on it (seen below).
When we take seriously an idea we give it some sort of respectability just by doing so. For instance, I doubt very much that philosophers would try to show why Mohammad could not have ridden a horse around the solar system by offering a detailed analysis of physics and horses.
There is a two pronged attack we shouldn't neglect. When we're dealing with an ancient religious belief we should first attack it by linking it to the mythological past where it belongs, and then we can attack its philosophical coherence. If I were to do just one and not both, I would link the belief to the mythological past. If my focus was on the philosophical coherence of the concept I would still write a paragraph or two about its mythological origins and footnote a few books on it (seen below).
Stephen Law's Five Morals To Guide Atheists and Believers In Our Debates
You'll find Dr. Stephen Law online all over the place. He seems indefatigable in the goals of educating people and helping them escape from faith-based reasoning. Today I discovered he's an active writer at the site for Center for Inquiry. What's more I found his most recent essay to be something I agree with completely, where he offers five morals that should guide debates between atheists and believers. This is refreshing to me personally, having participated in daily discussions/debates with believers for ten years now. So here they are with my comments, along with a link to what he wrote from a forthcoming book chapter. His focus is on issues that might cause offense between us that could potentially shut down our debates, having atheists mostly in mind. [He uses the name Peter to refer to a Christian believer.]
1. There's a tendency among the religious to take offence at comparisons drawn by atheists between religious belief and other supernatural beliefs such as belief in ghosts, fairies, etc. No doubt some atheists do just want to belittle and bait the religious by making such comparisons. However, it seems to me that drawing such a comparison can be very appropriate. I certainly intend no offence by drawing it. I don't think the religious should take offence.
Quote of the Day, Giving Christians a Conscious Choice to Make
I've said it before and will say it again, if all you read are Christian defenses of your faith then you're not really interested in the truth. It would be like a Mormon who read nothing but the Book of Mormon, or Mormon defenses of the Mormon faith. It would be like a Muslim who read nothing but the Koran, or Muslim defenses of the Muslim faith. Get the picture? So if you don't read the books recommended by apostates, those of us who have rejected your faith, then you're not interested in the truth. I say this to jolt Christians into making a conscious choice. Either start reading the books we recommend, the ones that led to abandoning our faith, or admit you're really not interested in the truth. See if this might jar a few of them into reading outside the box. My guess is that it will.
Christian, before you complain about granting your particular faith equal time, the only question is whether or not YOU have read our recommended books. Yes or no? You need not complain about anything to us since we answer to our own consciences. Have YOU read our books? It's a question for you and you alone to answer.
Christian, before you complain about granting your particular faith equal time, the only question is whether or not YOU have read our recommended books. Yes or no? You need not complain about anything to us since we answer to our own consciences. Have YOU read our books? It's a question for you and you alone to answer.
62 People As Wealthy As Half the World!
This report just stopped me dead in my tracks! LINK. Photo below:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)