Patheos Articles on the Future of Humanism

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Now they have a link to some key people discussing the future of Humanism.

Uncle Noah And His Magic Boat,

Guest post by Matt Hensley:

I am fascinated at the things people are willing to believe. Not the crazy, end of the world sign holding type person, or the I was abducted and anally molested by space aliens type person, but by your average, walking down the street living in the suburbs perfectly ordinary in every way individual. Ask an average person if they believe in Bigfoot. Or the Loch Ness Monster. Most people don’t. They have a hard time believing that these things exist, because of the lack of evidence. People are pretty sure that if a colony of giant hairy men and women (other than hippies or bears) were living in the forests of northern California, we would have found them by now. If a giant fish monster were really living in a lake, someone would have caught one. People like proof. We like explanations that make sense. We prefer to know that things are real before we believe them, because they add stability to our lives. We don’t like the thought of unknown elements, possibly dangerous, running amok in our world, because we like stability and normalcy. But ask that same person, your banker or lawyer, for example, if they believe in god and the bible, the answer is usually yes.

P.Z. Myers - Speaking Truth to Absurdity

Video below:

What's the Difference Between a Cult and a "Legitimate Religion"?

In this interesting letter to the editor Jeffrey Kline is found bewailing cultist mind control. Does he not see the equivalent mind control of an enculturated "legitimate religion." Didn't every single religion start out as a cult in the first place? Then what causes one religion to eventually become a "legitimate religion"? Time? Numbers? What is a "legitimate religion" anyway?

New Lutheran Denomination Planned Because of Gay Ordinations

That's right. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to ordain homosexual pastors so the conservatives are splitting off into a new denomination. That's how it usually goes too. There is a discernible liberal trend among church denominations, publishing houses, and seminaries that has taken place since the enlightenment. You would think this is strong evidence against conservative type Christianities, but no, conservatives maintain despite this evidence that God predicted there would be a falling away from the faith (I Tim. 4:1). Okay, but remember this, the conservatives who turned liberals knew about that prediction and became liberals anyway! How do you explain that? Read this story for more

Quote of the Day, by John W. Loftus

Christians are not bothered in the least that they are risking Allah’s hell by not being Muslims. We all risk the hell of other religions. All I do is risk one more hell than what others do. Once I risk one hell they all look like nothing but empty threats.

Quote of the Day, By Michael

When explaining why atheism is not a religion Michael explains it like this:

Let "a" be the proposition, "A deity exists." Then "~a" denotes its negation "No deities exist." If theism is S = {a}, atheism is the empty set {}, NOT the set T = {~a}.

Warning! Warning! A Bit of Self-Promotion Ahead; Or, Why Oh Why Do Ignorant People Bother to Speak?

We're all ignorant about some things, I know. All of us. And if we're ignorant we will speak ignorantly. I've done my share of that too. But here's the deal. People who have never read my book Why I Became An Atheist, seem to come out of the woodwork to poo poo it whenever it's included on a list of recommended atheist books with the deservedly famous New Atheists, as if that's not saying much. While I am indeed happy to be on these lists, this poo pooing happens almost every single time. One such person, who thinks these other New Atheist books are "terrible," argued that

Books like "Arguing about Gods" by Graham Oppy, and "Logic and Theism" by J.H. Sobel are light years ahead of Dawkins et al. Being put on a list with them would be something to be proud of.

Okay, then take a good look at this list of the best atheist books of the decade. I think the reason my magnum opus tops several lists of popular AND scholarly atheist books is because it's both scholarly and also understandable to the intelligent general reader. That was my goal. But your opinion of it is the only one that counts. Carry on. Sorry for this interruption of your regularly scheduled show.

Five of the Best Contemporary Books for the Non-Believer

Compared to Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Victor Stenger, and Daniel Dennett, I'm a nobody. I really am. So it's nice to see my work listed with theirs. The only question left is whether you have read it yet. Have you?

You Can't Argue With Christians

One of the things I have noticed in dealing with Christians on this blog and in person is that they are hard to deal with. They are hard to deal with because of their belief system and their world view. They are nearly impossible to talk with rationally (about religion, especially theirs) and they are dead set in their ways. They can quote snippets of the Bible with such forceful authority that it can make your hair stand on end. They speak as if their opinion is the God-sanctioned truth about both religion and politics.

Taking Scripture Out of Context

This video is funny:

One More Time: Atheism is NOT a Religion

So argues the Cobourg Atheist.

Quote of the Day, By Russ

Wow! Now here's something to ponder from Russ:

So, why might I hate Christianity so much? Hmmm, let me see.

Interpreting Jesus For Our Day

What a funny thing to create this is:

An Open Letter to Religious Believers on God and Evil, by Chris Hallquist

Link.

What Does It Mean for Prayer to be Untestable?

So asks Daylight Atheism.

Why Does God Reveal Himself to Some People and Not to Others?

Greta Christina asks, "Doesn't it seem likely that the reason all of us can't see God is because there is no God?" Link

Quote of the Day, by Dr. David Eller

Christians are not easily reasoned out of religion since they are not usually reasoned into it. From The Christian Delusion, p. 44.

Woman Claims God Asked Her to Kill

Damn, why does God always whisper his plans secretly to other people and never to me?

CFI: Ground Zero Should Be Religion Free

Yep, that's the CFI proposal. If there is a reasonable one this one is it!

"One Nation Under God. If You Don't Like it. Leave."

I wish my business would thrive if I said the exact opposite. But I can't, nor do I want to.

Stephen Law On Prior-Commitments in Assessing Miracles

The Ted and Sarah case...

Quote of the Day by a Christian Named Marcus McElhaney

Emory and Greg, I concede that the Bible is indeed confusing...to both of you! Other people don't agree with you[r or] Greg's thoughts on how confusing the Bible is. Maybe you just need to study harder.

This quote is utterly ridiculous to the nth degree. If we study harder then we'd come to Marcus's conclusions, right? Right! With thinking skills like the ones Marcus displays here at DC, no wonder he believes. If Marcus is the example then we need to be almost brain dead to believe.

"The Culture Wars Are Over and the Idiots Have Won"

Dr. Keith Parsons has kindly given me permission to publish his review of Charles P. Pierce's important new book, Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free. I grabbed the title to this post from Amazon's description of the book.

American Adults Are Leaving Christianity At 4x's the Rate They're Joining

About one out of every eight adults is an "ex-Christian," a new survey reveals. These include those who left the Protestant or Catholic tradition that they were a part of as a child and who now report being atheist, agnostic or some other faith, according to the Barna Group. Meanwhile, those who switched from a non-Christian faith or non-belief (from their childhood) to Christianity as an adult represent three percent of the American population. Link.

American people are leaving Christianity at 4x's the rate they're joining. ;-) Hat Tip: Ed Babinski.