The Liberal “Social Gospel” Was Even Peddled By Jesus

One of the most popular sections of the Gospels used by both Fundamentalist and Evangelicals is the story given by Jesus of The Rich Man and Lazarus as recorded only in one Gospel: Luke 16: 19 – 31. Bible Believers, along with their preachers, love to harp on this section not only in their Gospel Tracts, but especially in revival sermons with the justification being; “I’d rather scare sinners into Heaven than to love them into Hell!”

For the average gullible Bible Believer who thinks everything he or she hears from their church’s pulpit is Gospel Truth, this afterlife story told by Jesus is but a foretaste of what an unrepentant sinner can expect immediately after death.

G. K. Chesterton on the Outsider Test for Faith

One Christian response to the Outsider Test for Faith is that it is faulty in some way. If that's the case then perhaps they ought to listen to Chesterton, who became a Catholic. His book, The Everlasting Man, contributed to C.S. Lewis's conversion to Christianity. In his Introduction Chesterton said:

Two Videos of Our World. Which One is True?

They both are! But see the difference for yourselves:

Lowder vs Hallquist's Claim That Dr. Craig is Dishonest: "Not Guilty"

I agree with Jeffery Lowder and ask Chris Hallquist to never again make such a claim. Link. I personally know William Lane Craig and am myself a former believer. Hallquist, just like PZ Myers, simply does not understand the mind of the believer. I have previously defended Craig against such an ignorant claim. Just read this closely.

Can PZ Myers Change His Ways? Should He?

I've been critical of PZ Myers for five principled reasons: 1) he doesn't understand the mind of the believer, 2) he treats people who disagree as if they are morons, 3) he's a divisive force within the ranks of atheism, 4) he panders to the younger baser type atheist audience, and 5) he doesn't much value the contributions of people like me who deal with Christians on their own terms. I don't understand his motivations. He may like the power and the money that come from having a large audience. Or, it just may be his personality. He may be an ideologue by nature, an extremist, the type of person who can usually make a big difference. Can he change his ways? Should he? That's the question here. One thing is sure, more atheists are speaking out against him and his ways. John Draper, an important Canadian atheist blogger known as the Cobourg Atheist, recently said of him:

Jesus Was A Coward When Facing Death

Christian theology tells us that the whole reason Jesus came into the world was to redeem fallen humanity (Jesus himself in Matthew 16: 21 – 23 and especially the Paul letters). He was born from a virgin by the power of God, healed the sick, raised the dead, walked on water, casted out demons, fed 4,000 / 5,000 people with just a few fish and loafs of bread - all this with his supernatural God given power. Moreover, Jesus even talked with Moses and Elijah on the Mt. of Transfiguration where the Gospels tell us he shone as bright as the sun and where both he and his disciples (Peter, James and John) heard God preach: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him. (Matt. 17: 5)

The Problems with Heaven.

As I am going on holiday for a week, I thought I'd leave you with a couple of my videos on the inconsistencies of the idea of heaven. Heaven, in the normal understanding of the notion, seems wildly logically incongruous. As an idea that seems to have developed late in Jewish theology, it appears more likely to have been contrived by human minds seeking to justify why good people could die so harshly, particularly during the time of the Maccabean Revolt when Jews were being persecuted in the Seleucid Empire. Its development appears also to mirror the development of the idea of an eternal soul, stolen off the Greeks. With heaven, hell and the eternal soul, any earthly injustices are suddenly sorted out. These seem such fundamental pieces of theology that it is a wonder they are not investigated earlier in the Bible. Unless, of course, they hadn't been made up or stolen by that point... Feel free to elucidate any points of interest with regards to heaven:

There is Nothing to Wager. Just Live a Good Life.

Hemant Mehta posted this. Whether or not Marcus Aurelius said it or not is beside the point. We have nothing to lose if we live a good life with or without a god:

How Would the Gospels Look Different if They Were True?

Jason Rennie is doing a five part series of interviews with believers and skeptics exploring the question, “How would the Gospels look different if …?” He interviewed Dr. Ben Witherington III from Ashbury Theological Seminary in Part 1. His interview with me is Part 2. Enjoy.

Dr. Andrea M. Weisberger, a Forgotten Atheist Scholar

There has been a great deal of talk by secular women about the need to support women and women's issues. I endorse that goal most emphatically. Let me tell my readers about the tragic case of Professor Andrea M. Weisberger. She is on a short list of atheist scholars I admire the most. She first introduced me to the problem of animal suffering that I have written so much about. Have you heard her story? You should.

Quote of the Day, by Harry McCall on the Afterlife

Christians must face the fact that the majority of the New Testament (likely 99%), especially Paul’s letters and the Book of Revelation both teach that all souls (both good and evil) sleep in the earth (much like the Israelite dead did in Sheol) until the general resurrection and Final Judgment when Jesus returns...the Bible never tells us how a place under the earth where all the dead go (Sheol) becomes modern Hell or how Christians go up into the sky to live with God. Link.

I'll Be Teaching an Online Class for CFI in August

CFI stands for the Center for Inquiry, probably the leading secular humanist educational organization in America and the world. Some call its headquarters in Buffalo, NY, the Satanic Vatican. ;-) I'm team teaching this class with Dr. John Shook. We'll be using the 2nd edition of my book Why I Became an Atheist. To learn more of the details and to sign up click here. I sure hope lots of people sign up. We have a lot to cover. It should be very educational with a lively discussion. Christians, by the way, can sign up too.

According to the Bible: Christians and Atheists Will Rot In Their Graves

“for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints>.” 1 Corinthians 14:33

Some Modern Christian Afterlife Myths:

Quote of the Day, by sir_russ

During our evolution conversation with The Theist, which can be found here, sir_russ summed up a few salient ideas in this concise quote:

Let me make this as plain a I can: all by itself, evolutionary theory debunks Christianity.

Evolutionary theory tells us beyond doubt that no first humans ever existed. There was no Adam and Eve. There was no original sin. Mankind has not inherited a sinful nature. There was no need for an atonement. So, if a person named Jesus actually existed his life and death were only the life and death of a human being. Evolutionary theory tells us that the Jesus stories as Christian relate in Sunday school are myths, legends and fairy tales.

James Holmes and the Perpetual Miracle Objection

When it comes to the problem of suffering for a good omnipotent God, in my books I argue for the possibility of perpetual miracles from God that alleviate suffering among his creatures. I call it the Perpetual Miracle Objection. David Hume didn't use this exact phrase when he objected that the ordering of the world by general natural laws "seems nowise necessary" for God, but it's the same concept. Link. Let's apply this line of argumentation to what Holmes did and see another preemptive way God could have averted the massacre from happening if he exists and if he cares.

Omniscience Doesn't Exonorate God For The Colorado Movie Massacre

Previously I've suggested some reasonable ways a good God could have stopped James Holmes from firing on innocent people in that Colorado theater without revealing himself, and without abrogating Holmes's free will. Link. But is there another way to exonerate God in what I call the Omniscience Escape Clause? Could God have overriding reasons based in his omniscience for allowing that horrible tragedy to happen? I don't think so at all. While this isn't impossible it's extremely improbable to the point of being virtually impossible.

Why James Holmes' Rampage is the Result of the Teachings of Christianity: Part 2

This post is a follow up to my previous post,  Why James Holmes' Rampage is the Result of the Teachings of Christianity.  For clarification, I will restate my thesis from my previous post:

"One hypothesis was put forth by the Christian apologist, Rick Warren, in one of his latest tweets, when he said, "When students are taught they are no different from animals, they act like it." The implied hypothesis being, that it's the result of teaching science, and in particular, Darwinianism and materialism. I propose that there is a better explanation. My hypothesis, which is not new by the way, as I have pointed out numerous times, the great Christian philosopher Pelagius pointed out long ago, that if you promulgate the notion that people are born bad, and cannot help but to sin, but will still gain entrance into paradise as long as they "repent"-- they are more likely to sin, repent, sin, repent--and repeat when necessary. Pelagius was wise, and realized that this belief would lead to "moral laxity"--which is quite evident in our predominantly Christian society, and amongst Christians in particular. My hypothesis is that when Christians are taught they are "born sinners" and cannot help but to sin, as they are taught it is not possible for them to be perfect, and that they are nevertheless given the "free gift" of salvation, they will have more of a tendency to act immorally, or, when Christians are taught they live in a world that is dominated by Satan, that it leads to immorality. Either way, it leads to immorality and chaos, and Christianity provides believers with a basis for the belief that they are absolved from taking responsibility for their own bad behavior. Jesus does that for them."

It's Not Me Saying These Things. Others Do.

Said Marcus: "I just started reading your book...it's not a book, it's an Monster." He's referring to my magnum opus. Reality check: It's not really gonna reach out and terrorize anyone and it doesn't include everything. But readers are saying it's pretty damn good. I'll be using this text for a CFI Institute online class in August. Read more about it and sign up here.

Professor Matt McCormick's Book is Now Available. Get it.

Atheism and the Case Against Christ

FAQ for the Newly Deconverted

Our mission in this document is to help you find your way out of this darkness and confusion and into a place where you can be happy making decisions on your own, based on reality. It's okay to not believe, as this is the first step in dealing with any loss of religion—merely going back to religion because you feel you have no other choice is no choice at all. This is simply the basis of an open mind. Whether you have recently de-converted completely, are teetering on the brink of losing a religion or have been a non-believer for a long time, these questions and answers aim to give an overview of life without religion for you to consider. It is by no means comprehensive as no single document, or even collection, ever could be sufficiently vast to answer everything. You have entered the world of atheism and rationality; here we'll tell you what's important to us, where we get our morality, and how we face the peer pressure to return to the church. If you do find yourself having to choose between belief and non-belief, you can do so with an informed mind and make a real choice. Link.

I especially liked reading this part:

In Times Like These Do a Random Act of Kindness Today

Gender Language and the Bible Translation Wars

In 1989 the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation of the Bible introduced a largely gender-neutral translation of the Bible. Never-mind for the moment that the Bible is overwhelmingly anti-woman, as can be seen in Biblical scholar Michael Coogan's book, God Sex and the Bible, as well as in The Women's Bible Commentary - Expanded.Using gender-neutral language in translating the Bible so it can speak to everyone is like rearranging chairs on the Titanic, it will not help at all. The ship will still sink.

James Holmes and the Free Will Excuse

I call this the free will excuse because that's what it is. It's an attempt by believers to excuse God for the massacre in Colorado by James Holmes. I've already suggested reasonable ways a good God could've acted to avert this tragedy but didn't. Now I want to briefly address the objection that God does not interfere with our free choices, even if that means some of us will do heinous crimes on occasion.

Calling all evolution deniers - come deny it!

So I was making a point on another thread about how Noah's global flood never happened and was nicked off the Epic of Gilgamesh written at least a thousand years before ~(and indeed, both accounts could rely on an even earlier myth). It's pretty easy argument to maintain since there really is no evidence to support the ark hypothesis (AH) and mountains of evidence to contradict it. Some might even say there is a deluge of contrary evidence...

In the debate, "The Theist" stated this absolute gem of a quote:

Whoa, there . . . now I never said I took Hovind seriously. In fact I would place him about on the same level as the average believer or atheist. Theologically retarded. But I do take him slightly more serious than the failed metaphysical experimentation called "Theory of Evolution." He makes more sense than anyone else I have ever heard on the subject and more importantly, though the atheists like to dismiss him as they do anyone who disagrees with them, he actually scares the hell out of them because he knows what he is talking about. He, uh . . . he pisses them off. That's why I like him.

Where Was God When James Holmes Walked Into That Crowded Theatre?

Almost everything we know about God can be seen in what he did not do to avert this mass killing. God's inaction here is indistinguishable from him not caring at all, or not being powerful at all, or not being present at all, or not knowing anything at all. In fact, his inaction leads us to think he doesn't exist at all. David Hume suggested a line of argument that works very well here. If an Omni-God exists then he could have caused James Holmes to have a heart attack before leaving his apartment that day. He could have caused all of his guns to jam. He could have caused Holmes to suffer severe nausea at the very thought of doing this terrible deed, every time he thought of it. He could have had an accident on the way caused by a brake line leak. For believers to argue God remains hidden so as not to force obedience upon us, there is nothing about any of these suggested actions that would alert us to his presence. For believers to rhetorically ask how we know God doesn't intervene in other cases, the fact that he didn't intervene here, there, and so many many times elsewhere is strong evidence he doesn't act at all.

Innumerable things could have been done by this God to stop Holmes. But God was silent just exactly as if he doesn't exist at all. There is no noticeable difference in this present world where God is believed to exist from one where he doesn't exist at all. The notion of free will does not get believers off the hook either, unless they want to admit that this same God does not answer prayers. For surely there are believers across America and in every city and family praying every day for the safe protection of their loved ones and for people in general. So I put it to you. Either God's activity in our world is indistinguishable from his non-existence or he does not answer prayers. That's merely one of the many problems of belief in the light of this human tragedy.