Six Part Video Series by Prof. John Walton on Genesis as Ancient Cosmology

This is pretty good stuff although he doesn't draw the correct conclusion that religions simply evolve. In any case, there is no creation ex nihilo here:

Joe Holman's Book is Now Available on Amazon

I recommend his book Project Bible Truth. His arguments are rock solid and Biblically based. In it you'll read one of the most complete deconversion stories in print. Get it.

I Don't Care If God Exists.

Luke at Common Sense Atheism sums my position up well. What he's describing is called "Hume's Stopper." It stops Christians dead in their tracks. This highlights what I consider the trouble with natural theology

Excerpt From My Book on Child Sacrifice

I've received more than one email from Christians who say that of all the issues I write about in my book the most troubling one concerns child sacrifice in the Bible (imagine that!?). Here's the excerpt below (from pp. 136-37). What d'ya think?

Muslims vs Christians: The New Wars of the Future

It's true that Islam and Christianity are growing exponentially around the world. Christianity is growing in the southern hemisphere and Asia, while Islam is growing in Europe. What alarms me is that in maybe in 50-100 years Europe will be dominated by Muslims while the southern parts of the world will be dominated by Christians. If so there could be wars. America is following in the footsteps of Europe by becoming more secular. If America steps in between them she will have to deal with the might of Europe aimed at the Christian tribes in the south. Then all hell will break loose with another World War. And in this war these countries will have more advanced weapons of warfare. It could happen. We have just a small window of opportunity.

Daniel Dennett on Preachers Who Do Not Believe

Yep, that's right. There are preachers who don't believe. That's what Dennett's study explored in a recent study.

Finally, My Book Made it on a Top Ten List at Amazon.co.uk

I say "finally" because it hasn't gotten much attention over there. Check it out.

The Evolution of Sin

My claim is that religion and morality both evolve. Since the canonical Bible was written over a period of about 1200 years or so, we can see this evolution in the Bible itself. Professor Gary Anderson tells us of the evolution of ideas about sin in this interview.

How to Undercut Christianity at a Fundamental Level

I am not arguing to please skeptics. They are not my target audience. And devout Christians will think my arguments are weak. But I am making a difference. Maybe people should think about that. Maybe I do know what I'm doing?

David Wood vs John W. Loftus: Does God Exist?

See what you think.

Notes From Stephen Law's Debate on the Existence of God

He recently debated Hamza Andreas Tzortzis and he concludes a bit like me:

We may not be able to answer the question “Why is there something rather than nothing?” But we can be rightly confident the answer isn’t “Because a supremely powerful and evil person made it.” So why can’t we be equally confident that the answer isn’t “Because a supremely powerful and good person made it”? Link

Why Do My Arguments Not Convince Devout Believers?

I merely offer up good arguments against their faith. That's all I can do. Devout believers (my target audience) won't seriously consider them until such time as they have some sort of crisis in their lives that cannot be adequately explained by a good God. They'll seriously consider them at that time. My arguments are like seeds of doubt ready to sprout if and when they experience that crisis. Since many believers do experience some kind of crisis in their lives there will be a certain percentage of believers who, having been previously exposed to my arguments, will leave their faith at that time. It's a waiting game.

Celebrating Life Beyond Belief

LIKE revivalists from an alternative universe, 2500 hardcore believers in the absence of religion packed into the Global Atheists Convention in Melbourne last weekend to give a hero's welcome to the high priest of belief in unbelief, Richard Dawkins. Link. Read more about this event From the Australian

Either the Garden of Eden Test Was a Sham or a Myth

In a previous post of mine I argued that the "supposed" test in the Garden of Eden was a sham. Then along comes my friend Dr. Dan Lambert who argued that we atheists have it wrong because "The Garden story is a myth invented to explain why people sin. Simple. End of story." At least Dan understands it for what it is. But if he's correct then how does this save his faith from refutation? Whether it's a sham test or a myth it doesn't matter. Why should any intelligent person base his faith on ancient myths? And there are lots of them in the Bible.

The Open Scrutiny of the Internet Kills Religions

HT (Hat Tip) to Andrew Atkinson for the video below:

Loftus vs Wood Debate: My Opening Statement

Below is my 20 minute opening statement against David Wood at the Virginia Regional Apologetics Conference. The question we debated was this: "Does God Exist?" See what you think.

The Test in the Supposed Garden of Eden Was a Sham

If under the same initial test conditions in the supposed Garden of Eden every human being would fail that test, then either, 1) God created us faulty in some way, or 2) The test was a sham. And since a fair test would mean some of us would not have sinned, then some human beings are being punished in this world for something they never would have done in the first place. This is just one of many problems that keeps me from believing.

I'm Back. I'll Be Headed Out to the Virginia Regional Apologetics Conference on Saturday

From what I understand several atheists are coming to the debate between David Wood and myself. That's encouraging.

I Accept Submissions From Christians

I accept submissions from published Christian philosophers and apologists here at DC. If you want feedback on some argument of yours then click on my Blogger profile and send me an email. Don't send me any links, just send me your text. I've published items from William Lane Craig, Kenneth Howell, Craig Blomberg, John F. Haught, Douglas Groothuis, James F. Sennett, and some others.

My Stepfather John Died Friday

I arrived in Reno, Nevada, to see John (his name) two hours before he died. He looked comfortable until the end. They said he waited until I arrived to hear my voice and that with no blood pressure he shouldn't have survived Thursday night. It was bittersweet. I'm now helping my Mom work through her grief along with some legal and funeral decisions. My brothers both live out here, one in Reno and another in Sacramento, CA, so she'll be in good hands. John's remains are going to be cremated, just like my Dad was, and just as I plan on being. Below is a rough draft of what I plan on saying during the memorial planned at his Presbyterian Church later this week.