Jaco Gericke on "The Collapse of Realism, Cognitive Dissonance and the 'Died-Again' Christian Syndrome"

Previously I posted an amazing deconversion story written by Dr. Gericke right here. Then I posted something from him on how he got over his angst at leaving the Christian faith right here. In what follows he writes on the issue of cognitive dissonance (used with permission):

Clergy Ratings Hit an All Time Low, But...

Here is the Friendly Atheist's take on this:

PZ Myers on Life After Death: "The Dead are Dead"

One of the most important tools for promulgating religion is fear, and one of the biggest sources of fear is the inescapable fact of personal mortality: we're all going to die someday, and we all know people we've loved who have died. Religion steps up to the challenge of death in its usual glib and dishonest way, and promises a mysterious "afterlife," in which you'll get to go on being you despite the inconvenience of your flesh rotting away. None of the proponents of this belief have the slightest scrap of evidence for their claims, other than an appeal to emotion and desire, and sometimes some really bad experiments and sloppy observations of phenomena that vanish when a little rigor is applied.

How I Told My Family I Was an Atheist

How did you tell them? Here's what Luke wrote. It's good!

A Major Survey of What Philosophers Believe Just Released.

David Bourget and David Chalmers have released the results of the largest survey of professional philosophers ever conducted. There were 931 respondents from 99 leading philosophy departments around the world. Luke over at Common Sense Atheism tells us some of the results:

Christian Can You Really Worship a God Who Will Send Your Family and Friends to Hell?

I want you to think about it rather than regurgitate the standard pat answers from the Bible itself. Just think about it. I attended a funeral this weekend and my brother conducted the memorial service. In it he warned us that "the wicked will end up in hell." At the funeral dinner I asked him if he thought I was going to be in hell and he responded: "Only God can judge." Now think about this, okay?...and be consistent. Is it just that believers cannot say what their theology commits them to when it comes to a family member? Look your non-committal family members in the eye and tell them they are going to hell. Can't do it? Why? That's what you preach. And then think about this song:

On Richard Dawkins Refusing to Debate William Lane Craig

In a mocking YouTube video Bill Craig tells us he wants to debate Richard Dawkins. There is even a petition Christians have set up for this debate to happen and a discussion about it at Richard Dawkins.net. Here's a clip being linked to by Christian sites where Dawkins declines:

C. Michael Patton on Essential Creedal Expressions for Christian Salvation

C. Michael Patton has come up with a list of essentials that true Christians must believe along with a chart that supposedly distinguishes what is non-essential from unimportant beliefs. Here are the essentials according to him:

Okay Now, This is Just Damn Funny!

This is unbelievably good! Some girl is showing us video clips of Christian rappers and then singing one herself. Way too funny. Christians are repressed sexually. No wonder so many of them are obsessed about it. If you want to skip her intro on sex education then start watching at 2:19.

Another One Bites the Dust: Simon

Simon emailed me saying: "Just wanted to let you know that your site was a contributing influence during my journey this year."

See What DC Looked Like in July of 2007

I used the Way Back Machine to find this.

News Flash: A Debate With William Lane Craig Is In the Works

All I know at this point is that someone is working on it. I do not know if Dr. Craig has been asked or whether he has agreed. I'll leave it to the bookies to take your bets and set the odds. D'ya think there's a chance? Link. Would you like to see it?

Indianapolis - The Bible, It Turns Out, Is Too Liberal

Yepper, let's do something about that, right?

A Message from Richard Dawkins to Young Freethinkers

This is what he said:

Dr. Gericke on How He Got Over the Difficulty of Losing His Faith

Previously today I posted his well-written deconversion story here. Now he wishes to explain how he came through that dark period in his life.

Dr. Jaco Gericke's Deconversion Story: "Autobiography of a 'Died-Again Christian'"

This is an appendix to his Ph.D. dissertation written in 2003, which he has granted me permission to share. Dr. Gericke is also writing a chapter for my work in progress. Listen up Christian, does this sound like a person who wanted to reject God? No way in hell! It is the story of us all. We wanted the gospel to be true. We put our whole lives into serving God. It is quite literally life shattering to find out we were wrong. What you'll read below also describes why it's so damned hard to help Christians see their faith for the delusion it is. It's because you want it to be true. It's because it would be life-shattering for you to admit you're wrong.

A New Book I'm Working On: The End of Christianity

To see the website I just made for it click here.

Very Interesting Lists You'll Want to Check Out

Luke over at Common Sense Atheism says he's a list freak. Here's an index of his lists:

* Best Atheism Books of the Decade, 2000-2009
* Top 20 Evil Bible Stories
* Top 10 Atheism Blogs
* 6 Responses to Religious Diversity
* Top 10 Atheist Songs
* 100+ Living Philosophers of Religion and Their Best Work
* 50+ Christian vs. Muslim Debates
* 90+ Free Audiobooks About Religion
* 400+ Atheism vs. Theism Debates

Become Informed: The History of Christmas

In a history of the holidays video, learn about the origins of Christmas. Although many of us only associate the birth of Christ with the holiday, most of us do not realize that many aspects of Christmas come from different winter celebrations. See this link to several "History Channel" videos

There's more out there but this is a start.

On the Unreported Accomplishments of President Obama

Richard Carrier weighs in on them right here.

The Basis for the Uniformity of Regular Laws of Nature

It is said that if metaphysical naturalism is true there is no ultimate meaning, ultimate morality, nor is there a basis for the uniformity of regular laws of nature. It's correct there is no ultimate meaning nor is there any ultimate morality, even if there is meaning and there is morality. Meaning and morality do not depend on anything ultimate. I should still love my wife for consequentialist reasons even if there are no ultimate reasons. I even find the notion of "ultimate" to be a bit meaningless. Based on this and as a non-scientist let me throw out one suggestion about the uniformity of nature to see the reaction. In the same way there is no ultimate uniformity of nature either. There is uniformity which we can rely on for science. But there is no ultimate uniformity, whatever that is, because of the quagmire of quantum mechanics. On a microscopic level it's a bizarre world.

Anyone With Knowledge and Passion Want to Take Over the Debunking Creationism Blog?

If so, here it is. Just let me know. You already have some contributors and followers.

Hector Avalos on the Bible and Astronomy

Link

Richard Carrier On the Use of Ridicule (via email)

By and large the minds of the ridiculous can't be changed. It's their flock we're talking to. But even the ridiculous change under ridicule some respond by getting more ridiculous (and those are the ones who could never be swayed even by the politest methods), but others accumulate shame until they see the error of their ways (I've met many ex-evangelicals who have told me exactly that). Thus, ridicule converts the convertible and marginalizes the untouchable. There is no more effective strategy in a culture war.

I like what he said.

D.M. Bennett: The Truth Seeker, to Be Released Shortly

This new one-hour HD (High Definition) video chronicles the life of D.M. Bennett, the nineteenth century’s most controversial publisher and American free-speech martyr. Link