Which Christian Has Done the Most For Atheism in 2009?

This poll was suggested to me by Craig A. James and it's a good one. This time before starting the poll I'd like your input. I have Ray Comfort, Dinesh D'Souza (a friend of mine I'll admit), James White, Oral Roberts, Ken Hamm, and possibly JP Holding. Were there any high profile scandals I'm missing, or others you'd like to see included? Other nominees can be suggested below. Tell me why you think they should be included.

Calculate Your God Delusion Index

Go ahead. See what you think.

Just half of Britons now call themselves Christian after a ‘sharp decline’ in faith over past 25 years

By Martin Beckford of the Telegraph:

The God Delusion

Can you see why atheists are so passionate about this? See below:

A Q &A I Had on Facebook With A Friend From Ministry Days

Why not share my little tidbits with everyone and not have to write stuff twice, right?

Could it Be? Jim West Has No Credible Doctorate? And Yet He Rails Against Homeschooling?

Then he is perpetrating a sham, trying to push himself and his work off as a credible scholar from a recognized institution. A comment from Dr. Hector Avalos alerted me to this. Sounds like Jim "protests too much" doesn't it? Here is what I found:

Greta Christina on "Why I Don't Believe in the Soul"

Check it out.

Idiot of the Year Nominees Now Being Accepted

Suggest them here or over at Atheist Revolution. Jim West anyone? After all, look what he thinks of atheists:

Jim West is Upset With Me for Shutting Down the Biblioblogger List

Jim West just can't take it, 'cause that means he can't crow anymore about his monthly rankings. Sorry Mr. Bible Belt, but you just got roped in by this cowboy. Your time is over, you has-been. So now he's resorted to slamming me not just once, but twice. For the record, I'm now ranked in 4th place among Bibliobloggers at Alexa, coming in at 223,352, overtaking the prolific James McGrath, who's definition of a miracle includes such a feat. No wonder they don't want to do the list anymore, 'cause who wants it known that a site called "Debunking Christianity" beat out most Bible Blogs. This is a smack down, I'd say, and I was only getting started. ;-)

Derren Brown the So-Called Messiah

Derren Brown is a skeptic who tried to get various religious leaders to embrace and endorse his spiritual powers. The episodes I recommend here have to do with Derren converting other skeptics with the touch of his hand in front of an evangelical pastor, and he pulled it off! What the hell went on here? Who are we as human beings? This stuff puzzles me to no end. Is it just the era we live in, or the human mind that has a transcendental temptation? See for yourself, especially episodes 2-4 below.

Top Twenty Substantive Posts of Mine in 2009

Here is what I think as I went through the archives. See what you think. It seems as though I lean heavily toward later posts because they are fresh on my mind, but then again maybe it's because I keep getting better and better! Here's the countdown:

Steven Weinberg on Pascal's Wager

Check it out.

Can We Compare Santa Claus and Jesus?

In perhaps one respect for sure...

Pat Condell: "Provide Evidence or Expect Mockery and Ridicule"

Here at DC I try to carry on a reasonable discussion with people who disagree with me. In the interests of fairness, what do you think of Pat Condell's approach below? I agree with him that Christian beliefs are ridiculous. And I know many Christians think atheism is ridiculous. What if both sides in this debate approached each other as Condell suggests? Many of them do.

More and More Christians Are Leaving the Fold Every Single Day!

If you want to read these testimonies you need to visit or bookmark Ex-Christian.net. They're coming from a wide variety of backgrounds. And they're doing so for a wide variety of reasons because there are so many reasons to do so.

Atheist Alliance International 2009 Videos

Here are the lecture videos from Atheist Alliance International 2009 conference, in descending order of awesomeness as posted by Luke of Common Sense Atheism:

Link

Atheists SECRETLY Believe in Yahweh

Is it true that because we atheists argue against God that we secretly believe? Balderdash!

Gallup Poll: Americans Are Becoming Less Religious

Hemant Mehta has a good analysis of the recent Gallup Poll. Check it out here.

DC Shut Down the Biblioblogger Ranking List!

Yep, last month I ranked eighth place over more than 350 Bible Blogs. It annoyed them so much they decided to quit doing the list, especially since they could see I was climbing it this month! Ha! One lone secular Bible Blogger shut it all down! They could see me coming and we can't have that, now can we? Jim West decided to do one himself anyway and among the top ranked Blogs from last month DC climbed to 6th place! Here's who made it to the top 15 (notice West couldn't bring himself to list the names of our Blogs, 'cause who wants it known that "Debunking Christianity" beat out so many of them):

Yep, Christianity is Growing in Africa All Right, and With it a Revival of Witch Hunts.

Who do you think is doing this? Christians, that's who, evangelicals. This is the mind of the believer where no evidence is required except an accusation:

I Can Prove a Negative Easily. But Who Has the Burden of Proof About God?

I can prove I'm sitting at my computer, that I have children, that I have a wife, and that I wrote a book. I can prove all sorts of negative claims with regard to these things. I can prove I am not sleeping or playing ball right now (negative claims). I can show you I'm not doing these things by having an online chat right now on my computer. I can prove I am not childless. If you ask me to prove I'm not childless, then birth certificates and DNA evidence should do the trick. I can prove I am not single. If you ask me to prove I am not single I can show you my marriage certificate, and my wife. I can also prove I am not a non-author (notice how I phrased it?). That is, I can prove a negative, plenty of them, easily.

William Lane Craig vs Victor Stenger Debate "Does God Exist?"

"A debate before a packed house at the University of Hawaii with Professor of Physics Victor Stenger in which Craig and Stenger square off on such issues as the Big Bang and the beginning of time, the odds of the fine-tuning of the constants and quantities requisite for life, evil and moral values, religious experience, and many more."

My Sister-in-Law: "John, I Prefer to Be Ignorant"

She's a great gal, don't get me wrong. But as a good Lutheran with a family that's what she said over the holiday season about the religious questions I raise. She prefers to be ignorant. Ignorance is bliss, right? It's not that she isn't intelligent, because she is. It's not that she isn't educated, because she's a Nurse Practitioner. She knows enough to know that if she were to question her faith it could lessen her faith. She knows enough to know that she doesn't have the time to investigate her faith given her busy life. She knows the struggle it would produce in her to believe. She knows enough to know that. I don't think this position is defensible at all, but at least she's honest. I wonder how many other believers have an ostrich type head-in-the-sand approach to their faith and what would happen if they all decided to become informed?

Critical Thinking Video

HT to Atheist Media Blog:

My Favorite Christmas Song

When I hear this song by Bruce Springsteen I think of my sweetheart wife Gwen. She's wonderful. She's my best supporter and my best friend. There are some Christian people who can boast about being married for 30-50 years or more. But they aren't happy in a loveless relationship. They're just fulfilling a commitment made when they were around 20 years old or so. To everyone at this season I wish you all the love I've found. If men my age only knew her the way I do I'd have to literally fight them off.