January 12, 2010
Truth Claims and the Poetry Difference in Wisdom Literature
I've been critical of Psalm 14 and Psalm 137 recently. One criticism of me is that I'm ignoring that these Psalms are not prose but poetry. I know the difference, but one thing that cannot be said is that poetry does not contain truth claims. Here's an example said by me recently to Brad Haggard:
January 11, 2010
New Mid-Month Biblioblogger Ranking
And guess which Blog is now ranked 2nd, topping all but one of them? *Cough*. Thanks to all my readers. It means a great deal to know people are interested in what some guy in Indiana has to say.
Psalm 14:1 Again, This Time Responding to Dr. Matt Flannagan
Previously I had argued that Psalm 14:1 claims an atheist is an immoral person, not an insane one, as Jim West had ignorantly argued. And I reject both accusations. And I argued the correct immoral interpretation of Psalm 14:1 is easily proven false by one lone ethical atheist. This verse is speaking about our behavior not our beliefs, for it's speaking about the behavioral consequences of our not believing. Again, the verse reads: "The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good."
January 10, 2010
William Lane Craig: Avoiding More Debate Opponents?
Recently Craig refused to debate me again. But not just me this time. He also refused to debate Robert Price, Hector Avalos, and Richard Carrier, three other contributors to the anthology to be released in April called The Christian Delusion. Maybe he ought to refuse to debate everyone who contributed to that book, right? Here's the story:
When Psalm 14:1 Says Atheists Are "Fools" This Can Be Easily Refuted.
Psalm 14:1 says: "The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good."
My claim is that once we correctly understand this verse we can easily refute it.
My claim is that once we correctly understand this verse we can easily refute it.
The Witch Hunts Continue: Christian, Police Your Own Ranks!
Christian, God fearer, Bible believer, how long before this ends?
The Documentary "Waiting for Armageddon" Opens Friday in Select Theaters
To see a trailer of this documentary click here. A synopsis of it can be found here. I've already argued that the rapture madness is indeed madness. This is yet another reason why I do what I do here at DC.
SURPRISE!! Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription Already Being Used to Support the Historicity of David
The following is a response to recent reports of an inscription found at Khirbet Qeiyafa, by Dr. Hector Avalos, Iowa State University:
January 09, 2010
January 08, 2010
Richard Carrier on the Formation of the NT Canon (2000)
Contrary to common belief, there was never a one-time, truly universal decision as to which books should be included in the Bible. It took over a century of the proliferation of numerous writings before anyone even bothered to start picking and choosing, and then it was largely a cumulative, individual and happenstance event, guided by chance and prejudice more than objective and scholarly research, until priests and academics began pronouncing what was authoritative and holy, and even they were not unanimous. Every church had its favored books, and since there was nothing like a clearly-defined orthodoxy until the 4th century, there were in fact many simultaneous literary traditions. The illusion that it was otherwise is created by the fact that the church that came out on top simply preserved texts in its favor and destroyed or let vanish opposing documents. Hence what we call "orthodoxy" is simply "the church that won." Link.
Professor Matt McCormick on "Vetting Supernatural Knowledge Claims"
Check it out. This is excellent and non-refutable.
Christians, You Have It All Wrong, This Christian Has The Answers!
That's right, or so he claims. What is missing from his credal statement? What is different from the historic creeds of the faith? Convert I say.
January 07, 2010
Christopher Hitchens Answers Some Questions
If you haven't already watched this it's worth looking at to understand what he thinks:
A More Insightful Critique of a Recent Post and My Response
A recent post, titled Based on This Argument Alone The Best Any Believer Can Claim is Agnosticism, has gained a lot of attention and been sidetracked by Christians who seek to defend their beliefs rather than think through it. To these Christians let me show you a much better way to argue your case, coming from a gay guy named Gaylord Martha Focker on Facebook, whose beliefs I can't say for sure, even if his his response is dead wrong:
Helen Fisher on Why We Love and Cheat
The provocatively titled blog by Leah Elliott Hauge called The Whore of All the Earth first linked to this brief but incredible TED talk. Fisher tells us of the science of lust, romantic love, and attachment, and it blows away the ancient Biblical understandings in several ways. View it and then let's count the number of ways this science destroys Biblical understandings, shall we? Once again it's Science vs Religion and once again believers will denigrate science. Go figure. How many times must they do this to believe?
Christian THINK: What About Your Friends and Family Who Will Be In Hell?
On Facebook I became a fan of the group "I may be going to hell but at least all my friends will be there." It's just a fun group and I can do fun. But then a Christian friend of mine and I got into a brief conversation about it:
January 06, 2010
Sam Harris Answers The Liberal Complaint Against the New Atheists
I really liked how Sam Harris answered Karen Armstrong's Foreign Policy article right here, although she got the last word. What's wrong with the liberals? Why don't they get it? Sam's sarcastic answer is a much better response than trying to reason with people like her, so it's better than my review of her book, The Case For God. But they just don't get it.
No Movement in Today's World Can Make a Difference Without Women, So Here's to Them ALL
Jen McCreight has complied a large list of awesome female atheists. Kudos to them and many thanks for all their efforts in our fight against superstition, pseudoscience, and ignorance. We need them! Let me rather say it this way: I'm glad to join with them in this common cause. So far her list includes:
Even PZ Myers Power Cannot Win All Atheist Polls
PZ Myers has topped every atheist poll so far and isn't doing too bad as a write-in on the most influential female atheist of 2009. ;-) He creamed all challengers on my own most vocal atheist poll, and right now he's beating out everyone in the universe combined. Since he wins all polls here's one in the sidebar where he cannot win in every category! We've got him this time. So which will it be?
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