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.

I'm Headed For Nevada To Visit My Family

As I wrote before my stepfather is probably on his death bed. I just heard from my Mom that his legs are purple and he has no blood pressure. So I'm flying out early in the morning to be there. Continue to enjoy the discussion here at DC while I'm gone. An anonymous Christian reader of this blog has helped me with expenses, for which I'm very grateful. Any additional financial help is always welcome. Thanks in advance for your kind thoughts.

Christopher Hitchens On the Ten Commandments With Better Ones

I have previously written about the Ten Commandments here. Christopher Hitchens talked about them recently in an eight minute video. Why can't believers see them for what they are? And why didn't an omniscient creator come up with better ones? See what you think:

Bill Maher On the Historic Atheist Meeting With President Obama

Watch it below.

Conversations From the Pale Blue Dot

Recently Luke at Common Sense Atheism interviewed Hector Avalos, James Sennett and Matt McCormick among others. I'm jealous. It's great stuff. Luke is a great interviewer. Link.

Did Napoleon Ever Exist?

At best history gives us only scant evidence for some of our most firmly held conclusions. Scant evidence then is at best what we can hope to find. But scant evidence is also easy to deny. "In the interest of conservative theology, to reduce to an absurdity the purely negative tendencies of the rationalistic criticism of the Scriptures then in vogue" Jean-Baptiste Pérès (1752 - 1840) wrote a book called Did Napoleon Ever Exist?.

It generated a lot of discussion. That's because there is only scant evidence for historical claims. But come on, do we really want to deny that Napoleon existed? We are then FORCED to accept scant evidence for historical claims or else we may end up denying such things like Napoleon's existence. What Pérès failed to realize is that if he can deny Napoleon ever existed then how much more so can I deny the extraordinary historical claims of the Bible.

Given the scant nature of historical evidence I think that when it comes to ORDINARY claims, disregarding for the moment EXTRAORDINARY ones, the burden of proof is on the person who denies what any ancient document says. I must grant that the textual evidence is prima facie reliable until shown otherwise. You see, that's what we MUST do with scant historical evidence. And I do not think the mythicists have met that burden of proof with regard to Jesus. [When it comes to EXTRAORDINARY claims the burden of proof is reversed].

Theist Friendly Books

I made it on a list of theist friendly books, see here, although I'm not sure about a couple others.

On the Difference Between Affirming and Denying Something

I don't yet think some Christians understand the difference between affirming a claim and denying one, especially extraordinary ones. Let me take the example of who killed Jon Bene Ramsay, that decade or two long ago tragic murder. There are several scenarios and suspects. But to act with certainty that you know who did it is different, much different, than someone who says I just don't know, or someone who denies your claim. Either position seems much more defensible than to know with certainty who did it. Let's say that there are five suspects (I don't know if there are). If I deny that one of them is the killer then I may have an 80% chance of being right in my denial, you see. I say "may" because it depends on the evidence. But when we talk about an extraordinary claim coming from an ancient set of documents this problem is magnified a hundred fold, for there is no evidence of such things as a talking serpent, an axe head that floated, or a talking ass. The probability that these things did not happen is on my side.

Vinny on "Why I Am Agnostic About the Historical Jesus"

Although I hesitate to do this again, here we go. See what you think. What am I missing?

Proof That Jesus Existed: They Found the Nail Used to Crucify Him!

The four-inch long nail is thought to be one of thousands used in crucifixions across the Roman empire. Archaeologists believe it dates from either the first or second century AD. The nail was found last summer in a decorated box in a fort on the tiny isle of Ilheu de Pontinha, just off the coast of Madeira. Pontinha was thought to have been held by the Knights Templar, the religious order that was part of the Christian forces which occupied Jerusalem during the Crusades in the 12th century. The knights were part of the plot of Dan Brown's best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Bryn Walters, an archaeologist, said the iron nail's remarkable condition suggested it had been handed with extreme care, as if it was a relic.

Atheist Agenda "Smut for Smut" Campaign

What a Hoot!!! HT: Atheist Media Blog

What Are Your Favorite Skeptical Books?

I've listed ten of my favorites right here. Let me add to this list David Eller's book, Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Freethinker, and Jason Long's book, The Religious Condition: Answering And Explaining Christian Reasoning. As you can see, my favorite skeptical books are not scientifically or philosophically related primarily because of what I think about Natural Theology. There are many others. What others are your favorites?