Atheists today subscribe to a variety of philosophies, ideologies, and viewpoints. The critiques which any one atheist makes of religion, theism, or politics can reasonably be deconstructed to get at that atheist's own personal viewpoint. Their viewpoint can also be examined to get a better understanding of why they don't believe in any gods and why they reject the religious traditions of their culture. At no point, though, will such critiques tell us anything about mere atheism by itself. Link
American Christianity is under assault from every side. Science, archeology, and history constantly push at the claims of the Bible. (and let me make one point very clear. A Christianity without the Bible is no Christianity at all) Seismic shifts in social and cultural norms continue to raise numerous questions about the value of the Bible and its teachings. Very often the modern world is a paper shredder and the Bible is the scrap paper. American Christians respond to this assault in one of two ways. They either entrench or retrench.What Bruce Gerencser says is a very worthy read. Check it out.
A man who was a staff graduate assistant at Bob Jones University is accused of sex crimes against a child. LinkWhat is it with these idiot pedophiles? If there is no difference between the behavior of the general population and Christians then I see no reason to believe. It's especially bad when it seems sex crimes are more prevalent in the church. Christian, do you understand this?
God is nothing more than the biggest argument from ignorance ever devised – an attempt to hastily dismiss mysteries by appealing to a bigger, by-definition-unsolvable mystery.
There is a popular perception that skeptics are all just cynics who are unable to tolerate the existence of mysteries while believers — whether in gods or in the paranormal — are more open minded and willing to embraces the mysteries of life. Atheists are often accused of being unable to say "I don't know" and appreciate mystery in their lives. This is not only false, but it's exactly the opposite of the truth: it's the believers who reject mystery while atheists and skeptics accept it. Link
...this morning I finished Hawking's newest book, The Grand Design (while others were in church), and he makes the case even stronger than before. Since time is a dimension, it no more needs a "beginning" than any other dimension . . . what is the "beginning" of any of the three spatial dimensions? Ancients would have thought that the earth was flat and had an edge, so what kept the water from falling off? But we now see things better than that, through better models . . . and it all comes down to mental models.
The Grand Design
. Christians just can't see it can they? Religion is bunk so Christianity is likewise bunk!Do you have plans to review John Loftus' Why I Became An Atheist? Or Loftus and Richard Carrier's The Christian Delusion
? Two reasons to inspire your potential reviews of their books:
1.) They are inspiring many deconversions (check Loftus' blog for the deconversion testimonials).
2.) They are equipping and encouraging these deconverts with better intellectual tools to combat Christianity than any of the New Atheists.
The New Atheists are the strawmen.
Guys like Loftus, Oppy, Carrier, etc. are the real deal.
and he's working on another book. Here's the scoop from him:I spent over a decade studying systematic theologies, apologetics, and hard core Bible study. I even learned a good deal of Greek so I could translate the N.T. for myself. I spent many, many, hours in prayer to no avail. Finally after years of vigorous study, and unanswered prayer and an outsider test of faith, I became an agnostic.See his new Blog.
It is so liberating not having to defend Christianity anymore. Not only do you have to accept the ridiculous story of Noah and his ark, but you also have to defend eternal conscious torment, and of course you have to defend against all of the cults: Mormonism, J.W.'s, Muslims, Catholics. No wonder I had a nervous breakdown.
Yep, that's how I feel, gratitude, a great deal of it. I appreciate skeptics who can help argue with the Christians here. I do not have the time nor patience to do this myself, so here's to you! And for Christian commenters who are tempted to watch porn I have a special gift for you, some hot stuff (you must be 18 to see more):John Loftus has a chapter in his book called the “Outsider Test for Faith,” where you basically look at religion from a skeptic’s point of view. My ability to easily accept, and then abandon my religion with such ease, I believe, partly stems from this concept of the outsider test (and the theory of the accidents of birth)....I realized that once I began asking “outsider” questions, I was no longer capable of believing in what my peers believed. Link.
God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of his own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players (i.e., everybody), to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.
If God's existence is so self evident as the christian proclaims, then why on earth have oceans of ink been spilled trying to prove this being? Link.Let me put a finer point on this: If the God of evangelical Christianity exists then why isn't it more obvious to others that he does? Do evangelicals who travel the country and the world even bother thinking about this as they see non-evangelicals everywhere? [Edit: That's non-evangelicals. Everyone who is not an evangelical is a non-evangelical for the logically impaired].
