Quote of the Day, by PhysicistDave

The Christian theory that Jesus was God, as expounded by Lewis, has been refuted. The result has been deeply embarrassing attempts to prop up the discredited theory: I have in mind, for example Ed Feser’s horrible “The Last Superstition,” which pretends to justify Scholasticism by giving examples from modern science, examples which he gets horribly wrong.

Feser is a joke.

The Role of Persuasion Rather than Arguments With Brainwashed People

If brain studies mean anything people are persuaded into thinking differently. They aren't just reasoned into it. Persuasion. So in the interests of persuading people rather than continually following up on what seems to me to be a dead end with my opponents I simply try a different tact. People can claim what they want to about how I roll. It's just that I can better persuade my opponents by using several different ways of seeing the same truth rather than following them down the rabbit hole where we will not agree in the end anyway.

What Evidence Could Possibly Convince People God Walked the Earth?

Christian, just think one time for yourself without leaning on what your mother told you on her knees. What would you think if someone told you he met a person who was God incarnate in India last week? What would it take to convince you of his testimony? Let's say he was a personal friend of yours whom you knew would never lie. Pause and think about this and it's clear YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HIM!

Now, what we find about Jesus is the same kind of testimony but this time we don't know anyone who claims to have met him. It's all written down in the ancient past. We don't know the authors nor can we adequately judge their honesty (honest writing can be faked).

But we do know these authors lived in an era where people believed demigods walked the earth and they believed there were many sons of gods who had virgin births.

So what kind of evidence could possibly lead you to think some man in the first century was an incarnate son of God? Since there can be none you don't believe because of the evidence! You believe because you were raised to believe, and now you defend what you prefer to be true.

The Future of (Secular) Humanism (or "So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades")

This is a good essay by David Silverman the new President of American Atheists. There's more he could've said, but it's very good. It's along the same lines as what David Mills said on ten reasons why we are approaching a "Golden Age of Atheism."

A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives

In her book A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives, Cordelia Fine cautions us when it comes to the conclusions of our brains. I claim that believers ought to take special heed of this and become agnostics. Believers retort that my brain may be deceiving me too. Let me say two things in response:

One) Okay let's all agree with the scientific data and become agnostics. I'm game if you are, otherwise dispute the data. Two) I do not affirm any religious beliefs. I am a non-believer. I don't think the evidence is there to believe in a three headed eternally existing God who created this particular world and became one of us to die on a cross for our sins in one lone part of the ancient world who bodily resurrected from the grave but was only seen by a few people, thereby forcing the rest of us to take their word on what they saw or spend an eternity in hell because we did not see this event for ourselves since we were born in a different time and place and were taught to think critically based in the modern sciences. Again, I do not believe this. It does not represent an intelligent plan from a perfectly good, all powerful God. If our brains deceive us when it comes to important issues like this then it's best not to be gullible and to demand evidence, hard evidence, positive evidence before we'll believe, especially since there are so many other believers in this world who are certain they are right about such matters too. Since there are so many different people all certain they have the answers to existence I can look at them all and say that until one of them steps up to the plate and offers something more by way of evidence than the others do then I cannot believe in any of them, and that's what I do.

Video of the Day, Suggested by Andre

I'm trusting him on this one:

How anyone can watch this video of NT Wright about Adam and then read the comments and walk away with a "Jesus Loves Me" feeling I don't know. Absolute insanity.

Quote of the Day, by Russ

Christian Apologetics is nothing more than making up answers that then become boilerplate, pat responses to hand out in lieu of thought.

Noteworthy Items

Check out Mike D's blog The A-Unicornist.

What percentages of atheists vs Christians are in prison? Who's better now?

Check out Dan DeMura's blog Discussions of Doubt.

James McGrath writes a note about the Christian troll DM.

Info on DM (a.k.a. Dave Mabus) Internet Troll and Nutcase

Link. He'll show his face here soon enough.

Atheism is Not Culturally, Historically Conditioned

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

ExChristian Former Pastor on the Fate of American Christianity

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.

The Crimes of Protestant Pastors are Many

I don't post stories about the crimes of Protestant pastors. I leave that up to others. Who does the best job of documenting these stories? I think Dave at exchristian.net does. Check back almost daily for more and more and more crimes of pastors. Is there any wonder why we can't take Christianity seriously when even their leaders don't seem to be any better for their faith? We're told that by their fruits we'll know them. Yep. We're told there are tares as well as wheat in the crops. But at some point there is just too much bad fruit and too many tares to believe the Christian faith produces fruit or wheat at all.

Catholics AND Bob Jones University: We Both Have Our Pedophiles!

A man who was a staff graduate assistant at Bob Jones University is accused of sex crimes against a child. Link

What 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?

Hat Tip: Harry McCall, an alumnus of BJU.

Quote of the Day, by Mike D

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.

Is Skepticism Incompatible with 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

The Clergy Letter Project

There are 12,672 signatures from clergy as of 9/12/10. The Clergy Letter Project has been officially endorsed by The United Methodist Church, the Southeast Florida Diocese of the Episcopal Church and the Southwestern Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Soooo, what I want to know is that if evolution is a godless "theory" then would some intelligent person tell me why these sincere Christians embrace it? Could it be because the evidence for evolution is there and that it has the capability of convincing even people of faith? Read at least one book on it, Why Evolution Is True.

Larry King Live - Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow...

Link. Hawking: "We don't need God to explain the universe." This is something he argues for in his #1 selling book on Amazon, The Grand Design.

Stephen Hawking's New Book, The Grand Design "is a Great Read"

Hawking's book is out and from what I've heard it's a great book sure to be talked about in the coming months and years ahead. Dan Barker said,

...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 Designis a great read!

Belgium Church Sex Abuse Report, a "Body Blow" to the Church

Harrowing details of some 300 cases of alleged sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in Belgium have been released by a Church investigator. Peter Adriaenssens said cases of abuse, mostly involving minors, had been found in nearly every diocese, and 13 alleged victims had committed suicide. [The] findings were a "body blow" to the Church in Belgium. Link. HT: Harry McCall.

Yep, the Church is a divine institution all right! And in other news a cow flew over the moon.

Did You Know That Krishna is the Father of Christ Jesus?

Yep, check it out. While you're at it read The Truth About the Gita. Christians just can't see it can they? Religion is bunk so Christianity is likewise bunk!

On the Anniversay of 9/11 American Atheists Call for an End to Religious Intolerance and Persecution

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, issued the following statement to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and the pressing issue of religious intolerance:

Religious populations are down all over America

Check this out below:

"Guys like Loftus, Oppy, Carrier, etc. are the real deal."

So says someone at Christian apologist Douglas Groothuis's Blog. The full quote is this:

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.

William Lobdell is Looking for Stories About Sex and the Christian

Yep. Bill is the author of Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America and Found Unexpected Peace, and he's working on another book. Here's the scoop from him:

Heads Must Roll Before Islam is Integrated Into the Global Community

People have performed symbolic acts to protest ideas and policies for as long as anyone can remember or document. The prophet Isaiah walked though the streets naked (chapter 20). Lady Godiva rode through the streets naked. Then there was the Boston Tea Party. People have burned national flags and effigies of people in protest. And they have burned books for the same reasons. It's just what we do. And it is legal to do. In the past, churches have burned different Bible translations and they still do today. So what's all the fuss about some dumb preacher named Terry Jones who wants to burn the Koran?