Thom Stark on the Joshua Delusion

A new wave of evangelicals have two new strategies for interpreting the Canaanite genocide texts in Joshua. 1) They are "hyperbolic," not meant to be taken literally because the accounts are exaggerated. 2) They are "hagiographic" or "mythical," "to make a moral point to encourage a certain type of orthodox religious behavior among the faith community who gathers to hear the book as sacred scripture." Thom Stark destroys both strategies.

Science Saved My Soul

Unbelief by Default and Selective Credulity

Chris Hallquist: "Recently, Victor Reppert claimed that, 'as the OTF [Outsider Test for Faith] is typically presented, it attempts to give a kind of special default status to the denial of religion, and in doing so it starts to engage in anti-religious special pleading.'"

"This sounds like a fair criticism...but it misses the point that...unbelief by default is already the attitude many Christians have to most religions. To be more specific: many Christians, when they hear non-Christian supernatural claims–or even Christian supernatural claims made outside the Christian canon–are skeptical by default. Some even say so explicitly." Link.

How Science Leads to Naturalism (At Least For Me)

We should be skeptics of extraordinary claims of miracles in the ancient past. Tell me why we shouldn't? There are too many of them in every culture, too many mythical stories.

Six Anti-Secularist Themes: Deconstructing Religionist Rhetorical Weaponry by Dr. Hector Avalos

          Spirited debates in scholarly fields usually involve a mixture of substantive argumentation and rhetorical weaponry. Rhetorical weaponry is intended to detract from the real substance of arguments, as well as to appeal to the emotional side of the audience. Rhetorical weaponry and substantive arguments are not always easily distinguished, and participants may sometimes be unaware of the difference.    

          Here, I concentrate on the rhetorical weapons that are being deployed by religionist biblical scholars against efforts to reform the field of biblical studies so that it might function like all other fields in modern academia---a completely secular enterprise with methodological naturalism at its core.

          These rhetorical weapons may be seen as literary tropes or themes, insofar as they depict fictional, rather than actual, villainy on the part of secularists. The purpose of these tropes and themes is to marginalize secularists rather than to address real arguments.  They represent creative versions of the ad hominem fallacy.

Quote of the Day, by exrelayman

The natural world is all that we can detect with our 5 senses and instruments used to interact with those senses when the scale of perception surpasses the limitations of those senses. The supernatural world then would be that which we cannot detect with senses or instruments (at the present time). This means that at the present time there is no evidence which we can discern supporting the supernatural. If and when we become able to detect the supernatural, it will have moved into the realm of the natural, as we can then detect it.

God on Trial: The Verdict

See below:

David Eller's New Book on Religion and Violence

Jack David Eller's book Cruel Creeds, Virtuous Violence: Religious Violence Across Culture and History, is massive and sure to be a good one. Be sure to get it. I plan on doing so.

What You Can Find Here at DC

I get new readers everyday so let me welcome them and briefly tell them what to expect here at DC. I am not a news source. There are lots of religion related news stories but I mostly comment on the high profile or interesting ones. Nor do I post many stories about the crimes or infidelities of pastors. They happen everyday and even though some of their abuses make our heads spin I mostly comment on high profile or interesting cases. Nor do I share many testimonies of deconversion, although I do so from time to time. And I don't post a great deal of obtuse philosophical arguments, or a great many things about science or cosmology. They are all useful, no doubt, and I do so from time to time.

Are We Angry Atheists?

Someone recently wrote this about us here at DC: “I find it amazing how much anger there is on this board.”

I find this to be an interesting charge. People have said this before. Is it true? If it is, does it imply anything important?

I don’t think it’s true, at least not with me. I am not an angry atheist toward anyone. If I have ever shown anger it’s because I was responding to what I considered to be willful ignorance, idiocy and/or attempts to belittle me.

But what if I am angry, and what if others here are angry? What then?

My Talk at the Texas Freethought Convention

It was on the Outsider Test for Faith. Enjoy. I followed Darrel Ray who wrote the book The God Virus. His talk can be found there as well. He talked for a bit about sex and the triggers that cause people to believe. In my talk I mentioned Robert Price's essay on sex. Here it 'tis. This was an amazing convention and I highly recommend it for all skeptics. Don't miss it next year. It's put together very well. The people are awesome!

Why Young Earth Creationists Must Deny Gravity

I've Changed the DISQUS Settings to Flat vs Threaded Comments

Is this better? It's more like Blogger.

The Best Optical Illusion in the World!

It's about prayer, and this video is awesome!:

Dr. Matt McCormick on the F - Word

Be sure to click on his Powerpoint slide presentation on Faith. This is awesome! See here.

A Dialog With A Good Christian Friend

I get contacted from Christian friends I've had over the years who want to discuss why I rejected Christianity. Here is a brief email exchange I had with a dear friend from the past:

Dr. Hector Avalos Interviewed by the Iowa State Daily News

While growing up, Avalos' zealous belief in God ignited an intense study of the Bible. "Most adults, up until recently, usually end up in the religion they were raised in," Avalos said. "It's not because they came to that religion through a long period of study or research, but they were just raised that way. To me that was not satisfactory. I wanted to know whether it was true or not." "I started by trying to defeat the arguments of the other side," Avalos said, "and in the process I realized that my own arguments were not very good." "One thing led to another, and I realized that I did not believe in Christianity or that the Bible was the word of God, or that the Bible had any kind of divine origin." Link

Atheist Controversy Solved: "What Evidence Could Make Us Believe?"

While PZ Myers and Greta Christina and others banter this question back and forth I have already decisively answered this a long time ago when it comes to Christianity, right here. Q.E.D. If only they would come listen to the master! Sit at my feet children. I teach you. Place some coins in my jar with gratitude for once again decisively solving yet another dispute with precision. Thank you. Thank you very much. ;-)

James Sennett: "It would not take much to turn me into a Buddhist -- Theravada, that is."

As many of you know Dr. Sennett and I have been friends since seminary days. He has recommend my book. He has written/edited some significant apologetic/philosophical books and articles. He teaches at Brenau University. In March of 2009 he wrote a blog post at DC where he maintained he was still a believer. Now on Facebook (if you can access it) this is what he said in a post about "25 Random Things About Me." It's number 17. Anyone see a trend here? It's somewhat the same trend I went through (although I went from being a liberal to an agnostic to an atheist). Where will he end his intellectual journey? Who knows? But he is no longer an evangelical, that's for sure. James, I wish you well my friend.

"You Might be a Fundamentalist if..."

Jeff Foxworthy's line is "You might be a redneck if.." Below are ten suggested answers to this other line that were emailed to me. Got some of your own?

Quote of the Day, by D. Newman

I and many others are in Christian eyes little lost sheep. I look forward to being found by the good shepherd!!! He has not found me yet though and does not seem all that interested in looking either! (I am sure he is busy, washing his hair or something).

John Shimkus, R-Ill is presently running for Chairman of the House Energy Committee. He should be stopped NOW!

Hat Tip: Jeffrey A. Myers

I Know More Than You Do! Na Na Na Na Na NA! Or, You Don't Know Jack Shit.

Christians have faulted the so-called New Atheists with ignorance. They do the same thing with me. If only I knew this or that I would see the error of my way and believe again. But think about this. How much philosophy should Richard Dawkins know to rationally reject religion? How much science should Christopher Hitchens know? How much Bible should Daniel Dennett know? How much theology should Sam Harris know? How much should we know to rationally reject religion? How much? What if we know very little? What if all we know is that God did not save our child and she died from Leukemia? What if a scientist rejects religion because s/he cannot adequately test supernatural hypotheses? What if a historian rejects the claims of a religion because as a historian s/he must assume a natural explanation for the events in the past? What then? Are they culpable for doing so when this is all they know to do? When can it be said that a person can rationally reject a religion? Surely the theist cannot possibly demand that nonbelievers must know all that can be known before their rejection of religion is warranted.

To put it in terms of the Outsider Test for Faith, how much should someone know in order to reject Mormonism, or Catholicism, or Islam, or Orthodox Judaism, to name a few. How much do YOU know of them?

Atheist Ministers Struggle With Leading the Faithful

"I am an atheist," says "Jack," a Southern Baptist with more than 20 years in ministry.

"I live out my life as if there is no God," says "Adam," who is part of the pastoral staff of a small evangelical church in the Bible Belt.

The two, who asked that their real identities be protected, are pastors who have lost their faith. And these two men, who have built their careers and lives around faith, say they now feel trapped, living a lie. Link

I've switched to DISQUS Commenting System Because Blogger Sucks

I'm following the lead of Mike D The A-Unicornist.