My Interview with Tuesday Afternoon

Enjoy. This is part one of three.

The Diminishing of the Gods

A thorough study of the history of gods reveals a pattern we’d expect if gods are not real. The farther we move back in time (and the farther we move away from science) we see more and bigger claims of divine intervention. Gods have been responsible for thunder, lightning, rain, comets, and holding up the very earth itself. The Christian god in particular has been finding himself with less and less to do these days...It’s almost enough to make a person think gods — and the Christian god, too — have simply been the human explanation for that which was not understood. Link.

BBC - Can We Trust Science?

Nobel Prize winner Sir Paul Nurse examines why science appears to be under attack, and why public trust in key scientific theories has been eroded - from the theory that man-made climate change is warming our planet, to the safety of GM food, or that HIV causes AIDS.

This is a passionate defence of the importance of scientific evidence and the power of experiment, and a look at what scientists themselves need to do to earn trust in controversial areas of science in the 21st century.

Quote of the Day, by Jesse Bering

Does all this disprove God? Of course not. Science speaks only to the improbable, not the impossible. If philosophy rules the day, God can never be ruled out entirely, because one could argue that human cognitive evolution was directly and intentionally inspired by God, so we alone, of all species, can perceive Him (and reality in general) using our naturally evolved theory of mind. But if scientific parsimony prevails, and I think it should, such philosophical positioning becomes embarrassingly like grasping at straws. (The Belief Instinct, p. 195-6).

Science Based Explanations vs. Faith Based Explanations

I'm quite aware of the differences between methodological naturalism and metaphysical naturalism. I have not misinterpreted John's view of science. Rather, I have questioned why he would state that science assumes natural explanations for all phenomena on the one hand, then ask believers to corroborate supernatural explanations through science. -cl

I must admit this is a great question. The objection is that if I demand that supernatural explanations must abide by the rules of science which only admit natural explanations, then supernatural explanations by definition don't have a chance. This is definitely a quandary of sorts. Let me respond.

Why Religion is Persuasive by Adam Lewis

See what you think.

A Listing of Cognitive Biases

Cognitive bias is a general term that is used to describe many distortions in the human mind that are difficult to eliminate and that lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, or illogical interpretation. Link

Why do I keep writing about this? Because we know humans are prone to these biases. We know this. So we should all become skeptics. We should all ask for positive evidence for that which we accept as true. We should adopt a science-based reasoning rather than a faith-based reasoning. Dr. James Alcock defined faith-based reasoning as "belief in search of data." Given the cognitive biases this is simply a wrong-headed approach if we want to know the truth.

I Met a Former Mormon Bishop in Canada

Yep, after I spoke for CFI’s Extraordinary Claims Panel in Canada this former Mormon Bishop came up to me and introduced himself. Afterward we talked over a Foster’s Beer. Someone overheard us talking who said to me, “Mormon’s have some really weird beliefs, don’t they?” Yes they do. But then I see no difference between their beliefs and my former Christian beliefs. I learned to think this way because of my wife. She grounds me. I used to say the same thing about other religions and every time she would tell me they are no different than Christianity. It finally sunk in. She’s right. Then it stuck me. There are people who have never been religious at all. When I tell them I am a former evangelical they must shake their heads and wonder how in the world I could ever have believed what I did. I too am stunned at times. Do natural born atheists think about me the way former evangelicals-turned-skeptics think about Mormonism? Do they shake their heads and wonder how stupid I must be to have believed what I did? Some of them probably do. If so, I hope to show that children are taught to believe in their respective cultures because of indoctrination, brainwashing and enculturation. It could have been them too, ya see.

Quote of the Day

I cannot possibly check everything I believe. There is a trust element involved. I trust the sciences. I trust the consensus of the scientists. Why? Because in those areas where I have studied I agree with them. In fact, if believers were to stop and think about it they trust the sciences too, in an overwhelming number of areas. They just disagree with them in those few areas when the sciences contradict what some pre-scientific ancient agency detectors claimed in a group of canonized texts. -- John W. Loftus

The Christian Faith Makes a Person Stupid. Doug Wilson: "I Have Faith in the Bible,You Have Faith in Reason"

See below:

Quote of the Day- by John W. Loftus

The bottom line is that the odds of a resurrection from my experience are at 0%. No Bayesian analysis can multiply 0 with any other number and get any more than 0. That's what the probabilities are. So I am skeptical of the extraordinary claim that Jesus resurrected since I cannot dismiss my present experience. I must judge the past from my present. I cannot do otherwise! Coupled with the fact that when I read the NT it provides its own demise there is no reason to believe such a claim EVEN IF IT IS TRUE!

Failure by Divine Design (A Christian Construction of Unbelief)

See below:

Professor James E. Alcock on "The Belief Engine"

I was on CFI's Extraordinary Claims panel this Friday night with Dr. Alcock. He gave a wonderful talk which will be available online sometime in the near future. Here is an essay he wrote that goes right along with what he said, called The Belief Engine. It's a must read.

The true critical thinker accepts what few people ever accept — that one cannot routinely trust perceptions and memories. Figments of our imagination and reflections of our emotional needs can often interfere with or supplant the perception of truth and reality. Experience is often a poor guide to reality. Skepticism helps us to question our experience and to avoid being too readily led to believe what is not so.

CFI Extraordinary Claims Panel: Christ

Here are the notes from my talk for the CFI Panel in Ontario, Canada. Enjoy.

Quote of the Day: Can God Not Defeat Iron Chariots?

"And the LORD was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron." - Judges 1:19

There is a skeptical site called Wiki Iron Chariots based on this text that I recommend.

Dispatches: Return to Africa's Witch Children

My heart breaks when I consider the harm Christianity does to children accused of witchcraft in Africa. This is how religion evolves as it comes into contact with a different culture. Since Christianity is growing exponentially in the Southern Hemisphere and in Asia this just might be the Christianity of the future. Watch this video. It makes my blood boil. I hope this barbaric idiocy can be eradicated in the future.

I'm Going to Be in Your Backyard In California for Two Speaking Engagements

Hey, just a heads up if you live in California close to where I'll be. I'm be speaking in Villa Park, CA, for the Backyard Skeptics Meetup on the 8th February, and then in Riverside, CA, on the 9th for the Inland Empire Atheists, Agnostics & Skeptics Meetup Group. As always I'm excited and would like to meet up with people who comment here at DC.

My Top Ten Grievances Against the Bible

By Lady Atheist.

"John Loftus...Will Take on Christ"

That's what the billing for the Ontario, Canada, CFI event this Friday says. Do ya think Christ has a chance? He'll probably be a "no show" as usual. ;-)

Professor Matt McCormick's Article on "Atheism"

For the most part, atheists have presumed that the most reasonable conclusions are the ones that have the best evidential support. And they have argued that the evidence in favor of God’s existence is too weak, or the arguments in favor of concluding there is no God are more compelling. Link.

When Believers Say Their Prayers Get Answered

I'm looking for good one-liners to several statements believers might make about various topics to provoke discussion. I've started a "tag" for it and will try to compile some quick responses to believers as I think of them. So when believers say their prayers get answered ask them what kind of requests they make. For more as a follow up see this link.

Derren Brown on the Power of Suggestion

Check this out! Derren is a genius! Think you can be completely rational and uninfluenced by your cultural surroundings? Think again. And then think religion. The cultural influences for Christianity are everywhere in America. This helps to explain why Christians are not usually reasoned out of their faith because they were never reasoned into it in the first place. Really!

The Debunking Christianity Challenge, Part 2

I've proposed reading one skeptical book a month in 2011 as the Debunking Christianity Challenge. Now I'm going to propose a Part 2. Both of these challenges are designed to help Christians test their faith as outsiders. Here's another way for Christians to take the Outsider Test for Faith. Do this...

"Inside the Minds of Animals" by Jeffrey Kluger for Time Magazine

Read the Time Magazine article "Inside the Minds of Animals". Then see Kluger's interview with Charlie Rose. Animal research is confirming many things about animals that make my Darwinian Problem of Evil argument in The Christian Delusion more and more forceful. See also my online essay The Bible and the Treatment of Animals.

Hat Tip: Luke at Common Sense Atheism.

Science Friction: Miracles - BBC

See below: