Book Review: The New Edition of WIBA is "A Stunning Tour-De-Force"

With an eye towards answering his critics, he has revised, expanded, and improved the book. This new version is a stunning tour-de-force criticism of the Christian faith both from an outsider’s and insider’s point of view. Mr. Loftus confronts the problem of evil, the self-authenticating witness of the Holy Spirit, miracles, the veracity of holy texts, the ‘problem’ of science, and so much more in this volume. Anyone doubting their faith or anyone who wants to defend it must deal with the issues Mr. Loftus raises in Why I Became an Atheist.- Reviewed by Jonathon Howard for the Sacramental/San Francisco Book Review.

DC to the rescue! (and atheism is NOT a religion)

A poster at DC who has recently started contributing, Michael Wassil (under the moniker amwassil), asked for some help with an argument he was having on another forum. He requested we somehow copy and paste the thread over to here so regular contributors could get involved in the discussion. This is not what we usually do, admittedly. I like the idea that we can be of assistance to those who need it. In this case, it is the Christians commentators on that thread.

Rather than copy and paste the whole thread, I will set out some of the main points they make in order to discuss them. However, there are so many points, and so many egregious errors, as to make this a difficult task. I will set out the first 5 and see where we go. Hopefully, some of them might drop by and we can have a good ole debate.

Why Doubt Is The Adult Attitude And How Science Helps Us

Anyone who understands the slightest bit about human rationality knows enough not to claim he or she knows too much with any high degree of assuredness. Doubt is a virtue. It's the adult attitude. It's the attitude we must develop since we're not born with it. As children we believed whatever we were told, until we become adults. Even as adults it isn't very easy at all for most people to doubt what they were raised to believe. Most adults still believe a large part of what they were taught as children, especially when it comes to their religious faith. It doesn't even occur to most of them that they should doubt their inherited faith. I have repeatedly made the distinction between affirming a claim and doubting it. And there is a continuum for doubting a claim based on how out-of-the-ordinary that claim is to us. The more out-of-the-ordinary a claim is then the more evidence we need to accept it. There is nothing controversial about this at all.

“Without God and the Bible, Atheists Have No Morals!”

Upstate Pastor Charged in Prostitution Sting The pastor at an Upstate S.C. church has been charged in a prostitution sting, according to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. Michael Wolfe., senior pastor at Advent United Methodist Church, was arrested on June 1 and charged with prostitution first offense. A parishioner told WYFF that on Sunday, Wolfe addressed the congregation and said he would not be preaching for a while. He said that he stopped to help someone and was naive and stupid got caught in something. He assured the congregation he felt he would be vindicated. Wolfe declined WYFF's request for an interview. Laura Campbell with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office said 48 people were arrested in weekend prostitution stings. According to the church's website, Wolfe, who is married, also taught religion at the University of South Carolina, Spartanburg Methodist College, Erskine Seminary and most recently, Greenville Technical College. Deputies made 34 additional arrests for prostitution or loitering to engage over the two day period.

Why don't all animals photosynthesise? (the Problem of Evil revisited)

Here is a video I did some time ago which I think sums up the Problem of Evil is one fell swoop. The question sidesteps free will theodicies, especially as it applies to the rest of the animal world. See what you think.

Perhaps I've Been Going About It All Wrong ;-)

I have purposely tried not to criticize other atheists so as not to offend them in hopes they would recommend my work. Well, as I reported earlier, some important atheists aren't doing it even though I've avoided criticizing them. I know I get the attention of Christian scholars when I critique their work, just as I respectfully did with professor John F. Haught, who in turn responded to my review of his book, "God and the New Atheism." The two following music videos don't convey exactly how I feel, but they express just a little of my feelings as I consider what to do differently, if anything. I suspect a change of some kind brewing. Brewing, that's a good word. Time for a beer. ;-)

PZ Myers and JW Loftus Compared

The reason I like Pharyngula is that PZ doesn't give a shit what the religious think except when they try to make their stupid ideas and actions affect those outside their sanctuary. Then, it's no-holds-barred ridicule.

Divine Knowledge--Or the Lack Thereof

This is a brief excerpt from our book that is almost completed.  It relates to my past post on Yahweh, and how this anthropomorphized god is further illustrated to be quite ignorant.  

Epistemology is the study of knowledge, and epistemologically speaking, knowledge is gained by asking the following questions: What is it? How do we find knowledge? How do we know?

Aron Ra's "Faith is not a Virtue"

Articulett gave me the heads up to this video and asked that I post it. It has some nice little nuggets in, not least the quote I transcribed and posted below which I am using in another post. The video is Aron Ra, known in the blogosphere, giving a public talk for half an hour and then receiving questions.

My Response to Ed Brayton of Freethought Blogs

Ed Brayton says he welcomes disagreement. Does he? If we both started driving toward each other we could meet halfway in an hour and a half for a few beers and laughs. We are that close to each other in our views too. We are not world’s apart. I suspect he welcomes disagreement from people he considers his friends. Am I his friend? We shall see. While Ed appreciates my work very much (thanks so much Ed!) he recently answered two questions of mine and offered two basic criticisms of me. Let's start with the questions.

Quote of the Day, D Rizdek on writing the Gospels

During a debate with Vincent which has been really fruitful, over here (on the nativity accounts), D Rizdek came out with this gem. It is well worth posting. Lots to talk about. It is such a rich subject - what sort of person compiled the Gospels and how would they logistically go about it? See what you think.

It always puzzles me at the idea that someone might assume one person, be he named Matthew or Sam, just sat down one day and decided to write a book called the Gospel according to Matthew from memory or from his own notes. Is this how literary scholars think things got written? It seems much too simplistic to me.

An Example of the Absurd Logic of Christian Apologist, JW Wartick

This post is an illustration of the absurdity of the Christian apologist, JW Wartick's argument concerning The Morality of God: Christ at the Center

Wartick claims that:

"They (New Atheists) accuse the God of the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) of being an evil, sadistic being (to put it nicely). They defame God’s name and delight in calling Him unjust. In all of this, however, they betray their complete lack of knowledge about Scripture, God, and the universe. ...there are (among many others) two primary ways that the New Atheists are in error when they attack God in such a way. These two ways are:

1) They forget that if God does indeed exist, then they are in no position to judge God.
2) They ignore Christology, which is of utmost importance in any discussion of God.

Wartick then provides the following argument:
1. If the God of classical theism exists, then He is sovereign (i.e. the ultimate authority in the universe)
2. Assume, for the sake of argument, that the God of classical theism exists.
3. Therefore, God is the ultimate authority in the universe."

The Confusing and Contradictory Doctrines of Christian Salvation

Anytime someone is presented salvation in Jesus Christ, it is assumed they know and understand the Hebrew sacrificial system that has been modified to (again) accept human sacrifice. (1) Other than that, the idea of a person giving their life for you is nothing short of an universal emotional “sob story”.
Here are some major problems with any doctrine of Christian Salvation:

How Evangelical Christians Can Be Better Prepared For College

The answer, in short, is to become better informed. [My specific advice is below, but first here is some important background information]. I have spoken about the continued retreat of believers who have refashioned their theology down through the generations because of the skeptical onslaught, and I mean this. It happens in every generation. It has happened in my generation. The only people who don't know this are young kids who are raised within cloistered Christian communities, attend parochial schools (and/or home-schooled), and who attend parochial Bible Colleges and Seminaries. They are taught the parochial theology of their day as accepted by their parents and teachers as if it has always been the truth, that the different theologies of yesterday were wrong, and/or that their particular evangelical faith is the culmination of all Christian thought and reflection of the past. They are taught that what they believe is exactly what Jesus, Paul, and James all believed. I wrote about the changing theological tide in the Introduction to The Christian Delusion, which is evidenced further by my own alma mater: What Happens When Evangelicals Attract the Best and the Brightest? The Test Case of My Alma Mater, Lincoln Christian University. Now listen to what an evangelical like Peter Enns writes below, with a title that says it all: "Rethinking Biblical Christianity."

Most Skeptical Thought Is But A Footnote to Robert G. Ingersoll

Everyone should know something about Robert G. Ingersoll, who helped produce what's been described as the Golden Age of Freethought (ca. 1856-1899), an era that might be seen akin to the modern so-called "New Atheism" but eventually ended (will our era be overtaken once again sometime in the future by superstition? I doubt it.) There are tons of his masterful lectures to be found in several volumes, which are extremely erudite and insightful, prefiguring much of what skeptics are arguing for today. In fact, it could be said that most skeptical thought is but a footnote to Ingersoll, aside from the continued findings of science, the different historical realities, and the continued retreat of believers who have refashioned their theology based on the skeptical onslaught. One difference about Ingersoll with some of the New Atheists is that he understood the Christianity of his day as well as most theologians did. I have excerpted the following paragraphs from a debate he had with a Mr. Black on "The Christian Religion," the full text of which can be found here. You will enjoy this, I guarantee it:

The Nativity: A Critical Examination

Whilst some of you may think Christmas has come early, the reality is that I have a new book out which deals with the historicity of the nativity accounts found in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. As if all the other arguments that we and you produce here at DC aren’t enough, there’s nothing like topping it all off with a healthy dose of critical historical analysis.

So the book is called The Nativity: A Critical Examination and the more involved in writing and researching it I became, the more amazed I was that anyone actually buys a historical ideal of those accounts! In this post, I will look to just one niche aspect of the two Gospels that report the birth of the Godmanspirit on earth.

How To Avoid Just Talking To Ourselves

It is inevitable that when people form a community they have a tendency to eventually forget why they formed that community in the first place. It depends on the type of community of course, but usually this is this case. So communities are in danger of becoming myopic and focused on themselves, their needs, and their issues. Being involved in a community demands that people in that community talk to one another about their community needs. They must talk about the issues of that community for they are relevant to the people in it. I have noticed this when it comes to some of the Freethought Bloggers, but other places as well.

Jesus as a Huge Colony of Bacteria: Unclean!

Trillions of bacteria live in our bodies. They outnumber our human cells, 10 to 1. So who’s in charge? What are we? Maybe you thought your body was a noble castle poised against the onslaughts and invasions of the world. Well, think again. It turns out, we are the world. Our bodies are loaded with a jungle of microbial life, inside and out, that is essential to healthy life. New science has found ten times as many bacteria cells as human cells in and on the human body. A load of microbes that work with us from the moment of birth in all kinds of key ways.
Listen to this fascinating discovery on NPR .
(It's claimed Jesus was not tainted by Original Sin, however - based on modern facts - he sure was during vaginal birth!)

Mike Mcrae Interviewed About His Wonderful Book

Previously I highly recommended Mike Mcrae's book Tribal Science: Brains, Beliefs, and Bad Ideas. Now you can hear an interview with him about it.

25 Questions For Theists, by Jeffery Lowder

Link. Any others you'd like to add?

An Open Challenge to Dr. Keith Parsons and Other Atheist Philosophy of Religion Professors

On September 1st 2010 Keith Parsons announced he was no longer going to teach in the area of the Philosophy of Religion. He wrote:

The “Snopes” of the Christian Urban Faith Claims

From a Reviewer:
There are two types of people who need to read this book - Christians who keep circulating "messages of faith" on the internet without first checking to see if they are true, and "everyone else" because they will find the truth behind some of those emails quite funny (and embarrassing for the Christians). I find it ironic that people of faith, who purport to adhere to the Ten Commandments, have no problem with circulating outright lies which happen to support their beliefs - and in doing so violate the 9th Commandment (Thou shalt not bear false witness). If you care if what you believe is true read this book, and if you are okay with being a liar by all means pass it by.

Most all chapters can be read for free on line at Amazon .
Harry McCall

Peter Boghossian, "Faith is Pretending To Know Things You Don't Know"

This is a follow-up to his talk, Faith Based Belief Processes Are Unreliable.

Infant Salvation in Evangelical Theology, pt. 1: The Reformed Consensus

I have been conversing with Cody Rudisill, a poster here at DC, recently. He approached me with an argument he has been working on as a student at Ligonier Academy (headed by R.C Sproul). I think it is pretty fatal for the Reformed Theologian (Calvinist) who adheres to infant salvation with regards to young children escaping eternal damnation upon their untimely, early deaths. See what you think.

The Case Against Christianity in 15 Minutes or Less

One of my favorite foils in the Christian blog world is JW Wartick, (one of many apologists who have blocked me) so I thought I would take one of the favorite posts on his blog, and have a little fun with it. I find it interesting that Christianity is constantly on the defensive, because if it was a logical, with consistently held belief, it would be easier to defend against skeptics without using Humpty Dumpty semantics and/or ad hoc measures. However, since this is not the case, Christians such as Wartick and others of his ilk are constantly trying to defend their inconsistent and illogical beliefs, so Wartick came up with his, "The Case for Christianity in 15 Minutes (or Less).  Well, we'll see about that....lol.