Heads you win, tails I lose #2

I would like to draw people's attention to an interesting list of historicity criteria for establishing historical credibility in claims about Jesus found in the New Testament (provided by Richard Carrier here). Recently, and showing a similar technique, I posted a piece on how Christians have a tendency to argue things in such a way that no matter what end of the evidential continuum we have, they would claim it as evidence for God or similar:

If the universe had been much smaller, just right for human life on a human scale, then the universe would have been obviously designed for humans, so would claim the same theist. The universe is the direct opposite of that, but still this somehow shows that God obviously designed it, such as the design being based on other purposes, using the analogy of the Sistine Chapel (one marvels at the size and beauty of it but it doesn’t need to be that big; that the awe and wonder derives from its magnitude) and so on.

Quote of the Day, by Dr. Taner Edis

Sometimes it makes sense to speak of an "atheist movement" or the likes in the US, particularly in the context of efforts to increase social visibility and acceptance. But by and large, beyond such narrowly focused concerns, "atheists" are not a politically coherent group...I don't fully accept recent arguments like that by Greta Christina that "atheism demands social justice." Like it or not, people like Ayn Rand and her fandom are significant parts of the landscape of American atheism...To the extent that there is a "we" at all in the sense of "we atheists," we are a remarkably useless bunch in political terms. Link

Is God at the Olympics?

I'm loving the Olympics, I really am. I have even been to see some women's volleyball and it was great. It has all been so well organised (and in so being, it's great to put one up Mitt Romney for his silly comments). However, the good ole sporting problem raises its theological head. Who does God support?

Best Videos On Evolution and Atheism

There are hours and hours of good stuff in the following sites, an education if you will.

Evolution Documentary videos. Hat Tip: Jerry Coyne.

The Web's Best Videos on Evolution, Creationism, Atheism and More. This is a site I've recommended previously.

Then there is an interesting site where Christian and atheist philosophers/scientists are interviewed on the same topics. See Closer to the Truth.

Survey - Why Do Atheists Care Whether Christians Believe in Christianity or Not?

Recently, I wrote two posts indicating the relationship between the "mature social medium" in which we live, interact with, and that helps form our personal identity and self--in relation to the tragic shootings committed by James Holmes in Colorado. (Post 1; Post 2)

I argued that Christianity influences our "mature social medium" which then influences people such as James Holmes and others to act in the way they do.  The ancient Christian philosopher Pelagius also pointed this out long ago.  That is, the Christian version of salvation promoted by Augustine, leads to "moral laxity" as believers are "saved" regardless of their actions--no consequences in relation to their salvation.

"If you want to be awe-inspired.." (Christopher Hitchens)

A great excerpt from one of Hitch's debates.

What Does the Bible Say About the Chick-fil-A Controversy?

In light of anti-gay marriage comments by the president of Chick-fil-A, Mike Huckabee's concocted "Appreciation Day" was a success yesterday. What will happen in the future? We'll see. But these people probably do not have a clue about what the Bible says about marriage, sex and homosexuality. Let's inform them:

Jerry Coyne Is Admirably Tryng to Deal With Christianity

I find Dr. Coyne to be a refreshing alternative to Richard Dawkins and PZ Myers. They're all scientists but Coyne is actually trying to understand Christian theology and reach out across this great divide of ours. Victor Stenger and Michael Shermer do likewise. We need more scientists like them. Stenger and Shermer have both recommended my works. Now Coyne does too. He wrote:

I want to give two thumbs up to John Loftus’s book, Why I Became an Atheist. Despite its title, it’s far more than the story of Loftus’s journey from Christian minister to outspoken atheist. It’s really a thoughtful and well-documented dissection of religious arguments and theological claims. And there are two nice chapters on the “problem of suffering,” in which Loftus takes on and destroys the pathetic arguments offered by the faithful for why a good and powerful God allows gratuitous suffering. Link

¿Se puede saber si Dios existe? es EL libro ateo para personas de habla hispana

A pesar de un aumento enorme de recursos para ateos, existe todavía una escasez de recursos ateos para personas de habla hispana, y los cuales consisten de cerca de 500 millones de personas.

¿Se puede saber si Dios existe? (Prometheus, 2003), un libro escrito por el Dr. Héctor Ávalos, es, según lo que yo entiendo, el único libro escrito originalmente en español por un erudito bíblico ateo de habla hispana.

The Liberal “Social Gospel” Was Even Peddled By Jesus

One of the most popular sections of the Gospels used by both Fundamentalist and Evangelicals is the story given by Jesus of The Rich Man and Lazarus as recorded only in one Gospel: Luke 16: 19 – 31. Bible Believers, along with their preachers, love to harp on this section not only in their Gospel Tracts, but especially in revival sermons with the justification being; “I’d rather scare sinners into Heaven than to love them into Hell!”

For the average gullible Bible Believer who thinks everything he or she hears from their church’s pulpit is Gospel Truth, this afterlife story told by Jesus is but a foretaste of what an unrepentant sinner can expect immediately after death.

G. K. Chesterton on the Outsider Test for Faith

One Christian response to the Outsider Test for Faith is that it is faulty in some way. If that's the case then perhaps they ought to listen to Chesterton, who became a Catholic. His book, The Everlasting Man, contributed to C.S. Lewis's conversion to Christianity. In his Introduction Chesterton said:

Two Videos of Our World. Which One is True?

They both are! But see the difference for yourselves:

Lowder vs Hallquist's Claim That Dr. Craig is Dishonest: "Not Guilty"

I agree with Jeffery Lowder and ask Chris Hallquist to never again make such a claim. Link. I personally know William Lane Craig and am myself a former believer. Hallquist, just like PZ Myers, simply does not understand the mind of the believer. I have previously defended Craig against such an ignorant claim. Just read this closely.

Can PZ Myers Change His Ways? Should He?

I've been critical of PZ Myers for five principled reasons: 1) he doesn't understand the mind of the believer, 2) he treats people who disagree as if they are morons, 3) he's a divisive force within the ranks of atheism, 4) he panders to the younger baser type atheist audience, and 5) he doesn't much value the contributions of people like me who deal with Christians on their own terms. I don't understand his motivations. He may like the power and the money that come from having a large audience. Or, it just may be his personality. He may be an ideologue by nature, an extremist, the type of person who can usually make a big difference. Can he change his ways? Should he? That's the question here. One thing is sure, more atheists are speaking out against him and his ways. John Draper, an important Canadian atheist blogger known as the Cobourg Atheist, recently said of him:

Jesus Was A Coward When Facing Death

Christian theology tells us that the whole reason Jesus came into the world was to redeem fallen humanity (Jesus himself in Matthew 16: 21 – 23 and especially the Paul letters). He was born from a virgin by the power of God, healed the sick, raised the dead, walked on water, casted out demons, fed 4,000 / 5,000 people with just a few fish and loafs of bread - all this with his supernatural God given power. Moreover, Jesus even talked with Moses and Elijah on the Mt. of Transfiguration where the Gospels tell us he shone as bright as the sun and where both he and his disciples (Peter, James and John) heard God preach: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him. (Matt. 17: 5)

The Problems with Heaven.

As I am going on holiday for a week, I thought I'd leave you with a couple of my videos on the inconsistencies of the idea of heaven. Heaven, in the normal understanding of the notion, seems wildly logically incongruous. As an idea that seems to have developed late in Jewish theology, it appears more likely to have been contrived by human minds seeking to justify why good people could die so harshly, particularly during the time of the Maccabean Revolt when Jews were being persecuted in the Seleucid Empire. Its development appears also to mirror the development of the idea of an eternal soul, stolen off the Greeks. With heaven, hell and the eternal soul, any earthly injustices are suddenly sorted out. These seem such fundamental pieces of theology that it is a wonder they are not investigated earlier in the Bible. Unless, of course, they hadn't been made up or stolen by that point... Feel free to elucidate any points of interest with regards to heaven:

There is Nothing to Wager. Just Live a Good Life.

Hemant Mehta posted this. Whether or not Marcus Aurelius said it or not is beside the point. We have nothing to lose if we live a good life with or without a god:

How Would the Gospels Look Different if They Were True?

Jason Rennie is doing a five part series of interviews with believers and skeptics exploring the question, “How would the Gospels look different if …?” He interviewed Dr. Ben Witherington III from Ashbury Theological Seminary in Part 1. His interview with me is Part 2. Enjoy.

Dr. Andrea M. Weisberger, a Forgotten Atheist Scholar

There has been a great deal of talk by secular women about the need to support women and women's issues. I endorse that goal most emphatically. Let me tell my readers about the tragic case of Professor Andrea M. Weisberger. She is on a short list of atheist scholars I admire the most. She first introduced me to the problem of animal suffering that I have written so much about. Have you heard her story? You should.

Quote of the Day, by Harry McCall on the Afterlife

Christians must face the fact that the majority of the New Testament (likely 99%), especially Paul’s letters and the Book of Revelation both teach that all souls (both good and evil) sleep in the earth (much like the Israelite dead did in Sheol) until the general resurrection and Final Judgment when Jesus returns...the Bible never tells us how a place under the earth where all the dead go (Sheol) becomes modern Hell or how Christians go up into the sky to live with God. Link.

I'll Be Teaching an Online Class for CFI in August

CFI stands for the Center for Inquiry, probably the leading secular humanist educational organization in America and the world. Some call its headquarters in Buffalo, NY, the Satanic Vatican. ;-) I'm team teaching this class with Dr. John Shook. We'll be using the 2nd edition of my book Why I Became an Atheist. To learn more of the details and to sign up click here. I sure hope lots of people sign up. We have a lot to cover. It should be very educational with a lively discussion. Christians, by the way, can sign up too.

According to the Bible: Christians and Atheists Will Rot In Their Graves

“for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints>.” 1 Corinthians 14:33

Some Modern Christian Afterlife Myths:

Quote of the Day, by sir_russ

During our evolution conversation with The Theist, which can be found here, sir_russ summed up a few salient ideas in this concise quote:

Let me make this as plain a I can: all by itself, evolutionary theory debunks Christianity.

Evolutionary theory tells us beyond doubt that no first humans ever existed. There was no Adam and Eve. There was no original sin. Mankind has not inherited a sinful nature. There was no need for an atonement. So, if a person named Jesus actually existed his life and death were only the life and death of a human being. Evolutionary theory tells us that the Jesus stories as Christian relate in Sunday school are myths, legends and fairy tales.

James Holmes and the Perpetual Miracle Objection

When it comes to the problem of suffering for a good omnipotent God, in my books I argue for the possibility of perpetual miracles from God that alleviate suffering among his creatures. I call it the Perpetual Miracle Objection. David Hume didn't use this exact phrase when he objected that the ordering of the world by general natural laws "seems nowise necessary" for God, but it's the same concept. Link. Let's apply this line of argumentation to what Holmes did and see another preemptive way God could have averted the massacre from happening if he exists and if he cares.

Omniscience Doesn't Exonorate God For The Colorado Movie Massacre

Previously I've suggested some reasonable ways a good God could have stopped James Holmes from firing on innocent people in that Colorado theater without revealing himself, and without abrogating Holmes's free will. Link. But is there another way to exonerate God in what I call the Omniscience Escape Clause? Could God have overriding reasons based in his omniscience for allowing that horrible tragedy to happen? I don't think so at all. While this isn't impossible it's extremely improbable to the point of being virtually impossible.