The Irish Potato Famine: A Divine/Human Near Genocide

As I said, I'm Irish. I can trace my roots from my father through to my great great grandfather, who immigrated to America during the potato famine of 1845-1852. According to the Wikipedia:

During the famine approximately 1 million people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland, causing the island's population to fall by between 20% and 25%. The proximate cause of famine was a potato disease commonly known as potato blight. Although blight ravaged potato crops throughout Europe during the 1840s, the impact and human cost in Ireland – where one-third of the population was entirely dependent on the potato for food – was exacerbated by a host of political, ethnic, religious, social and economic factors which remain the subject of historical debate. LINK.

First to be blamed is God himself, after all, he allowed the famine. Based on this fact alone I don't see why any Irish person would ever love such a divine being. If any other lover was that abusive the love affair would be over forever. If God had wanted to remain a hidden God, all he had to do was grow the potatoes that the Irish had planted. And no one would be the wiser since nothing would have happened. If nothing else, all God had to do was perform a perpetual miracle here, something that shouldn't be hard for an omnipotent being.

The British government was complicit in this near genocide. The British colonization of Ireland brought a lot of misery and death upon the Irish people, especially during this famine. The British were Protestant. The Irish were Catholic. The British didn't care much about the Irish. Most hated them. A few pundits have claimed, rightly or wrongly, that it was an attempted genocide by inaction on the part of the British government. They only did enough to claim they tried. They eventually set up a soup kitchen where the goal was to produce a soup ration that would help sustain the starving at the bare minimum cost possible per person. Several cooks examined the soup and said it couldn't sustain a cat. All they had to do was to stop the exporting of the crops grown on Irish soil for British consumption. You can read an in-depth online website devoted to it, where we read:

Some studies have also stressed the influence on key policy makers of a particular strain of Protestant evangelicalism, in which the undeniable horrors of the Famine could be interpreted as an example of the terrible but unquestionable workings of God’s providence, operating to root out social and moral evils.

For a book that describes the horrible conditions of the Irish people at the time, read Paddy's Lament, Ireland 1846-1847: Prelude to Hatred.The whole episode is appalling.

Rosie O'Donnell learned her ancestry stretched back into this very era in an NBC episode of "Who Do you Think You Are?:

Jesus Behaving Badly

Even among non-believers, there exists the idea that Jesus was the model of virtue, compassion and selflessness. After all, the New Testament is filled with stories of him nobly healing the sick and suffering – right? Today, I want to barbecue that sacred cow and show where the gospels portray Jesus to be a calculated manipulator – someone who uses people as pawns in a game in which he and his Sky Daddy conspire together in order to make themselves look good.

First, let’s look at perhaps the most notable miracle which Jesus purportedly performed – that of raising Lazarus from the dead.

My Irish Ancestry, Folklore and Songs, In Preparation for St. Patrick's Day

This week leading up to St. Patrick's Day I'm going to share a bit of my ancestry with you along with some Irish folklore, songs and history.

I'll start with my great grandfather Tom J. Loftus (1856-1910), since I don't want his accomplishments to be forgotten. He was Irish and was proud of it. Can you tell? His parents immigrated from Ireland during the Irish Potato Famine. Tom was about as famous in America as one could hope for, given that by the last decade of his life baseball was America's favorite pastime. You see, he was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who later coached/managed several MLB teams across the country, like the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Senators, and the Chicago Orphans, later to be known as the Cubs, which he co-owned with Albert Spalding (yes, that Spalding). Being a manger also meant he was the recruiter. He helped the American League to start up (in 1901) to rival the National League, that gave rise to the World Series. When the Three Eyes League (or "Three I's League" representing Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa) had major rifts between them, Tom was the only one they could all agree to manage it. He was a life-long friend of Charles Comiskey, having first played ball with him in Dubuque, Iowa. In fact, Tom earned the two highest accolades that could be given: "Baseball Man" (or "Man of Baseball") and "Magnate." Here's part of his obituary on the front page of the sports section in the Chicago Tribune, April 17th, 1910:

God or Godless Is In the House!

It's only right that the guy who had the best arguments should be the first one to receive his copy, right? ;-)

Baker Books is shipping our co-written book out to stores now. It might take them a month, but if you want to be the first kid on your block to read some great stuff (by me of course) order it now: God or Godless?: One Atheist. One Christian. Twenty Controversial Questions.

You can see the blurbs below:

Craig versus McCullagh: A Response to Travis James Campbell

   

                  It is not often that I express pleasure at reading critiques of my work. That is because criticisms of my work by Christian apologists are seldom devoid of ad hominem and vitriolic comments.

                 So it was, indeed, a pleasure to read the critique from Travis James Campbell in a chapter titled “Avalos Contra Craig: A Historical, Theological, and Philosophical Assessment,” in a book titled Defending the Resurrection. I henceforth abbreviate Campbell’s chapter as ACC.

                Defending the Resurrection is edited by James Patrick Holding, and published in 2010 by Xulon press, which describes itself as a “Christian self-publishing company.” See Xulon Press.  See also: Google book version.

An Update on Why William Lane Craig Refuses to Debate Me

Let me update the reasons why William Lane Craig refuses to debate me. So far none of them make any sense at all. [Before commenting on this present post read that one]. When I was a student of his he told his class something I thought was odd at the time. This was back in 1985 at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He said "the person I fear debating the most is a former student of mine." No one can speak for Craig, only he can. I'm not saying he fears me. He may fear my influence though, which is an extremely high recommendation given the atheist scholars he has debated over the years. My question is why does he single me out as the one person he refuses to debate who has a reasonable set of credentials? All I want is a reasonable answer. Again no one can answer this question but him.

So here's the update. Yesterday I got an email from a Christian who comments here at DC. He said he was going to ask Craig after a talk why he won't debate me. Later he emailed me back with Craig's answer. It doesn't make any sense either. Actually, I would really be pleased if after every talk of his someone asked him why he refuses to debate me. ;-) Listen, you would think that someone of Craig's scholarly credentials and intellectual prowess would be able to give a reasonable answer to this question. Why can't he? THAT'S MY QUESTION! And why is he offering so many different reasons? You would think he would stick to one story. But he changes his story so many times you know something is up. My honest guess is that he's groping to find a consistent way to exclude me while at the same time not excluding others he has debated, or plans to debate. He's having a hard time of it, that's for sure. Left unstated is the real reason he refuses to debate me. What is that reason? So here is his most recent answer.

Wonderment and the Scientific Worldview

I was told repeatedly as a child that the Bible is "the greatest story ever told." (Incidentally, I've since heard some describe the Bible as "the best selling, least read book in history,” which is probably true.) The more I studied science, though, beginning in college, the more dubious this claim seemed. Sure, science doesn't have the same sort of actors as the Bible -- individuals with intentions, beliefs, desires, etc. -- but its theories do present an extraordinary multilevel, patchwork narrative of who we are, how we got here, and where the universe is headed (toward an eternally cold and lifeless entropy death!). Theories are essentially "story-telling in assertion mode": their entire aim is to explain puzzling phenomena by (in virtually all cases) tracing a chain of causes leading up to some phenomenon of interest -- i.e., an effect. It is this spatiotemporal chunk of the causal structure of the world that -- despite the absence of intentional agents like human beings -- makes for a fantastically exciting, suspenseful and moving story. It’s this story that's the greatest ever told!

The Devastating Force of the Outsider Test for Faith

In his massive 480 page book, Deconstructing Mormonism: An Analysis and Assessment of the Mormon Faith, published by American Atheist Press, Thomas Riskas is the first author to use the Outsider Test for Faith (OTF) against a different religion, Mormonism. On page xxxiii he writes that it:

The Top Ten Scientific and Religious Discoveries of 2012

Let's do a comparison between science and religion by looking at their top ten discoveries in 2012, okay? First consider the top tech and science breakthroughs of 2012 according to ExtremeTech. Click through all ten of them. Pretty impressive, right? Now let's consider the top ten religious discoveries in 2012:

Hit Christian Song Reveals Cognitive Dissonance: “Never Alone”.

In 2004, the Christian music group BarlowGirl made their debut. Their song “Never Alone” was subsequently released to radio and ended up being the longest-running #1 song on both the Christian Rock and Christian Hit Radio charts, securing “Song of the Year” status for these charts. “Never Alone” was also nominated for a Dove award.

What is interesting about this is that the lyrical content of “Never Alone” is a revealing look at the cognitive dissonance that exists in the minds of believers, and how they deal with it. The popularity of the song shows that there are many believers who resonated with its message.

Let’s take a look at some of the lyrics, which were based on diary entries from one of the writers:

I waited for you today
But you didn't show, no no no
I needed You today
So where did You go?
You told me to call
Said You'd be there
And though I haven't seen You
Are You still there?

Randal Rauser Critiques William Lane Craig's Defense of Genocide

Dr. Rauser is one of the most unique and intelligent progressive evangelicals around, willing to think outside the box. Not only this, but he's willing to learn from and engage the opposition, as he's argued in his admirable book, You're Not As Crazy As I Think: Dialogue in a World of Loud Voices and Hardened Opinions.In a series of six posts he criticizes the big man among evangelicals, William Lane Craig. After reading them you can see how maddening (!) it was for me to co-write with him God or Godless?: One Atheist. One Christian. Twenty Controversial Questions.He's a real tough nut to crack, seriously. Your assignment today, boys and girls, is to crack this nut on biblical genocide. ;-) There is much I agree with him about, especially that genocide of any kind is barbaric: Part one -- Part two -- Part three -- Part four -- Part five -- Part six.

"Why Christians Should be Reading John Loftus' Books," By Christian Professor Dan Lambert

Actually, the title to this post of his is much longer: Why Atheists Shouldn't Marry and Why Christians Should be Reading John Loftus' Books: Thoughts On Becoming an Atheist, Critical Thinking, and the Outsider Test for Faith. *Whew* that's a mouthful! [Disclaimer, Dan and I are friends. Yes I have them, in fact, most all of my family and friends are Christians.] I first met him as he was using my book in his class which I wrote about here. He joins other Christian intellectuals in having a guest post at DC, like Douglas Groothuis, James Sennett, Kenneth Howell, Craig Bloomberg, John Haught, and even William Lane Craig (by proxy). LINK. As with the others I'll post it in its entirety without comment (at least initially). So here is Dr. Lambert on the topic above. Comment as you will. He may respond.

Christians, Police Yourselves From Liars for Jesus

Can anything be done about this guy Jake on Amazon.com (aka KC_James, Rocky Morrison, Morrison, Goldstein, Anna B., Andrew, and so many other names I forgot most of them)? He targets my books and many of the others I recommend with false and misleading reviews. My publisher says to relax, that controversy sells books. Okay. But he endlessly creates new email accounts and says basically the same kinds of things against these books. Then with other accounts he upvotes them (unless I point it out as I'm doing here). I guess it should be a good thing when I don't recommend an atheist book then, since you won't find him dissing those other books. He stalks me constantly saying practically any lie he can think of. It's one of his missions in life. He told me so in a comment one time. My only conclusion is that he fears me. This is one of the highest recommendations he could dole out. So I say to him in an Elvis voice, "Thank you. Thank you very much." Just see one of his reviews of my new book. He could not possibly have read it. There wasn't enough time. So he's a liar for Jesus. It's Christians like him who have forever destroyed the credibility of the Christian faith (just follow the tag below to see what I mean). He doesn't believe God can handle the arguments himself. God needs Jake you see. Without Jake people will go to hell. It's really pathetic. For all I know his children should be taken away from him if he has any, and if not, as soon as he does, just like these other nutcases. The question is why his faith needs to be buttressed with so many lies? A faith requiring lies should be rejected. It's that simple. It should be a clue to a clueless person like Jake that he is deluded. [Edit: Jake and KC_James are deleting and then re-posting their reviews, even rating them differently, which deletes all down-votes and comments afterward. This is bizarre!]

Christians Do YOU Have Real Faith or Not?

The really scary thing is that every one of these cases comes from churches containing a number of nutcases like them who have this same faith AND have children. Child service agencies, where are you? Take the children away from these parents NOW!

15 Questions Atheists Are Sick of Answering

LINK. More could be said in the link of course, but the answers found there are helpful. For more I highly recommend Dale McGowan's new book, Atheism For Dummies.So many believers just don't understand us. There's no excuse from now on. Book. Get. The. Now.

Cyclical universe debate opens up again

The BBC recently produced the following fascinating article. It appears there is some good evidence that a cyclical universe IS on the money, and also in keeping with the BVG whilst not needing the Big Crunch. What do you good people think? I thought that you discerning science and philosophy types here could have a good ole chin-wag about the Kalam Cosmological Argument, about something from nothing, and about beginnings to universes,,,

New Book: The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom

Highlighted in this new book are even more liars for Jesus. To see other examples click on the tag "Liars for Jesus" below. No wonder I say even if Christianity is true no reasonable person should ever believe it since Christians themselves have destroyed its credibility, and I'm dead serious. Our lesson today, boys and girls, comes from the new book by Dr. Candida Moss, The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom.

In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors.

According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity’s inspirational heroes, are still venerated today.

Moss, however, exposes that the “Age of Martyrs” is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches.

About Dr. Candide Moss:

57 Behaviorial Biases That Make Us Think Irrationally

Here are 57 behavioral biases that we all have to some degree. I commend everyone to look through them all. Take your time. Consider each one of them. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We human beings do not think or act all that rationally. So we need to check what we think against objective tests, scientific ones. No wonder believers object to science in those rare areas that go against their faith. It's because they do not wish to test their faiths objectively, preferring their subjective, private cognitive biases, just as other believers do in other faiths. They will even turn this back on us with the all too common "you too" fallacy: "Hey you don't believe because you have these biases too!" Listen up. I know I'm not all that rational as a human being. But recognizing this fact, just as an alcoholic who admits he's an alcoholic, is the first step towards change. Once we admit we all have these biases, the only thing left to do is to check what we think against objective tests, scientific ones. What's there not to understand about this? No, really, I want to know.

On Blogging and Book Writing and Lost Sheep

There are bloggers who write daily and there are authors of books. It seems most people fall into one or the other category. I'm happy to be categorized among the people who both blog and write books. I have blogged daily for seven years and have published five books in five years. It has been a massive time consuming effort. It's been a huge uphill struggle and a giantic challenge. I've fought many battles along the way. But it's been worth it. People have asked how I find the stamina to continue on. I like Tevye's answer, said with his deep voice in The Fiddler on the Roof: "I'll tell you. I don't know." The bottom line is that I'm a passionate man. I don't listen to the naysayers when I think I'm right. I'm not afraid of failing either, especially if I think I can succeed (I have succeeded, haven't I?). ;-)

You would think that if God knew me he would find a way to keep me in the fold, just like others whom he let go. He could've done for me what he supposedly did for Moses, Gideon, Joseph (the supposed father of Jesus), James (the brother of Jesus), and Paul the Apostle. He could show me he exists without abrogating my free will, just like he did for them. Or, he could have snapped his omnipotent fingers and took away my critical thinking skills so I would continue to believe, and not do what I have done since leaving the fold. Instead, he was a shepherd who was asleep on duty, taking a whiz or something, while this lone sheep wandered off away from the fold, contrary to the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Now that's a caring shepherd, right? This scenario repeats itself daily in the lives of other sheep who leave the Christian fold and go on to argue against their former faith. If God wants believers to remain in the fold he continually keeps shooting himself in the foot. That's an intelligent thing for an all-wise God to do, right? But wait, in response to this, here come the Bible thumpers who mindlessly quote-mine from the Bible or the theology based on it, which is the opposite of actually thinking about these issues. *Sigh*

Five Stages of Grief in Losing Faith: Elizabeth Kübler-Ross Reworked

After six years of posting articles and answering comments and rebuttals from believers at DC , I’ve reworked Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief into five stages of losing faith. Depending upon a believer’s religious educational level, this process may begin as late as stage 3.

If God Can’t Save Himself, How Can He Save Others!

Upstate school board prayer tradition likely ending (With News Video)

This proves that “God” is a philosophical concept and NOT a reality!

(This is a follow-up on: Last Month's School Board Meeting)

The Catholic Church Is Lying to This Day: Was Peter the First Pope?

In the wake of Pope Benedict resigning and the desire for a new one to replace him, we need to consider the evidence that Peter was the first Pope. But as Austin Cline argues there isn't any. Given that the early Catholic Church lied with forged documents like the Donation of Constantine and the Testimonium Flavianum (inserted text into Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews concerning Jesus), any claim of theirs, including the one that the earliest disciples were martyrs for Jesus, must have evidence for it. In fact, I'll betcha in the Vatican records themselves the priests who have access to them already know Peter was not the first Pope, that there was no such office. So the Catholic Church is lying to us this very day. It's just another case of liars for Jesus, something that both Richard Carrier and I have documented before. It's never seen more clearly than in the Catholic Church cover-up of pedophile priests. All they can do is stonewall, obfuscate and lie in defense of the indefensible, whatever it takes. They have lost all credibility when it comes to their faith. None is left, none. But then that's what we see when it comes to faith in general, no matter what the religion. With faith, almost anything can be believed. With faith, people can believe without any evidence at all. With faith, people can even believe against the overwhelming evidence. In fact, with faith, people can even justify lying to defend what they need to believe. It's pathetic. Yes, it's THAT bad. I dare say that if Christians went back in time to the start-up of the early church they would almost all blast its rise as nothing more than a number of harmful pious cultic frauds, by leaders who sought power over others.

My Companion Book to Why I Became an Atheist is Now Available for Free

I have edited down my book Why I Became an Atheist: Personal Reflections and Additional Arguments,and am now making it available below for free as an ebook. I am doing this for two reasons. One is that since so many others have put good information online for free I want to pay it back so to speak. The other reason is that I am convinced it makes good business sense. Think of it as a pay what you want system, but where you don't have to pay a thing to get it. I’m hoping you’ll donate whatever the book is worth to you (or my work in general). No matter how little or how much, here's your chance. Regardless, I’d be happy if you read my book, like it, and tell others about it along with my work in general.

You can get the pdf Right Here. Happy reading. If you wish, you can donate by using the PayPal button:

I have no institutional financial support for what I do on a daily basis. Thanks in advance for reading my work and for your donations, should you choose to do so. A big hearty grateful THANKS goes out to the few who have done so over the years.

Christians, I Truly Hope You Think Your Faith is Certain and Factually True

With my recent activity on Facebook I have roused a few of my Christian friends there. They liked a Loftus who was basically dormant for a few years so we could be friends. But since I've been active lately I'm getting some push-back. Okay. One of them was a student at Great Lakes Christian College, the one I graduated from in 1977. He reminded me of this as if that means anything. Well it does. Many of these friends of mine usually start out by asking me to remember this past of mine. The fact is that I do. So here's what I wrote:

Satan Now Using the Police to Arrest Bible Believing – God Fearing Pastors!

Upstate pastor suspended from church after allegedly beating daughter (Wait for news video to load)

Don't withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with a rod, he won't die. (Proverbs 23: 13)