Is Randal Rauser Impervious to Reason?

I have said this about Rauser before. See the definition at left? I could say it of any Christian to some degree, depending on how close he or she is to the truth (liberals are closer than progressive evangelicals who are closer than fundamentalists). Well is he?


Every claim is context dependent. I admit Rauser reasons well in other areas of his life unrelated to his faith. He could even teach a critical thinking class. So he's rational, very much so. But like other Christians he is not rational to believe or defend Christianity because it is not true. When it comes to Christianity he is a believer. Like all believers his brain must basically shut down when it comes to faith. When it comes to faith his brain must disengage. It cannot connect the dots. It refuses to connect them. Faith stops the brain from working properly. Faith is a cognitive bias that causes a believer to overestimate any confirming evidence and underestimate any disconfirming evidence. So his brain will not let reason penetrate it given his faith bias. Some people have even described faith as a virus of the brain (or mind). It makes the brain sick. Maybe Marx said it best though. It's an opiate, a deadening drug.

Jerry Coyne On "Are There Other Ways of Gaining Knowledge Apart From Science?"

This is a good discussion. See what you think.

The Best Robert Ingersoll Site Online

As some of you know, my friend Julian Haydon has provided me with some gems from the mouth of Robert Ingersoll to post (just click on the tag below to read them). Now he has developed what I consider the best site on Ingersoll. If you click around you'll see what some important people said about him, a biography, and a fully indexed list of his complete works. Take a good look. This agnostic was truly a great man, a genius. LINK

Can God Exist if Yahweh Doesn't?

My Book WIBA Was Found in an Airport Bookstore

When I was in Canada recently, Randal Rauser and I were discussing what indicators we look for to know our books are doing well. One such indicator is whether they can be found in an airport bookstore. The reason is because these stores have limited space, so books must sell well to be put on the shelves. And since people usually do more reading when flying, a book in one of these stores will sell more often. So after publishing a book or two I began looking for my books in these stores. But I never found one. I even stopped looking. Well, I received a message from a friend on Facebook, and guess what? I've now arrived. It's there. My book WIBA was found in not just any airport either. It was found in a bookstore at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. I was furthermore flattered by what this person said of it:

Professor Keith Parsons Advocates Ridicule

He advocates this as one response to fundamentalism. He writes:

“A single belly-laugh is worth a thousand syllogisms” said H.L. Mencken. Fundamentalism and fundamentalists should be ridiculed in the media, by comedians, or wherever. You don’t have to worry about fairness, since, as Poe’s Law famously notes, no satire can possibly be more absurd than the real thing. Come on. You just can’t come up with anything more ridiculous than someone who honestly thinks that all human woes stem from an incident in which a talking snake accosted a naked woman in a primeval garden and talked her into eating a piece of fruit. Again, most ridicule would consist of pointedly drawing attention to what they really believe. Nothing could be fairer than that. As a sign admonished on The Simpsons, put the fun back in fundamentalism. Laugh it to death. LINK.

It's not just the so-called "new atheists" like Richard Dawkins, Bill Maher and PZ Myers who advocate ridicule. I do too. So does Richard Carrier, as does Stephen Law. Keep in mind we don't advocate this as the only response.

Do Objective Unchanging Moral Facts Exist?

I have difficulty applying the word "fact" to morals. Morality is clearly not a fact in the same sense that a rock is a fact. A fact is something that exists for everyone. If, for instance, some people with good vision can see a rock directly in front of them and others with good vision cannot see it, then whatever is in front of them is not a fact. If morality is a fact then where does it exist? Presumably the theist will say it exists in the mind of God, their God. But clearly God does not abide by the same standard of morality he demands of human beings. For instance, God can kill people, whereas if we did, it would be murder. God can send people to hell, whereas if any judge punished any criminal for any crime like this, it wouldn't be considered just. God can sit by and do nothing while people drown, but if we did the same thing it would be considered criminal, especially if all we had to do was press a button to save them. So we have two moralities, one for God and one for everyone else. Is morality a fact if there can be two of them?

The Debate Audio With Randal Rauser is Now Available

This audio is from the first night in Calgary at Renfrew Baptist Church. Download it then open it in Quick Time, or some other related media you have access to. Enjoy. A video of our debate from the last night is forthcoming.

Canadian Amazon Ranking for "Why I Became an Atheist"

When I said earlier that the Canadian debate tour with Randal Rauser was very successful, here's some proof. Just look at the ranking of my book, WIBA, as of today:

Christian/Theistic Critiques of the Kalam Cosmological Argument

Jeffery Jay Lowder recently linked to two Christian, yes Christian critiques of William Lane Craig's Kalam Cosmological Argument. One is by Calum Miller and the other by Danny Faulkner. They join Wes Morriston, a theist, in arguing against it. Looks like the Kalam cannot survive the progress of science and the reasoning based on it. I thereby declare it to be dead.

The Canadian Debate Tour with Randal Rauser Was Very Successful

After having met Randal Rauser and laughed together I now consider him a friend. We've had some harsh words in the past but there is nothing like actually meeting people to realize that they are people. I think this was a good lesson and one I wish others could recognize, whether it's atheists debating other atheists, Christians debating other Christians, atheists and Christians debating each other, or anyone else who debates online. Randal wrote the book, You're Not As Crazy As I Think: Dialogue in a World of Loud Voices and Hardened Opinions, which I positively reviewed on Amazon. His book should serve a reminder that just because we disagree, the other side isn't crazy. Atheists, for instance, need to make a distinction that although faith is irrational, people like Randal are not irrational. It's a tough distinction to make and maintain, but we should try as best as we can, even though it can be very difficult.

This is just one of a few reasons I think the God or Godless debate tour, graciously sponsored by Taylor Seminary in Edmonton, Canada, was very successful. Let me comment then on my trip.

Counter-Apologist On Why Bother Reading the Book "God or Godless"

I think that even if one is firmly convinced on the subject, we should always search for the truth no matter what side you’re on. That means listening to what the other side has to say, especially if you’ve not heard it before.

As an atheist I think Randal is pretty good in terms of apologists specifically because he has such nuanced views on traditional objections that would cause a lot of doubts with Christianity. Similarly, in “God or Godless” he doesn’t go for the “standard” arguments you’re likely to hear if you watch formal debates with the usual apologists. Sure he’s got some version of the cosmological argument in there, but his presentation of it is not what you’d expect. I still think he’s wrong in these cases, but it’s nice to see a few new things thrown out there.

Loftus is similarly in very good form, he hits the major issues that should cause Christians to doubt their faith, which forces Randal to espouse his more nuanced views. In my opinion, if all we atheists could achieve was to move mainstream Christianity in line with Randal’s interpretations of hell, biblical slavery, and commandments of genocide, then the world will be better off for it.

Still, Loftus’s stated goal was to drive a wedge between what Christians believe versus what the bible actually says and he does a great job there. Randal is forced to provide rationalizations to square some basic version of Christianity with the problematic areas of the bible in terms of atrocities and failed prophecies.

Randal patches the theological holes admirably, but Loftus’s goal is to introduce enough doubt to get the believer to take The Outsider Test for Faithwhich I think is a great way to convince believers to become an atheist. LINK.

Why I Am An Atheist, My Statement vs Dr. Rauser

This week I have been in Canada debating/discussing atheism vs Christianity with Dr. Randal Rauser. He and I co-wrote the book God or Godless?: One Atheist. One Christian. Twenty Controversial Questions.Here is my 20 minute statement on "Why I Am An Atheist." It took me over forty years to write it since it's based on all that I've learned in that time. See what you think. I'll be traveling home tomorrow.

An Update On My Debates With Randal Rauser

I have found Randal Rauser to be a gracious man who is fun to be around. He's a great guy, and extremely intelligent, although I think he's defending the indefensible. In our personal conversations he shows no signs of doubt. Nonetheless, I should say something about his views. He's less wrong than most other evangelicals and that's a good thing. He seems to be almost exactly where I was in about the year 1994. In some ways I hope he succeeds in helping other evangelicals understand that evolution is a fact, that at best the doctrine of Hell means the unsaved will be annihilated (describing himself even as a "hopeful universalist"), that the early Genesis creation accounts are myths, and that believers can accept some measure of higher criticism of the Old Testament. Again, this represents the same views I held on my road to unbelief. Rauser thinks that if evangelicals can be taught these same views from the get-go they won't so easily be led away from their faith later in life, especially when going to college. Okay. My prediction is that he's pushing evangelicals one step closer to unbelief. Since I think that's true, as a pragmatist, I hope his type of progressive evangelicalism becomes predominate among evangelicals, even though I think it doesn't go far enough. He's one step closer to the truth, and I welcome it.

The Edmonton Journal Covers the Loftus-Rauser Debates

Check it out.

Mind Games Christians Play: I’m Being Persecuted

It’s not uncommon to hear American evangelical Christians complaining bitterly that they are being persecuted. The circle-the-wagons, us-against-the-world mentality is a tool which religious leaders have frequently used to rally the faithful and whip up a frenzy of righteous indignation, so it’s not surprising that the sheep have bought into this oft-repeated lie. This mindset is bolstered by the biblical admonitions of Jesus and Paul that true believers will suffer persecution, and of course confirmation bias kicks in to prove them right.

The real mind game consists in the fact that these ‘beleaguered’ believers manage to convince themselves of this, while simultaneously persecuting those who they despise. They complain about people being intolerant of Christian beliefs, all the while, preaching and railing against other religions, gays and lesbians, and of course, those damned atheists and humanists. They warn about the dangers of Islam, and Sharia law, while attempting to force their particular religion and god into government, the judicial system, and schools, every chance they get.

Essentially, the fuzziness of the fundamentalist Christian mind allows them to simultaneously play the roles of both victim and oppressor.

Iowa Biblical Scholars Issue Statement on the One-Man-One-Woman Claim

In light of an imminent Supreme Court decision on two cases involving gay marriage issues, the influential The Des Moines Register today published what may be an academic landmark statement, at least in our state of Iowa. 

Biblical scholars from all three regents universities in Iowa published a joint statement challenging the popular claim that the only acceptable definition of biblical marriage is that between one man and one woman.  An appeal to the Bible has been endemic among those who oppose gay marriage. This is the first time that biblical scholars from all three major state universities in Iowa have joined together to issue such a statement.  See Statement.

The co-authors of this statement are Dr. Hector Avalos, Professor of Religious Studies at Iowa State University, Dr. Robert Cargill, Assistant Professor of religious studies at The University of Iowa, and Dr. Kenneth Atkinson, Associate Professor of History at The University of Northern Iowa.

Such a joint statement may mark a new emphasis on activist biblical scholarship that seeks to go beyond writing only for academic publications that the general public rarely reads. Academic biblical studies can be more relevant when it can educate the public and refute misinformed views on the Bible that are often used to enact social policies.

Iowa has been a leader in the use of faculty statements in the past, including during the Intelligent Design controversies at Iowa State University in 2005 and 2007 (see Intelligent Design Controversy). Iowa is also one of the first states to legalize gay marriage.

Could Anyone Tell Me Why the Race Ethics In This Sign Would Be Unbiblical?

Quote of the Day, by Kel

This is what really confuses me about believers. Are you gullible in everything, or only in things that fit your religious conviction? And I ask this with the utmost sincerity. Because an account of the dead rising from their graves and walking around sounds like something out of a bad horror film (see Matthew 27:51-54). I'm not even sure how you can call such a belief possible, let alone say it's not unreasonable. Believing something like that is the very definition of an unreasonable belief! I'm really confused as to how you could possibly defend such a passage as historical without having to throw out any pretence of having a reasonable account of history.

Randal Rauser Debunks Deconversion Stories

One thing about Rauser is that he's willing to take on atheists, and it seems he has no fear. So he's asking atheists why they don't believe and then he analyses those reasons. Guess what? He finds them all insufficient. See for yourself with three non-believers: 1) Justin Schieber; 2) Counter Apologist; and 3) Edward Babinski. I've already weighed in on what makes for a good reason for non-belief. It's called the "Argument from Ignorance" where I argue there isn't a bad personal reason to reject Christianity (seen in four parts in reverse chronological order). Maybe he'll consider my arguments? So far I don't see him doing so.

Quixtar Jesus

“Do you want to buy this cute little bear? Or how about this pretend green phone? Do you have a son? If so, he would love it!” That’s what the bearded guy next to me said. We were driving around Marbach Avenue trying to find some poor sap to buy a bunch of cheap, useless products we were peddling from a no-name, door-to-door sales company that (of course) was doomed before it began. I was the tag-along new recruit. We had no lives and this job hammered home that fact all too well. It was my first or second week of school. I still think back at how even what few products we had were too shitty to sell.

This Arrest Would Never Have Happened Under Biblical Morality and Ethics!

Puppy's mouth taped shut dies in closet: John Scott Mill arrested

“The warrant says Mill tortured, tormented and cruelly killed the Lab puppy by taping its mouth closed with electrical tape and storing it in a laundry closet on the rear porch outside the apartment on May 27, where it was deprived of food and water.”

Mind Games Christians Play: Healing Prayer

Matthew Hagee is the Executive Pastor of 19,000 member Cornerstone Church. He is also a skilled practitioner of Christian mind games.

Here is a one-minute video clip in which a viewer asks Hagee a question about praying for healing. Watch his answer, and then we’ll dissect the mind games which he employs.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8gJTCbVv2GA

Apostacon is Coming:September 20-22

I am delighted to be speaking at the Apostacon conference in Omaha, Nebraska on September 20-22, 2013. There is something for every shade of skeptic, agnostic, atheist, and just plain heretic. Other speakers include Dan Barker, David Silverman, Amanda Knief, Katherine Stewart, and Dr. Lawrence Krauss. Check it out and register soon: Apostacon.

Dr. Peter Boghossian's Book is Now Available for Pre-Order

Dr. Boghossian is a full-time faculty member in Portland State University's philosophy department. Michael Shermer wrote the Foreword to the book and it has already gained a slew of wonderful blurbs. His book is both needed and brilliant! I want every atheist to get it. Buy it now and the price will never be higher. If the price is ever lower you'll get it for that price, and you don't have to pay until it ships. Follow this link: A Manual for Creating Atheists.Do it now while you're thinking about it.