God as an Abstraction, Squeezed out from our World and Universe

I thought I would repost this since it centres around John's excellent book.

Whilst on holiday I finished reading John Loftus’ The Outsider Test for Faith which I greatly enjoyed and will be reviewing in a short while. There is much to talk about within the pages, not least some of the excellent quotes he has gathered from other writers which he uses to defend his own positions on various topics.

Quote of the Day, by EvolutionKills

We cannot allow the divine or the supernatural because it is not observable, measurable, quantifiable, repeatable, or objectively verifiable. We can't test it, study it, or falsify it. It is for all intents and purposes MAGIC, which is precisely NOT SCIENCE.

But let's say we ignore all of that and allow 'magic'. Why should we allow the 'magic' of Yahweh or trust in the 'magic' of the story of Genesis, over the creation myths of any other god in human history? How can you tell which 'magic' explanation is more accurate, if you can never measure, observe, or verify magic ever? Because then we're back at square one, in an unending game of he-said-she-said, and with no way to determine who is right. It's all a push.

Or, we can accept that science has a proven history of working and figuring shit out, unlike magical explanations. Science, it works bitches. LINK.

The Problem with Religious Faith: "It's Indistinguishable From a Con."

A comment here from Stephen argues that "At the beginning of every mythology, every cult, every religion in history, is a con-artist who figured out how to sell a racket so that he could get rich while doing "god's work.'" [Full Text below] I think this can be shown with regard to L. Ron Hubbard and the rise of Scientology, as well with Joseph Smith and the rise of Mormonism. In my book WIBA, I argued that the empty tomb story probably started with the Gospel of Mark, who was a liar for Jesus. Don't think so? Think again. In fact, liars for Jesus abound.

Do Christians Really Believe in an Afterlife?

This YouTube clip is at the end of one in which Lawrence Krauss exposes William Lane Craig for misrepresenting him at best. Look at the clip (from 7:50 to 8:23) and comment on whether Christian believers really think they will see their dead loved ones again. Link.

My Response to Ken Ham About My Creation Museum Visit

The number one post of mine in over seven years, with over 14 thousand hits to date, is "An Atheist Visits the Creation Museum in Kentucky And Tells All." The hits came from (in descending order) The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, Reddit/atheism, and Dr. James McGrath's blog post Cowboys and Dragons. McGrath, an Associate Professor of Religion at Butler University, Indianapolis, wrote this:

Answers in Genesis is not defending the Christian faith, it is turning it into something that can be easily ridiculed and dismissed. The real enemies of the Christian faith in our time are not atheists who respond by offering such well-deserved ridicule, but those who distort Christianity into belief in dragons, substituting that in the place of self-sacrificial love, humility, and service to others.

McGrath also posted what he calls the cutest response to creationism.

Now Ken Ham has responded in a post of his own (which I'll link to at the end, unlike him). He claims I was unethical and visited under false pretenses, saying:

What is Inherent to Christianity That Isn't to Atheism? Hypocrisy

When I was a student at Bob Jones University in 1971, I took the American Red Cross’ Senior Lifesaving course.  One major factor that we were immediately made aware of that could cost a Life Guard his or her life was that a panicked drowning person would grab hold of anything on the surface to save their own life, even if it meant forcing under and drowning an untrained rescuer as the victim attempted to safe their own life.

Richard Carrier Reviews "The End of Christianity"

This is an older post I'm updating [from 7/31/11]. I was made to realize I haven't said much about this important book when on Facebook Luiz Claudio Weiss recently wrote: "John Loftus's chapter called 'Christianity is Wildly Improbable' in The End of Christianityis a classic in my opinion." That's pretty cool. There are several chapters in it that alone are worth the price of the book. Richard Carrier wrote:

"The Christian Delusion was an awesome book. The End of Christianityis even better. Indeed, I think the two volumes together amount to a decisive refutation of Christianity. A bona fide litmus test. No rational person can read both volumes and not walk away a skeptic." Link

According to Restaurant Workers, After Church Christians are the Worst to Serve

I often eat at our local restaurants in the Greenville areas such as Cracker Barrel, Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday, K&W Cafeteria and others several times a week where, as time permits, I usually have a book on Biblical textual criticism, ancient Near Eastern studies or, when I get tired that genre of study, I’m reading electronics. 

An Atheist Visits the Creation Museum in Kentucky And Tells All

Yesterday I walked through Ken Ham's Creation Museum in Kentucky. Without a doubt he is fitting the data into the grid of the Bible. I saw a 5 minute video where he takes the literal view that the earth existed before the stars. That is an extreme case of what I see other Christian apologists doing. It's the same thing though. They say whatever it takes to maintain their faith. Just like Ham fits the data into the grid of Genesis so do they with regard to the Bible as a whole. Ham would at least be honest about what he's doing. Others don't, or more likely, they are too blinded by faith to know they're doing the same thing. All it takes to believe is to ignore the objective facts, the facts of science. The power of the delusion is that strong. It requires Christians to deny science in favor of what some pre-scientific people wrote in an ancient set of canonized books, even though they accept the results of science in every other area except when it conflicts with their pre-scientific book!

Atheism Sighting in Mainstream Entertainment: Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black is an original comedy/drama series produced by Netflix, and based on the real-life experiences of Piper Kerman. Kerman spent 13 months in a women’s prison because of her involvement, years earlier, with a heroin dealer.

What is of special interest to readers of the DC blog, is this gem of a scene in which the lead character declares her atheism:

Two Places Where St. Paul’s Theology Totally Contradicts The Gospel of Matthew’s Credibility

Christians who accept the Bible (especially the New Testament) as an inspired text will have to deal with the fact that there are some major problems between St. Paul’s view of history and the Gospel of Matthew’s view of historical events.   Ironically, the dogmatic historical certainly of Paul and that of the First Gospel puts yet another nail into the coffin of Christian absolute truth and its holy theology.

Some Humiliating Reviews of the Book "God or Godless"

The book "God or Godless" isn't doing too well right now, even after the free promotion on July 1st and subsequent reduction of price through the month of July. The paperback on Amazon is ranked almost 600,00th, whereas the Kindle version is ranked 150,000th. In Canada it's doing better but not that well. I think it's because of the reviews. For the life of me I cannot understand why potential buyers place more weight on reviews by no-names over the blurbs written by credentialed scholars, but they do. Here are two humiliating reviews of the book on Amazon:

On Debating Christian Theism

A new book is available where atheists are given a voice against Christian apologists. Debating Christian Theism looks very good.It's edited by J. P. Moreland, Khaldoun A. Sweis, and Chad V. Meister. Check it out for yourselves. I've added it to my Amazon wish list.

[Edit: This debate book gives me the idea for a similar one on the historical evidence for Christianity. I'm going to think seriously about it. I need a Christian scholar to co-edit it with me. What topics would you like to see debated? Who would you recommend to write chapters for it on both sides?]

Tonight I'll Be in the Cincinnati, OH, Area

Come see me if you can. LINK.

Asherah, the Israelite Goddess

This is a follow-up post to the BBC Documentary When God Was A Girl, which showed many ancient cultures believed in goddesses and thought of the divine as female. It was no different with the Israelite religion.

When God Was a Girl: A BBC Documentary

Historian Bettany Hughes visits a world where goddesses ruled the heavens and earth, and reveals why our ancestors thought of the divine as female. Traveling across the Mediterranean and the Near East, Bettany goes to remote places, where she encounters fearsome goddesses who controlled life and death. And she ends up in modern-day India, where the goddess is still a powerful force for thousands of Hindus. Immersing herself in the excitement of the Durga Puja festival, Bettany experiences goddess worship first-hand, and finds out what the goddess means to her devotees.

See below:

A Rare Interview With Atheist George H. Smith

George H. Smith is the author of the popular and influential book, Atheism - The Case Against God.



Go to YouTube and click on "Show more" to watch the other three parts.

My Interview With NonTheology

The topics we covered are listed for you to see, especially the Outsider Test for Faith. We had some fun. Enjoy.

What's Wrong With the Minimal Facts Approach to Claims Jesus was Resurrected?

Dr. James East weighs in. Check it out!

Debate: Does the God of Christianity Exist? Max Andrews vs. Justin Schieber

To listen to this hour and forty-five minute debate see Justin's Reasonable Doubts podcast. To read a transcript of the debate see Max Andrews's site, where he says, "I was actually expecting much stronger arguments from Mr. Schieber." Max is intelligent, I'll grant him that. However, he reminds me once again of what Dr. Stephen Law wrote: “Anything based on faith, no matter how ludicrous, can be made to be consistent with the available evidence, given a little patience and ingenuity.” [Believing Bullshit: How Not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole.](p. 75). If I were debating Max I would relentlessly attack the source of his faith in the Bible, which he treasures so much. I've written about this before. The reader can see how I actually do this in God or Godless?: One Atheist. One Christian. Twenty Controversial Questions.This method of disabusing Christians of their faith is known as applying Hume's Stopper. It is a direct frontal attack against any possibility of deriving a natural theology from the unsolved mysteries of the universe. You can also see how I do it in my recent debate with Randal Rauser based on our book. [Here is the transcript of my opening statement]. Other than that, Justin did a good enough job with the arguments he chose to use. I just think there are more powerful arguments, that's all. Kudos to Justin are deserved nonetheless. Max was a strong opponent in bullshit. ;-)

Did God Shoot Himself In the Foot, or What?

Do you ever wonder, seriously wonder, why it takes so many Christian apologists to defend their faith with a multitude of books, essays, lectures and debates? It's as if God has left the one true faith into their hands such that, without them, people would believe differently. C.S. Lewis said good philosophy must exist because bad philosophy needs to be answered. Okay. But why did the Christian God make it so hard to defend his one true faith against so many thoughtful and serious objections to the contrary? No, really. It's as if God shot himself in the foot and these apologists are called upon to heal his self-inflicted wound. This makes no sense at all, none.

Two New Books on the Historicity of Jesus by Richard Carrier and Robert Price

Robert Price recently put out the Kindle book, The Historical Bejeezus.It looks really good. Despite the title it's a serious work of scholarship. Richard Carrier has written a comprehensive work to be published by a major academic press specializing in biblical studies, Sheffield-Phoenix, the publishing house of the University of Sheffield (UK). Read what he says about it right here. Major kudos to Richard for this wonderful accomplishment! I heard him give the following talk and say that if this book documents his claims it'll convince many people Jesus probably didn't exist:

Leading Talk Radio Conservative Dennis Prager Shows His Ignorance of Biblical Scholarship

This five minute YouTube video is but one of a number of "courses" presented to refute atheists and to educate social and religious conservatives by one of the newest leaders in Conservative Talk Radio; Dennis Prager.  Prager has started his free online Prager University to counter liberal views especially those of his alma mater; Columbia University.

Neuroscience is Destroying the Notions of Free Will, Sin and Salvation by Faith

Neuroscience is making it extremely difficult for believers to still claim that by freely choosing to believe we are saved (or condemned), that we freely choose to sin, or that there is a wrathful God who will judge us on the last day. Case in point, girls and boys, are the following two essays, the last of which I will quote from. The first is Grandma’s Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes. Now for the second one, "The Brain on Trial." [Be sure to read this essay at least as far as the highlighted money quote in red!].

Reza Aslan Interviewed on Fox News About His New Book, "Zealot"

Reza Aslan, a religious scholar with a Ph.D. in the sociology of religion from the University of California, and author of the #1 ranked Amazon book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,went on Fox News to promote it only to asked ignorant questions by Lauren Green.

While I think Reza Aslan went overboard in stressing his credentials and scholarship, this was an ignorant Fox News interview by an ignorant person who asked several ignorant questions, and who quoted from ignorant reviewers. Just once I'd like Fox News to interview William Lane Craig in the same antagonistic way by questioning his credentials, by saying his books are controversial, by asking how his books could be accurate since he's biased for Jesus, and by quoting from a scholar who said his claims have been abandoned and refuted a long time ago (which is true). While I think Aslan was allowed to get the message of his book out, this interview was surrounded by way too much irrelevant noise. Aslan said it best: "I do think it's perhaps a little bit strange that rather than debate the arguments of the book we are debating the right of the scholar to actually write it." I just wish Aslan would be consistent by examining his own Muslim faith-based claims with the same level of skepticism he now applies to the Christian faith he rejects. LINK.