My New Book Went to Print Today! "Here It Comes"

My latest anthology was just sent off to be printed! Thanks to everyone who contributed or helped in one way or another. The following clip from "The Wrath of Khan" expresses my thoughts as I ponder the impact of this new anthology titled, Christianity in the Light of Science: Critically Examining the World's Largest Religion (to be labelled CLS).



No violence is intended. It's purely metaphorical. We do battle against ideas. For a look at the front and back covers see below.

Sir_Russ On Confidence In Science

Kenneth Winsmann is a Roman Catholic who does not have a science degree, much less one in neuroscience. But he seems to think he can solve the problem of metaphysical free will for his faith. You see, his is a faith seeking understanding. He already has faith. Now he's seeking data. He's in confirmation bias mode. So he'll reject science whenever needed to confirm what he believes. Now I don't mind having a respectful discussion. I prefer it actually. But when someone repeatedly and knowingly rejects science then he needs a swift kick in the butt. Enter Sir_Russ:

Kenneth,
Those of us who place our confidence in science do so knowing that every single time science and religion have been at odds, it is science which has been correct. Not just once or twice. Not just the majority of the time. No, it's every single time. All those thousands of Christianities, including that inhuman horror story which is your personal favorite [i.e., Catholicism], have been wrong each and every time they have conflicted with science. It's exactly as if the religious people are just making shit up to suit their own purposes, controlling you emotionally and financially, for instance.

Who knows how many times some religious somebody or other has pronounced some dumbass religious notion to be true -- geocentrism, demon possession being real, witches, demon possession being the cause of disease (which your house of holy horseshit, Roman Catholicism, still endorses), and so much more -- only to have science show it for the ignorance-loving lie that it is despite all those deep insights having been revealed to some cleric, frequently some Roman Catholic elitist bit of scum, by the Creator of the Universe. Who knows?

It makes good sense for everyone with a normal functioning brain to give Christianity, and all the other religions, a fully erect middle finger and a hearty "fuck you" as they walk away. Ignorance, superstition, and barbarism do not deserve to be supported by anyone.

And, anyone who supports an enterprise which has shown itself to ALWAYS be wrong on the facts is a complete fool.

Just Another Reminder About the Need to Overcome Confirmation Bias

LINK. I've argued that the only way to overcome confirmation bias when it comes to religious diversity is to test one's faith by the outsider test. What's a better alternative and how can that alternative solve this problem? If you think there's a better alternative, please, do tell.

Robert Conner, Christianity’s Critics: The Romans Meet Jesus, Part 7

Robert Conner studied Greek, Hebrew, some Aramaic and even Coptic back in the mid-70's at Western Kentucky University. He's written nine books, including Jesus the Sorcerer, The Secret Gospel of Mark and Magic in Christianity, as well as a number of articles and essays. If you want a primer on what the earliest critics of Christianity had to say about this new cult then I'm publishing an essay he wrote in several parts, with approval. This is the final part, number 7. To get up to speed follow this tag.

There is no ghost in the machine

In neuroscience, few single discoveries have the ability to stay news for long. However, in the aggregate, all lead to the emergence of perhaps the greatest developing news story: the widespread understanding that human thought and behavior are the products of biological processes. There is no ghost in the machine. In the public sphere, this understanding is dawning. LINK.

Anslem’s Ontological Argument Revisited

Anselm’s argument:

(1) On the assumption that that than which nothing greater can be conceived is only in a mind, something greater can be conceived, because
(2) Something greater can be thought to exist in reality as well.
(3) The assumption is therefore contradictory: either there is no such thing even in the intellect, or it exists also in reality;
(4) But it does exist in the mind of the fool, or doubter;
(5) Therefore that than which nothing greater can be conceived exists in reality as well as in the mind.

The 10 Worst Old Testament Verses by Dan Barker

There are so many to choose from. LINK. I would add two stories, the Levite and his Concubine (Judges 19-21) and Two Adulterous Sisters (Ezekiel 23). Dan is the author of the recently released book, God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction. It's really good.

Robert Conner, Christianity’s Critics: The Romans Meet Jesus, Part 6

Robert Conner studied Greek, Hebrew, some Aramaic and even Coptic back in the mid-70's at Western Kentucky University. He's written nine books, including Jesus the Sorcerer, The Secret Gospel of Mark and Magic in Christianity, as well as a number of articles and essays. If you want a primer on what the earliest critics of Christianity had to say about this new cult then I'm publishing an essay he wrote in several parts, with approval. This is Part 6. To get up to speed follow this tag.

Hemant Mehta On Mocking Religion

Karen Gorder Garst: Why Every Woman Knows Her Body Was NOT the Creation of an Intelligent Designer

This is an excellent essay by Dr. Garst. She writes concerning childbirth, the menstrual cycle, clitoris, and breasts. Here's a money quote concerning childbirth:

"The reason for the pain in childbirth is understandable with a quick lesson in evolution. When our ancestors started to walk upright, the shape of the pelvis began to change to accommodate a walking gait. Specifically, a narrower pelvis developed. Over hundreds of thousands of years, human brains gradually became more complex and grew bigger to accommodate a higher level of intelligence. The coincidence of these two changes resulted in a baby with a larger head being delivered through a narrower pelvis. Pain, therefore, results as the mother pushes a bigger baby through a smaller opening. (Today, where a child cannot be delivered through this opening, a caesarean section must be performed.)" LINK.

At the end of her essay Garst recommends a book I blurbed which was written by Dr. Abby Hafer, The Not-So-Intelligent Designer: Why Evolution Explains the Human Body and Intelligent Design Does Not. Hafer wrote a chapter for my soon to be released anthology Christianity in the Light of Science: Critically Examining the World's Largest Religion. Garst wrote a blurb for that anthology. There, that about covers everything. ;-) Enjoy. Go read it. Now. Read and learn.

Michael Moore On His New Film "Where to Invade Next"

I've recommended this film before right here. He sent out fundraising email saying you'll get a free DVD of it if you send the progressive MoveOn organization 27 bucks. Here's what he said about his film:

My latest film, "Where to Invade Next," comes out on DVD today!

OK, let me tell you a little about the film—and why I think it's a great fit for MoveOn members like you and me. "Where to Invade Next" is, as one critic pointed out, my “most dangerous and subversive film.”

You Don't Need a PhD to Criticize Religion

Hemant Mehta nails this subject. It goes right along with what I'm writing in my book Unapologetic: Why Philosophy of Religion Must End. The full text of his talk can be found below.

Robert Conner, Christianity’s Critics: The Romans Meet Jesus, Part 5

Robert Conner studied Greek, Hebrew, some Aramaic and even Coptic back in the mid-70's at Western Kentucky University. He's written nine books, including Jesus the Sorcerer, The Secret Gospel of Mark and Magic in Christianity, as well as a number of articles and essays. If you want a primer on what the earliest critics of Christianity had to say about this new cult then I'm publishing an essay he wrote in several parts, with approval. This is Part 5. To get up to speed follow this tag.

Animated map shows how religion spread around the world

Here's how five major world religions spread. If you look into it you'll find they spread by conquest. That's a nice way to get people to believe, isn't it? Those of us raised in a particular culture are taught to believe what was forced on our ancestors by killing and the threat of sword. You believe what you were taught to believe and that's it.

CLS Is A #1 New Release

We are officially in the proofreading stage. It won't be long now. Get it today.

Galileo, The Bible, and Science

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

I have published a newspaper column on "Galileo, the Bible, and Science." May 26 will mark the 400th anniversary of a "Certificate" issued to Galileo by Robert Cadinal Bellarmine, who warned him not to hold or defend the idea that the earth revolves around the sun. Galileo was tried in 1633 for violating that injunction. The fact that the Church thought that heliocentrism was wrong has been one of its greatest challenges in history. After all, if it was so wrong on something so basic about how our cosmos works, then why should it be trusted on anything it teaches?
  

Robert Conner, Christianity’s Critics: The Romans Meet Jesus, Part 4

Robert Conner studied Greek, Hebrew, some Aramaic and even Coptic back in the mid-70's at Western Kentucky University. He's written nine books, including Jesus the Sorcerer, The Secret Gospel of Mark and Magic in Christianity, as well as a number of articles and essays. If you want a primer on what the earliest critics of Christianity had to say about this new cult then I'm publishing an essay he wrote in several parts, with approval. This is Part 4. To get up to speed follow this tag.

The Introduction To My Last Book, "Unapologetic"

Introduction

This will probably be the last book I’ll write on the topic of religion. I think I’ve said all I need to say. I’ve kicked this dead rodent of the Christian faith into a lifeless blob so many times there is nothing left of it. Mine has been a publishing career that stretches back ten years and ends with this, my tenth book.

An Interview With Progressive Spirit About My Book "How to Defend the Christian Faith"

LINK.

Bernie's Full Speech Today In Fort Wayne, Indiana

Watch it! Become informed. Vote for him. He's what we need in America.

Do you know who is the biggest welfare recipient? It's the Walton family, owners of Walmart. Keep in mind their net worth is 149 billion dollars. They own more wealth than the bottom 40% of the people in America. But they don't pay their employees a decent wage so many of them have to get food stamps and depend on Medicare to the tune of $3 billion dollars a year. You know who pays for that? The taxpayer.

We learned this today from Bernie. We need Bernie! Now! He will make the filthy rich pay their fair share. We're tired of supporting them. Right? Right!

Raymond D. Bradley's Book "God's Gravediggers" is Fantastic

Raymond D. Bradley's book "God's Gravediggers: Why No Deity Exists", is a fantastic philosophical work showing what many of us already knew, that there is about a zero chance for any deity's existence. Bradley, Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, Simon Fraser University, former head of Philosophy Dept, University of Auckland, and now retired and living in New Zealand, tells us of God's gravediggers. Who are they? Bradley forcefully argues that they are logic, science and morality. For there is no good reason, no good evidence and no goodness itself in believing in God.

But wait? Haven't we heard of God's death before, from Nietzsche and many others? And isn't he/she/it still alive as a concept in the minds of millions of believers? Yes. But he's really dead. Believers just don't know it yet. As I will argue in my upcoming book, Unapologetic: Why Philosophy of Religion Must End, just like Norm Bates in the Hitchcock thriller Psycho, who continued believing his mother was still alive when she was dead, so also believers have propped up a dead God upstairs in a rocking chair and believe he's alive and talks to them too. I say good riddance.

This book of Bradley's is one I compare to the late Michael Martin's book, "The Case Against Christianity" (1995). I highly recommend them both, although I prefer "God's Gravedigger" since Bradley shares his own personal journey in it, and since he interacts with current literature. LINK.

The Kindle Edition of "God or Godless" On Sale for Just 99 Cents!

There's no excuse now. Get it!

Robert Price's Debate Opener Against William Lane Craig Eviscerates Craig's Apologetics

Robert M. Price's debate opener against William Lane Craig was so good that Craig could only respond by using that which Price had already eviscerated to make his case! He mainly responded by appealing to the majority of scholars and the text of the Bible.

The Last Sermon Atheist John W. Loftus Ever Preached

This sermon was delivered on February 15th 1998, at the Fairview Missionary Church in Angola, Indiana, for Laity Sunday. I was not an atheist at the time. I was a liberal in an evangelical church who was about to become an agnostic in just a few months. After reading a passage in Exodus about Moses, I said: "Moses was perhaps the greatest figure in the Old Testament." I used the word "figure" intentionally. At the time I believed Moses was largely a fictionalized character, a "figure" that we could learn important lessons about living, as I did about some of the other characters I mentioned from the Bible. I remember thinking I didn't say anything I didn't believe. But that didn't mean I thought the story about Moses or the others were actually true.

Valerie Tarico On How Religion Can Be As Addictive As Heroin and How It Should Be Treated

This is another fine essay by Valerie Tarico. Here's a quote​ with the link:

In the end, the issue of whether religion is addictive for you comes down to similar questions to the ones you might ask yourself about your drug use: Has your religion eaten your life? Does it feel freely chosen or compulsive (and how would you know)? What are the good things about it? And what price are you or others around you paying for the good stuff you get? LINK.