Some Mistakes of Moses By Robert Ingersoll (Continued)

First, here's a note from my friend Julian Haydon who is submitting something from Robert Ingersoll for us to read each week:

These are extracts from an 84 page paper written 1879 by Ingersoll. There were some Christians who were beginning to reject a talking serpent in favor of allegorical explanations; but there were millions who regarded every word in the Bible as holy fact. Ingersoll was contending with the latter. His tactic is to recount the story as told; drive home the clear meaning; allow the impossibilities and contradictions to speak for themselves; and draw stinging conclusions. Most of the biblical story is here omitted. Now to get to Ingersoll himself.

Dr. Matt McCormick's New Book Is Out. I Just Got My Copy!

How To Engage a Christian

Someone in my CFI online class asked me what the best strategy is for discussing faith with a Christian. What would you say? My response:

There are so many Christianities there is probably no one single way to proceed. You just have to start listening. I like to provoke at least enough doubt that they will read a book or two on it by atheists. I like to quote other Christians against each other. That has shown itself to be effective since it's not pitting their particular faith against atheism.

I like to show weaknesses in the Bible and the theology that comes from it, most notably its superstitious nature and the barbaric nature of Yahweh. My claim is that once the brain of the believer is divorced from the Bible he or she probably wouldn't believe at all.

One guy sent me a supposedly new cosmological argument for the existence of God. I responded by asking him if this is the reason he became a believer in the first place. He had to say no. So I asked him what were his initial reasons for believing in the first place, saying this question is much more important to me than anything else. He didn't like this at all. He wanted to debate this new argument of his. I asked because people who became believers in their different religions probably stated out young in their faith as taught by their parents in their respective cultures. Since the adult attitude is skepticism they ought to re-examine these reasons as an outsider or non-believer would. For if one's faith cannot be accepted by an outsider with such a perspective, then that particular God would be found condemning people for simply being born in a different culture, and that's unreasonable for a reasonable type of God.

Church Names Are Revealing

I saw a church yesterday that had this name: The Church of the True God. Yep, that was its name. Everyone else is going to hell. Church people are deluded. For the most part they all think that. This church states it with candor. Then I saw another church named "Prince of Peace Lutheran." These churches don't even know their Bibles. Exodus 15:3 "The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name."

A Major Second Temple Scholar Joins the Case Against the Existence of Jesus Christ

Did Jesus Exist?

Professor Davies is well known for his books, “In Search of "Ancient Israel: A Study in Biblical Origins” (now in its 2 edition) and his newest book, “Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History--Ancient and Modern”, Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.

Enjoy

24 Hour Youtube Atheist Marathon for Doctors Without Borders - Sept 8th 2012

The Youtube atheist community has raised over $100,000 for Doctors Without Borders over the past three years, and it is nearly time for their annual marathon.  It will take place the weekend of 8/9th September. Familiar faces will be appearing on the show including Aronra, Zomgitscriss, ProfMTH, C0nc0rdance, Matt Dillahunty, and Seth Andrews (The Thinking Atheist).  Here is DPRJones explaining how it works:

Thought For Today

“There are some people who can receive a truth by no other way than to have their understanding shocked and insulted.”

Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967)

On the Christian Doctrine of Salvation and Damnation: Fact or Faith?

We get confirmation here at DC all the time from Christians that God exists whether we atheist believe it or not! Thus, it is an affirmed fact that “God” does NOT and IS NOT based on faith . . . He exists and will judge both the good (Saved) and the bad (Damned) at the Final Judgment “according to their works:

Ockham's Razor and Christianity and why I have been scarce

I don't know if anyone has missed me, but I have become scarce around here as John, myself and the rest of the team at Skeptic Blogs have been setting up shop and getting things moving. I have migrated my old blog and revamped it over at SBs: A Tippling Philosopher. On the blog, I have guest posts from Andreas Schueler, Cody Rudisill and Aaron Adair, and accept other decent pieces from anyone else willing to contribute good sound writing to the cause.

Come join in the fun. Here is a piece I posted the other day, which I have embellished a little. Also, I hope to still contribute the odd piece here as time permits - I just thought I'd let you know what was going on.

Ockham's Razor and Christianity:

Here is a definition of Ockham’s Razor:

Ockham's Razor: the principle that entities should not be multiplied needlessly; the simplest of two competing theories is to be preferred.

The Meaninglessness of Sin

P1. If God created us as Christians claim, then God gave us “human nature.”

P2. If human nature allows us to sin, then God is to blame for the problem of evil.

C. Therefore, God is to blame for the problem of evil. Link

No Cross No Crescent, New To Skeptic Blogs

I was raised in the Islamic world...My goal in writing this blog is going to be presenting science and skepticism. I hope to bring more of an international perspective to the table and expose religious doctrines for the harmful they are, and the suffering they cause way too often for women, gays, dissenters and religious minorities. I wish to bring to light the religious roots of some of violent conflicts around the world causing graves tragedies and loss of life, as I think that this is a very serious issue that gets next to no attention in the media. From the threat the rise of dominionist and christian reconstructionists poses to US democracy, to plight of women in Afghanistan accused of “sexual crimes” under Islamic Sharia, I hope to make the issues visible, as the traditional media have always been giving religion the kind of deference it doesn’t deserve and has never earned. Link

Skeptic Blogs is the Reasonable Alternative to Freethought Blogs

Read why here.

A Review of Michael Murray's Book "Nature Red in Tooth and Claw"

Since William Lane Craig continues to tout Murray's book as a good answer to the problem of animal suffering, read what professor Mylan Engel Jr. of Northern Illinois University says about it:

Notung Joins Skeptic Blogs

Ed Clint invited Notung and we're happy to have him with us. He tells us, "My main philosophical interests are epistemology, ethics, logic and the philosophy of religion. The purpose of this blog is to concentrate on these issues, examining them as critically as I can." Link. While you're there check out Maria Maltseva's post, SB responds to Atheism +, where she writes about our kind of skepticism:

We fear being blindsided by groupthink and welcome dissension in the ranks. Even if you disagree with us on some of our goals, you’re welcome to join us and choose which battles you, personally, want to fight. No matter what, we will not dehumanize you (online or off) or allow ourselves to think that we are better than you. Whatever else, we will not hate.

A growing number of people are subscribing by email and following us on Facebook. Join us.

Rebecca Bradley Joins Skeptic Blogs

Who is Rebecca Bradley? She has a PhD in Archaeology from Cambridge, UK, and maintains a strong interest in examining pseudo-archaeological claims. Read her first post and welcome her.

Some Mistakes of Moses, by Robert Ingersoll, Part Two

It is not easy to account for an infinite God making people so low in the scale of intellect as to require a revelation. Neither is it easy to perceive why, if a revelation was necessary for all, it was made only to a few.

Below you'll read extracts from an 84 page paper written in 1879 that my friend Julian Haydon sent me. There were some Christians and even ministers who were beginning to reject a talking serpent in favor of allegorical explanations; but there were millions who regarded every word in the Bible as holy fact. Ingersoll was contending with the latter and defending the rights of the former, pushing them even farther and farther away from the Bible. Part one can be seen here. A bit of his language is antiquated but it is a great defense of freethought.

Justin Vacula Joins Skeptic Blogs

Who is he? See this. We keep getting better and better. More will be joining us. Be sure to subscribe by email.

Staks Rosch: Are Religious Believers Stupid?

Religious believers ask me all the time if I think all religious believers are stupid. My answer to this question is almost always the same. “Of course not; smart people can believe really stupid things too.” There is no doubt that the belief in the all-powerful god as described in the Torah/Bible/Koran based off of no valid evidence is stupid. Depending on how serious this belief is taken, it can even be ridiculously stupid. It would be like me telling people that Voldemort is real based off of my reading of the Harry Potter books. Link.

William Lane Craig vs Victor Stenger: Does God Exist?

Local Atheist Billboards Attack Christian, Mormon Religions

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two controversial billboards dot the Charlotte skyline just in time for the Democratic National Convention. The two signs appear to attack the Christian and Mormon religions .

What if Satan Is the Good Guy?

Christians concoct wildly implausible scenarios in order to defend their faith, most notably Alvin Plantinga, who supposes Satan causes all natural evils, and Peter Van Inwagen, who supposes that before the fall in Eden there was no suffering even though carnivores and human beings both co-existed on the earth before then. But what if Satan is the good guy? What if he rebelled against God because he was aware of God's evil plan to create this kind of world and with it condemn human beings to hell forever? What if Satan told Adam the truth in the garden and wanted him to have a true knowledge about God that was forbidden him? What if God was the one who revealed a lie, that Satan was the bad guy even though he isn't? What if God also had some innocent sap be crucified and subsequently claimed it represented his love for us? What if God laughs that so many people believes what he revealed? What if God is the bad guy? What if this so-called cosmic war is being won by the wrong guy? What if in response Satan is sending prophets (i.e. intellectuals), to tell believers the truth, that God is a liar, an evil egomaniac, a moral monster? What evidence is there to deny my scenario? Evidence. That's what I'm asking for in any scenario. Probabilities are all that matter. For if any of these scenarios are to be taken seriously then people are within their epistemic rights to believe the Scientology tale too.

Skeptic Blogs Now Has a Facebook Page

Skeptic Blogs (SBs) now has a Facebook page. Like us and you'll be notified of any new posts.

Who goes to heaven? Who goes to hell?

If Christianity is true, then reaching the correct belief (about Jesus) is necessary to avoid damnation.  Here is a brief video highlighting one of the more unpleasant implications of Christian theology. Admittedly it is not a logical argument, however since most believers tend to believe for emotional reasons, bringing up issues like this can be very effective at "putting cracks in the shell" of faith.

My Seven Most Important Living Atheist Authors

By this I mean the five, no six, no seven living atheist authors from whom I have learned the most. This is a personal statement of mine and not to be representative of the most influential atheist authors, for that ranking would surely be different to some degree. There are atheist authors I've read who have said some really important things, but this is about the ones I've learned the most from. And I have not read everything. So, here they are in alphabetical order by last name:

Some Mistakes of Moses by Robert Ingersoll

A Note: These are extracts from an 84 page paper written in 1879 that my friend Julian Haydon sent me. There were some Christians and even ministers who were beginning to reject a talking serpent in favor of allegorical explanations; but there were millions who regarded every word in the Bible as holy fact. Ingersoll was contending with the latter and defending the rights of the former, pushing them even farther and farther away from the Bible. This is a great defense of freethought.

Robert Ingersoll On Being Accused of Lecturing for the Money

The arguments I advance are either good or bad. If they are bad, they can easily be answered by argument. If they are not, they cannot be answered by personalities or ascribing to me selfish motives. It is not a personal matter. It is a matter of logic–not a matter of slander, vituperation or hatred. I presume I am about as bad as most folks, and as good as some, but my goodness or badness has nothing to do with the question. I may have committed every crime in the world, yet that does not make the story of the flood reasonable, nor does it tend to show that the three gentlemen in the furnace were not scorched. I may be the best man in the world, yet that does not go to prove that Jonah was swallowed by the whale.

A New Skeptical Network Blog Has Launched!

I am very happy to announce that a new kid is on the block:

Skeptic Blogs

Skeptic Blogs already boasts an impressive, if small, group of talented bloggers and we expect to expand considerably. I am there. Click around to see the others. If you want to read our mission statement and posting policy see this. As you can tell I'm excited about it. Please, everyone, let others know. Tell them via your own blogs, facebook, twitter, by email, by horseback, train, space flight, and so on. We need the word to get out. We aim to do this right. Don't forget to subscribe by email. (Oh, and don't neglect to help us with our start-up costs by using the Chip-in Widget).

Jerry Coyne Recommends My Book

[L]et me put in an unsolicited plug for John’s new book, Why I Became an Atheist. Despite its unfortunate title, which implies that it’s a personal story of John’s journey from faith to unbelief, it’s really a thoroughly-reasoned and well documented account of the follies of faith. It belongs on your shelf beside the books of Dennett, Harris, Hitchens, Stenger, and Dawkins, and I recommend it highly. Link.

Professor Coyne has recommended it before.

Religiosity Plummets In Ireland And Declines Worldwide; Atheism On The Rise

This Huffington Post article shows the continuing trend away from religion across the world, with new figures illustrating that Catholic Ireland may no longer warrant that description:

Rocked in recent years by sex-abuse scandals and crises in leadership, the Catholic Church in the Republic of Ireland has been struggling to keep its members close.
But this week, a new global survey on faith and atheism has revealed that the crisis of faith inIreland may be much worse than previously thought.

WL Craig’s Use of Michael Murray’s Thesis on Pain Exploded: Insects Reconsidered

"The effect of organophosphates was discovered in the 1930's during World War II. They were used in the creation of nerve gas, which was used in chemical warfare. When used in lethal dosages for humans, organophosphates cause extreme excitability, convulsions, paralysis and in most cases, death.

The Good and the Bad News About Blogging

First the bad news. What annoys me about Blogging is that there are ignoramuses whose names aren't made public who get to act like equals with scholars and credentialed intellectuals. Imagine a written discussion before the rise of the internet. It took place in books, magazine articles, Op-Ed's, journals, and even in the Letters to Editor section of national and local newspapers. The discussion was monitored by editors, so not just anyone could engage in it, or if they did, what they wrote was considered worthy by an editor or peer reviewers to be printed. Discussions of these written works took place in the universities under the supervision of credentialed professors who chose which texts were important to discuss. There were also a lot of discussions in the halls of these universities and in the pubs and coffee shops of the world based on what these editors/reviewers/professors thought worthy for publication and discussion. The rise of Blogging has somehow changed this.

On Animal Pain and Pleasure

Jeffery Lowder Speaks Out Against the American Atheists Billboard

You can see the Billboard below, along with my comments. Lowder writes this about President David Silverman:

Silverman seems to have fallen into the trap, typical among so many leaders of organized atheism, of thinking that the United States is a post-theistic society. It's not and it's delusional to think otherwise.

Since the U.S. is not a post-theistic society, what is the point of the ad? It's not like the attendees at the Democratic National Convention are going to say, "Wow, I was going to vote to nominate Obama, but after seeing that American Atheists ad, I guess I had better nominate an atheist instead." Likewise, I don't think this ad is going to have any impact on how nonreligious voters will vote. I think many pragmatic atheists believe that nonreligious voters do not have the luxury of choosing a viable nonreligious candidate for President: most will vote for Romney or Obama.

From a marketing or public relations perspective, it's hard to see how these ads accomplish anything positive for atheism. As far as I can tell, all they do is create the impression that atheists are rude. Link

We Should Think Exclusively in Terms of Probabilities

What's the probability that my short-term memory is correct and that I agreed yesterday to meet with someone today? Pretty high actually, really high, extremely high, or perhaps even close to being virtually certain. I live my life based on short term memories. If I doubt them and fail to make that appointment, or any agreed upon appointment, I would fail through life in a haphazard dream world of random choices. I would be an unreliable person. Life demands that I trust my short term memories and that I am not now dreaming of thinking I made an appointment I didn't make. Faith has nothing to do with this reasoning process. Probabilities here are all that matter. Faith is superfluous, utterly irrelevant, completely unnecessary, and even irrational. We should think exclusively in terms of probabilities.

Bill Craig's Use of Michael Murray's Book On Animal Pain

I have Murray's book, Nature Red in Tooth and Claw, the one Bill Craig uses to defend the lack of animal pain. I have been planning on posting something about it but so far haven't. Hint: Murray doesn't conclude what Dr. Craig does. In the meantime, I found this story by Harry McCall interesting when commenting on Craig's debate with Dr. Law: