How Can We Decide Who Is Wrong?

Here's an email exchange I recently had with a Christian. It's typical of many others. I said:

Although both of us could be wrong, at least one of us is wrong. How do you propose deciding which one of us is right, if one of us is?

His response:

I agree that at least one of us is wrong. Unless one of sees evidence or has an experience to convince us otherwise, neither of us will change our minds. No matter how much you and others want to paint it otherwise, atheism is not a purely scientific conclusion.

My response:

It's the method of science that shows your faith to be wrong. There is no other way but to assume a natural explanation for everything. That method has no need of a god. Historians cannot approach the past any other way, nor can scientists. If we cannot know something by the method of naturalism as applied in science and history then we cannot know something at all.

The Case For "The Case Against The Case For Christ"

Bob Price's new book The Case Against The Case For Christ: A New Testament Scholar Refutes the Reverend Lee Strobel, incinerates Lee Strobel's book The Case for Christ, along with the evangelical apologists he interviews, including Craig L. Blomberg, Gregory Boyd, Ben Witherington III, D.A. Carson, William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, J.P. Moreland, and others. However, I doubt many of the people who read Strobel's book will read Price's book, not the least of which because understanding Price might demand a better understanding of the issues than the cream puff book Strobel wrote for the average person in the pew, but also because Price seems so disgusted with evangelical apologists at this point in his career he can't hide it.

My Interview on "Conversations From the Pale Blue Dot"

Luke interviewed me about my book The Christian Delusion. Hope you enjoy it.

Matt McCormick debated Russell DiSilvestro on the Resurrection

See what you think. I liked his opening statement.

"You Can't Trust Science!"

Christians accept the results of science in a vast number of areas. That is, except for just a few that contradict their holy ancient superstitious book. This video below is a nice summary of the results of science. How does religion stack up with science? Let's see, that book says there was a universal flood (so say many Christians). Science shows that this did not happen. What to do, what to do? How do I decide? Let's see, science says virgins don't have babies. Science shows this could not happen. What to do, what to do? How do I decide? That's easy for me. You?

Ken Pulliam Answers Two Important Questions in Genesis

Does Genesis Teach the Big Bang?, and Have Jews Always Believed in Creation ex nihilo? His answer in both cases is a big fat NO!

Do Fish Feel Pain?

Yes, argues biologist Victoria Braithwaite in her new book, Do Fish Feel Pain? These important findings reinforce my chapter on The Darwinian Problem of Evil for The Christian Delusion. What did animals do to deserve their pain? I argue that it doesn't matter one whit whether humans inflict this pain on them or whether God did. There can be no moral justification for it at all, none. I also consider whether these animals, all of them, will be compensated in heaven for their sufferings, as some Christians have affirmed. All you need to do is imagine what a heaven would be like with fish in it, for example, and you can see the silliness of the whole concept. Besides, merely compensating creatures for their sufferings cannot morally justify their sufferings, otherwise we could justify torturing any sentient being by simply compensating them afterward.

Robert M. Price on Myth and Method

Nothing in Hume or Troeltsch or Bultmann, that I can see, bids us reject miracle claims without weighing the evidence. It is just that, given the limitations imposed upon us (until we invent the time machine, that is), we cannot detect “probable miracles” even if they happened! Historical inquiry cannot touch them, even if time travel would show them to have been real!...Faith claims to be able to do an end-run around the data and to obtain certainty about an ostensible miracle via some other way. But what way is that? It is, I think, nothing more than the will to believe.

Hume already allows us to accept a miracle report, provided any naturalistic explanation would sound even more far-fetched than a supernatural one. In appealing to the universal facts of human experience, Hume is being neither deductive nor circular. He is merely appealing to what everyone knows: the frequent reports of the extraordinary we hear from UFO abductees, Loch Ness Monster fans, people who see ghosts or who claim psychic powers, always seem to turn out to be bunk upon examination. From The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails, pp. 276-277.

"The Invention of Lying" is a Funny Movie

Here's a great clip in which Ricky Gervais tells lies in order to give people hope for a life after death. It's hilarious.

Hector Avalos: "In Praise of Biblical Illiteracy"

It was a featured article seen on The Bible and Interpretation.

Bible Contradiction Quiz Show

This is some funny stuff and includes a few extra brilliant jabs in the middle. Enjoy.

Christopher Hitchens vs Dinesh D'Souza Debate

Check it out:

Has Noah's Ark Been Found?

Nope, I don't think so. Even despite this new claim, and even though it was reported by Fox News (Oh my!). Why? Because of what I wrote here, and because of what Ed Babinski wrote here. Any other questions?

NBC's Dateline: "What Were You Thinking?"

We human beings are woefully inadequate at rational thinking, as this excellent program shows starring one of my skeptical heroes, Michael Shermer. This report offers overwhelming evidence for my Outsider Test for Faith, since it shows we are gullible social creatures who conform our actions and beliefs to our social grouping. Enjoy.

Christians, Pray For the Death of President Obama. Why Not?

Hell, 24% of Republicans think President Obama is the Anti-Christ, so why wouldn't Christians pray for his death? And true to form over one million of them are doing so, according to this Facebook page. Christian, why haven't you joined in yet? You think it's not biblical? Think again. Ever hear of the imprecatory Psalms in the Bible? Doing so is Biblical, you see. So choose: either follow the Bible and pray for his death, or reject the Bible. Oh, I know, these Christians are just idiots--more than a million of them--right? No, the Bible is barbaric and your God was a poor communicator if he wanted them to think differently. Calling for prayers like this could inspire some idiot to try to kill him. Christians who do this ought to be ashamed of themselves, especially if this happens. But these Christians really want him to die, don't they?

Is it Time for a Strictly Atheist University?

What do you think? See below:

Twisted Faith: A Case Study in Why Skepticism is a Virtue

Here is an interesting NBC Dateline story about the dangers of faith based reasoning and the virtues of skepticism. Faith can be twisted by feeble human minds into believing what they want to believe against their own consciences. It's a tragic but important story. Think you are immune believer? Think twice if you have the faith these believers had.

Why Should Believers Take the OTF? Because Control Beliefs Control.

Richard Dawkins provides a great example of how control beliefs control how believers see the evidence. They are indoctrinated (or brainwashed) to believe from birth and that's it. Watch him below:

The "Look Inside the Book" Feature For TCD is Now Activated

Check it out by following this link: The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails. Use this feature as an online index for the book itself. Just type a word, a name, or a phrase in the "search inside the book" box to find the pages where they are used in the text.

The Smear Campaign Has Begun

Yep, that's what some Christians do with a book they cannot legitimately answer. They will try to negatively smear it or it's authors. And the campaign has begun against The Christian Delusion.

A Brief Review Of "The Loftus Delusion" Book

I’m honored that some college professors use my book Why I Became an Atheist (WIBA) in their college classes, like Dan Lambert at John Brown University, and Richard Knopp at Lincoln Christian University, as I mentioned earlier. I’m also honored that David Reuben Stone has decided to write a book against WIBA, called The Loftus Delusion. While I do not like the title of the book, which is misleading for a few reasons, including the fact that Stone does not deal at all with my most recent book, The Christian Delusion (TCD), Stone's book is a respectfully written one. But anyone who reads Jason Long’s chapter in TCD will see quite plainly what Stone is doing. He’s doing his best to gerrymander around my arguments in typical political redistricting fashion in order to maintain his faith. It’s a wonderful case study in cognitive dissonance reduction. Let me explain by briefly commenting on his book, which he graciously sent me.

More About "The Christian Delusion" Book

In case you want to know more about TCD check this review out.

Antony Flew, 1923–2010, A Tribute by Kenneth Grubbs

There is little hope of ever reconciling the Antony Flew of 87 years with the Antony Flew of 27 years. Did he change his mind, or did his mind change him? History will record Antony Flew as a deist; Annis Flew confirmed that for us all. History, I fear, becomes an unwitting conspirator, forever defiled. With so many varied aspects to this story, it is easy to forget that which matters most. Antony Garrard Newton Flew, philosopher, professor, author, atheist pioneer, and devoted husband, is now gone. For more than 60 years this thinker, this man of great intellect, marched to a different drum and followed the argument. We owe him much. Link

Joseph Lewis, a Pioneering American Freethinker

Joseph Lewis was a pioneering American freethinker. His excellent 1946 book, The Ten Commandments, appeared two decades before Cecil B. DeMille's movie by the same title, starring Charlton Heston, which, if people had read it would laugh at seeing the movie. Lewis's 1954 pamphlet, An Atheist Manifesto, is something I think should be updated and printed again, which is reminiscent of the so-called New Atheists (see below).

The Christian and Certainty: A Psychological Malaise

There is no reasonable way a Christian can be certain of his or her faith. And yet in a recent post we see many believers claim this to be the case. It's a psychological malaise, as Valerie Tarico shows in The Christian Delusion. You can see some of what she argues for in that book here, and also here.

Christianity Behind the Veil of Ignorance

Let's test the Bible and the history of the church with the Veil of Ignorance proposed by John Rawls. There is no discernible divine mind behind the human authors of the Bible or the church. It just looks exactly like what we would expect if they are human creations in their respective historical time periods. Behind the veil of ignorance tell me what you would expect from the Bible and the church if there was a divine mind behind them. Remember, you are behind a veil of ignorance. You cannot consciously try to argue that what we've seen is what we should expect to find unless that is truly what you would expect. Cognitive dissonance reduction sets in at this point and some believers might even refuse to do this, but it's a very simple thought experiment. What would you expect to find?

Notes of Interest About "The Christian Delusion" Book

Luke from Common Sense Atheism was interviewed on Inside the Atheist Studio, and toward the last fifth of it said some nice things about The Christian Delusion. He also interviewed me about my book for his podcast Conversations From the Pale Blue Dot which should appear sometime soon. Lastly, Jason Berggren criticizes this book without first reading it. That's interesting to me. I wonder if his tune will change after doing so?

Richard Carrier Reviews Our Book, "The Christian Delusion"

John and I wanted this book to be conclusive, every chapter its own tour de force on each topic. And we achieved that goal. The book is superb. Every chapter is fantastic, some more than others, but all are great. It doesn't cover every subject it could have, but the subjects it does cover, it covers thoroughly, leaving nowhere left to run. It's all readable (nothing will be above anyone's head). Much of it will even be fresh and new to you (and that's saying something).

Most of all, taken together, its fifteen chapters are sufficient to establish that Christianity is a delusion. The Christian religion is so manifestly contrary to the facts, belief in it can only be held with the most delusional gerrymandering imaginable. That's a bold statement. I wouldn't have made it myself before reading this book, but now that I have seen it all in one place, I am forced to agree.

To read his whole review click here.

The London Times Literary Supplement Mentioned My Book, WIBA

See here. The text can be found by clicking here. Thanks to DSL in the first comment below.

I Have Two Fleas Now!

Both are self-published books. The first book was given to me, while the second book looks strange: 1) The Anti-Supernatural Bias Of Ex-Christians and 2) The Loftus Delusion. The second book could not possibly be a response to my recently released book, The Christian Delusion. Wooooooo! Hoooooooo!

An Excellent Debunking Christianity Blog

Check out my good friend Ken Pulliam's Blog Why I De-Converted From Evangelical Christianity. Next to DC there isn't anything like it on the internet at the present time. He came out of the closet a few months ago and he hit the ground running. He's a reading machine, posting something substantive nearly every day. At the present time he's doing an in-depth review of my book The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails.

How to Help Promote "The Christian Delusion" Book

Let's say you have this new book and you like it very much. How can you help promote it? Here are some suggestions:

"The Christian Delusion" Broke the 500th Mark on Amazon

You'll just have to forgive me here but I'm very excited. The anthology The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails, just broke the 500th mark in its debut on Amazon:

My Interview on Freethought Radio Is Now Online

You can listen to my interview about halfway into the show. Enjoy.

My Interview on CTV News: The Pope Should Step Down and Allow a Full Investigation

I'm interviewed about the sex scandals surrounding the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict. Watch it here.

An author and former Protestant minister says that if the Pope really cared about the church, he would do what is necessary to show investigators the full extent of the abuse that took place within the Catholic church.

On a Scale of 1-100 How Certain Are You That Jesus Arose?

Christian, on a scale of 1-100 how certain are you that Jesus bodily arose from the dead? Let's say that your own existence is a 100, that there is gravity stands at 99. On the other end let's say that the existence of the elves of Iceland merits a 1. How certain are you Jesus arose from the dead on such a scale?

Tom Flynn's Review of My Book, "Why I Became an Atheist"

Doubting Christians beginning to doubt will find this book a juggernaut....If you seek an encyclopedic compendium of arguments against almost any imaginable defense of the Christian faith, this is your book....[T]he reader seeking a comprehensive disproof of Christianity as contemporary evangelicals defend it can do little better than to consult this volume. Free Inquiry April/ May 2010

"The Christian Delusion" Books are Being Shipped Now

My book can be ordered here. Amazon USA is shipping them beginning today. I received mine yesterday from Prometheus Books and it looks like everything I had pictured. The contributors did an excellent job on their chapters. It's sure to debunk Christianity and cause Christian apologists to scramble in defense of their faith.

John Shook on the Psychology of Religion

Below is part one. The others can be found at YouTube:

Christopher Hitchens on Real Time: The Pope is a Criminal

See the video below:

The 138th Carnival of the Godless is Up.

One of my posts on The Trouble with Natural Theology can be found there, along with an article by Hector Avalos, which is referenced by him in my just released edited book, The Christian Delusion. Check out the 138th CoG here.

Do You Want to Be a Christian Apologist?

Since it seems as though Christian wannabe apologists are now a dime a dozen then here's a challenge for them. Publish critiques of my two books, Why I Became an Atheist, and The Christian Delusion. Be the first on your block to do so. If you do well, then you'll get noticed by other recognized apologists. ;-)

Of The Christian Delusion, Dr. Dale C. Allison, Jr., author of Resurrecting Jesus: The Earliest Christian Tradition And Its Interpreters wrote:

Forget Dawkins. If you are looking for a truly substantial, well-informed criticism of the Christian religion, this is your book. Defenders of the faith will do believer and unbeliever alike a disservice if they do not rise to the challenge and wrestle with the thought-provoking arguments of Loftus and company.

Is Satan a Catholic?

Pat Condell again:

Doug Krueger On My Debate Strategy

Doug Krueger is a philosopher, debater, and author of the book What Is Atheism?: A Short Introduction. He responded to an email I sent him recently:

"The Christian Delusion" Books Have Been Printed!

Over a year ago I began working on this book. It's been a lot of work too. So you can imagine my excitement at hearing that the books have been printed and are being sent out to the stores. Be the first on your block to get a copy. Here is the official website. I think it's a great book myself, sure to be in print for as long as I live. Spread the news if you would.

The Pope is a Joke! "Only God Can Fire the Pope"

Top Vatican officials — including the future Pope Benedict XVI — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys, even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church, according to church files newly unearthed as part of a lawsuit. Link.

Now we're hearing that only God can fire a Pope. How does God go about doing this? The Pope is a joke. The Catholic church was created by men for power over others, period.

Barack Obama, the Antichrist?

An appalling ignorance of Hebrew is being used to perpetrate an absurd theory. This is one of the most sordid uses of Hebrew linguistics to support the claim that Barack Obama is the Antichrist. I would not spend much time on it, except that even some recognized "news" organizations are giving it coverage. In any case, this ridiculous argument comes from a YouTube video: YouTubeVideo

More Discussion About My Debate with David Wood

See this link.

My Response to a Pro Israeli Bible Thumper

Here is a response to a Bible thumper espousing a Pro Israel political view. He wrote:

New Study on "Why are Atheists so Disliked?"

A new study "strongly suggests that distrust of atheists is mostly due to fear of 'others'." As a result "all those bus ads may well be serving a useful function, even if they're unlikely to convert anyone. If they normalize atheism, then they should also help to change the lot of atheists in the USA from social pariahs to trusted community members." See what you think.