Yep, that's what I've concluded. I was talking to a Catholic today about Stephen Hawking's new book where he says God doesn't exist based on science. So he responded, "That's why they call it faith." Yep, faith doesn't need scientific evidence. It's irrational. I want everyone to think "Irrational" whenever someone says the word "faith" because that's what it is.
You already know the Outsider Test for Faith (OTF) that I've proposed. It asks believers to test their own adopted religious faith from the perspective of an outsider with the same level of skepticism they use to evaluate other religious faiths.
If Christianity is the correct faith it should have been made by God to pass the OTF, especially if people will be cast into hell because it doesn’t. And this will happen according to Christian theology, for there are people who will end up in hell who could not be convinced to believe because of their non-Christian upbringing as outsiders.
Yep, I think I have basically come up with a new argument in the history of religious criticism, even if there are a few prototypes of it to be found in the past. You already know the Outsider Test for Faith (OTF) that I've proposed. It asks believers to test their own adopted religious faith from the perspective of an outsider with the same level of skepticism they use to evaluate other religious faiths.
Here's the argument: If one's own religious faith cannot be sustained due to consistently applying the skepticism of the OTF, then believers must either abandon their faith or come up with good reasons why they should not have to take the OTF because it is faulty in some way. But they cannot come up with any good reasons why they should not be consistent in evaluating all religious faiths.
For discussion. As a Christian I remember wanting people to see Christ in me. I wanted to be like Christ as an advertisement like a billboard for Christ. I was conscious that people were watching me. Of course as a preacher I did live in a so-called glass house.
In any case, Christian, do YOU do that? Are YOU a self-promoter in the sense that you want, desire, hope, and pray that people will see what a good person you are so they can see Christ? "See what a good person I am" you say, or you secretly hope others see it without saying so?
And this stuff about humility. Scrap it. It's worthless stuff. Christian simply do not know what it is. Moses reportedly told everyone he was the most humble man on earth (Numbers 12:3). What a joke. Of course I don't think he wrote that, but some Christians are stuck explaining it away.
Christian, are you more humble than others? Sort of a catch-22 eh?
Bertrand Russell was asked what he would tell God on judgment day why he did not believe. Russell reportedly said: "Not enough evidence, God, not enough evidence."
So even if the Christian faith ends up being true there was still no reason thinking people should accept it, because only claims that can be reasonably justified should be embraced. You see, we have to reject a lot of true claims because they have not met their own burden of proof. This is both obvious and non-controversial. Aliens from space might have abducted someone, but without sufficient evidence commensurate with such a claim there is no reason why anyone should believe the person who asserts it. There are surely cases in which someone murdered another person but no one suspects he did the evil deed, because there is just no evidence to lead anyone to think he did. There are many hundreds of claims that we should never believe, even if they are true. That’s the case when it comes to Christianity. Even if it’s true, thinking people cannot believe it because it’s wildly improbable.
Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, issued the following statement to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and the pressing issue of religious intolerance:
Yep, that's how I feel, gratitude, a great deal of it. I appreciate skeptics who can help argue with the Christians here. I do not have the time nor patience to do this myself, so here's to you! And for Christian commenters who are tempted to watch porn I have a special gift for you, some hot stuff (
you must be 18 to see more):
Dr. Avalos addresses the hypocritical arguments of Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin against the mosque.
Read Dr. Avalos' column here
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. He and Mlodinow continue: "Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics. Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge." I agree. This is never more true than when it comes to the failure of 
, Cordelia Fine cautions us when it comes to the conclusions of our brains. I claim that believers ought to take special heed of this and become agnostics. Believers retort that my brain may be deceiving me too. Let me say two things in response:
. Christians just can't see it can they? Religion is bunk so Christianity is likewise bunk!
? Or Loftus and Richard Carrier's 
? Two reasons to inspire your potential reviews of their books:
and he's working on another book. Here's the scoop from him: