Professor Keith Parsons: "Are Supernatural Hypotheses Testable?"

The most interesting supernatural hypotheses are those that are can be tested, but, for some reason or another, always seem to elude actual testing. Consider the theistic hypothesis, the hypothesis that the God of theism exists. This hypothesis can be tested, and, as we noted above, according to scripture has been tested in the past—with spectacularly positive results. The problem, of course, is that all those alleged public demonstrations of divine power occurred long, long ago, in what Hume called “ignorant and barbarous nations.” In short, it is eminently reasonable for the skeptic simply to deny that such events ever occurred. What we need, then, is something now, something very public and conclusive. As I say, an Elijah-like test could be broadcast worldwide now. Or, if such a display is considered vulgar, there could be rigorous, reproducible results performed in a scientific setting and verified by the qualified parties. So why not? Link.

Feuerbach Was Right All Along, We Create Our Own Gods

Some people might be interested in knowing that humans are creating their gods in their own images.

For many religious people, the popular question “ What would Jesus do?” is essentially the same as “What would I do?” That’s the message from an intriguing and controversial new study by Nicholas Epley from the University of Chicago. Through a combination of surveys, psychological manipulation and brain-scanning, he has found that when religious Americans try to infer the will of God, they mainly draw on their own personal beliefs. Link

Michael Brown vs Bart Ehrman on the Problem of Suffering

Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. Bart Ehrman debated the topic: Does the Bible Provide an Adequate Answer to the Problem of Suffering? at Ohio State University on April 15, 2010. Link

Quote of the Day, by Sam Harris

Whatever else may be wrong with our world, it remains a fact that some of the most terrifying instances of human conflict and stupidity would be unthinkable without religion. And the other ideologies that inspire people to behave like monsters—Stalinism, fascism, etc.—are dangerous precisely because they so resemble religions. Sacrifice for the Dear Leader, however secular, is an act of cultic conformity and worship. Whenever human obsession is channeled in these ways, we can see the ancient framework upon which every religion was built. In our ignorance, fear, and craving for order, we created the gods. And ignorance, fear, and craving keep them with us. Link

Why the Idea of a Spirit is Full of Hot Air

Long ago in a cave a caveman looked at his friend who then died. He was upset. His friend would not move.  He noticed that air no longer came out of his friends mouth. He knew the air had left him.

So he gathered up his friend and some food and a few of his friend’s possessions and buried them all. Perhaps it would all go wherever his air went.

God Must Love Football

Well it’s almost time for football again. So you know what that means another season of watching numerous players point up at the sky after they score or kneel down and bow their head so as to give credit to their god or thank him or whatever. And while I enjoy watching sports I hate watching that and every time I do see it I want to ask those players if they truly think their god helped them catch the ball or run through the tackles? If the answer is yes I would be curious to ask them why they think their god seems to help them on some plays as and not on others? How does their god decide who should catch the ball or break a tackle? Or better yet why does their god care about football at all?

Dr. Hector Avalos: 'True' Religion Begats Violence

Enjoy.

Wake Up! Your god is a Monster

"If any religion allows the persecution of the people of different faiths, if any religion keeps women in slavery, if any religion keeps people in ignorance, then I can't accept that religion.” -Taslima Nasrin, Bangladeshi Author

Objective Morality vs. Christianity, by Non-Stamp Collector

Church Sign: "God is Still Speaking"

This message is on a banner in front of a liberal church where I live. Let me guess, the message coming from their God is one of love: love for families, for neighbors, for minorities, for animals, for the environment, and love for our enemies both personal and global.

Where was that message when we needed it, when Christians killed each other for what they now consider to be trivial disagreements during the eight French Wars of Religion, the 30 Years War, the Crusades, the Inquisition or Witch Hunts? Why is God's message always representative of the age we live in? I've written on this before, concerning the messages people report from Alien encounters. These things are related and they strongly disconfirm any claim that God spoke at all. Link.

DC is the #1 Biblioblogger and I Wasn't Even Trying This Past Month

Actually I blew their socks off. The Biblioblogger list is associated with the prestigious Society of Biblical Literature. There are atheists, liberals, moderates and conservatives on it. Chalk one up for the atheists. Boy, some of them love to hate me for this.

It's a Miracle I've Been Healed, Praise Atheism

Yesterday I went to get contact lenses and was told my dominant left eye has gotten better and is nearly at 20/20 vision. Since it is my dominant eye, most of my everyday activities do not require glasses or contacts at all. I just hadn't noticed that putting my glasses on didn't make much of a difference. How often do we not see what should be plain to see? I just didn't notice. When I want to focus on something in the distance I just have to shut my right eye. When reading fine print up close I just shut my left one, since my left eye is not quite 20/20. While I may get contacts anyway, I really don't need them at all. Praise atheism! Isn't she good?

Christianity Will Die From Embarrassment

Take Exhibit A, Pat Robertson. Statements like the ones he makes will continue being an embarrassment to evangelicals who will gravitate more to the left, while the left will continue to jump ship. This will take some time but it's already taking place. Thank the ever-present almighty internet. Thank you, thank you very much.

Americans Have Lost Faith In Religious Leaders And Church Attendance

So says a new book.

"We Are Atheism" Campaign Launches

I support it. Take a look and see what you can do.

A Typical Day On the Internet

The Internet is a big place, full of e-stores, chat rooms and videos of cats, and as you might imagine, it's incredibly busy on any given day. As more and more business is conducted online, more and more business opportunities are created due to the massive size of the internet. Companies like Amazon, Apple, and even Walmart are giants in e-commerce and their online revenues are continuing to soar. Last year, e-commerce raked in $680 billion worldwide. And on Black Friday alone, Amazon sold 32 items per second. With the help of services like Facebook, Twitter, and email, companies are able to reach practically anybody on the Internet – all 7 billion of them. See for yourself below:

Without a Doubt the End of Christianity is Assured in the Future

Human beings will evolve into different sorts of creatures, perhaps like the Na'vi of James Cameron's movie Avatar. Then the Bible will clearly be an antiquated book. The salvation of the human race and the incarnation of the second person of the trinity will have no relevance for the creatures we are yet to become. Christianity will fall into the dustbin of history just like all other dead religions. Too bad this assured end is far off into the future. But it WILL happen, just as assuredly as I am writing this today in the year 2011.

A Parting Thought for My Brother

My brother and his wife visited from the west coast and stayed the night last week. We had talked about his Christian faith. I gave him both barrels to no avail. Then as they were leaving, as his wife took a picture of us together, I said: "Keep in mind according to your faith I am going to hell." Now hopefully they will think of what I said whenever they look at that picture. Can he really imagine his brother in hell? See if that breaks them out of their dogmatic slumbers. It should.

I Have Better Answers to Fundamental Questions Than Christians Do

A local church has an advertisement in our newspaper for a thirteen week course on basic church teachings purporting to have the correct answers to fundamental westernized questions. I defy someone to tell me why my succinct answers to these questions aren't much much better than what they will say. Here goes:

Creation Museum's Latest Project: Ark Encounter

According to Ken Ham's vision, they aim

To rebuild the Ark, to full-scale biblical dimensions, as a sign to the world that God’s Word is true and its message of salvation must be heeded. Just as the Ark in Noah’s day was a sign of salvation, as well as judgment, an Ark rebuilt today can be a sign to point to Jesus Christ, the Ark of our salvation, and to coming judgment. Link.

To think there was a world-wide flood depicted in the Bible is delusional. Of course, if you believe it you can always donate to this project. ;-)

Three Reviews On Amazon That Should Be Reported as Abuse

Damn some delusional Christians who cannot deal with the arguments who seek to poison the well instead, much like slander is used to shut someone's business down. See what YOU think. There is no solid evidence they even read the book.

What a Relief it is Not Blogging (Much) in August

I've wondered that if I didn't respond to criticisms of my writings who would do so? Well, now I know. My peeps. You don't even need me. ;-) I am enjoying not having to respond to every delusional person who can quote a Bible passage. This is such a relief that, well, I'm questioning if I ever want to do it again. I've said my piece. I'll never get in the last word. It's been an online conversation, debate, and series of killings ever since the very beginning.

So let me leave you with this: Why would anyone is his or her right mind ever embrace the same religion that was used to imprison, torture, burn, kill, and oppress other human beings simply because they thought differently? That's insane to me. Furthermore, why would any minority accept the religion that was used to oppress them? So my hat is off to Native Americans, who have not done so and who also refused to be enslaved by the European crusaders. I would that others be more like them.

Here's Another Email

I grew up amongst "holy rollers" in the Pentecostal tradition. By 20 I had read more scholarly systematics (Geisler, Grudem, Culver, etc.), monographs, and works in philosophy, apologetics, and philosophy of religion than most pastors have read in their lifetime. My rational discussions with non-believers proved very productive. There was then a turn in my thinking that would forever change the way I viewed the world.

Non-Christian literature was of much interest to such a dogmatic Theist as myself, so I picked up The Christian Delusion and found many of the chapters unrelated to the specific pivot point for rational belief in Christianity--that is, Is Scripture the Word of God? I turned next to Why I Became an Atheist expecting to complete it with as much enthusiastic assurance as I had when I began it.

Even as I began my studies I realized that the crux of the Christian faith was centered on the answer to the question of the integrity of the Christian canon. Your book, Mr. Loftus, challenged my presupposition of biblical integrity so that I could examine the evidence on its on merit. That evidence led to my renunciation of the faith of my parents, a belief in Yahweh, the God of the Bible, and a denial of the gospel and person of Jesus Christ. It was freeing--finally the wrath of God had been propitiated!--but by solid (counter-Christian) evidence, not Jesus Christ; alas! an epistemological regeneration worthy of the title. Thank you, Mr. Loftus.

My Interview With Barry Lynn of Culture Shocks

Even though my target audience is evangelical Christians, Barry was more interested in discussing his own liberal view of Christianity, which fails for the reasons I stated in this program. Enjoy.

The Criticisms Are Coming Faster Than I Can Respond

I cannot respond to even the most intelligent and scholarly criticisms of my writings. They are coming fast and furious. The deluded are coming up with the most contorted reasons to continue believing despite my arguments. That's the way it always has been. That's why many Christianities still exist who argue the others are wrong, and who agree against doubters like me. They just refuse to see. But then you wouldn't expect the deluded to see it any other way. I'd say they were idiots, but in reality, the more educated and brilliant they are the more idiotic they appear to the rest of us. They are blind. Faith blinds people. It really does. Just ask any person who has faith in a different religion and you will see clearly what I see.

Another Email

I've been a born-again believer since August 1985. After 3-4 years of doubts I read your book WIBA, after reading some material by Geisler and others. While there were conclusions you reached I didn't entirely agree with, you gave clarity and voice to my most serious doubts.

I just had breakfast with my pastor the other day. I've been the primary worship leader at our small town CBA church for about 7.5 - 8 years. Having to tell him I no longer believed was one of the toughest things I've ever done, after coming to terms with it myself. I'm fortunate in that he and the others in my church have responded with love and understanding, which I'm guessing is the exception rather than the rule.

So I want to thank you for sharing your story and your knowledge.

Dr. Avalos Goes in Search of a "True Christian Conservative."

Link.

Debunking the Kalam Cosmological Argument

Listen to a Pre-Recorded Interview With Me on Irreligiosophy

Enjoy

Proof Evangelicals Will Do Whatever it Takes to Continue Believing: "Evangelicals Question The Existence Of Adam And Eve"

They are doing what each generation of Christian thinkers have done from the very beginning. The future of Christianity will not be the same as it is today. It's just that like all other evolving organisms and systems of thought, they evolve so slowing it's hard to detect it. Evangelicals would be appalled at the Christianity of a century or more ago, and they will be equally appalled at the Christianity a century or more from now. Evangelicals, give it up. Enjoy

I Tire of Answering this Crap, I Really Do

William Lane Craig revisits the "Slaughter" of the Canaanites. Isn't it obvious what Craig is doing? This is a problem for his faith so he seeks to reduce his cognitive dissonance by doing almost anything he can with the text in order to keep the faith. It's just obvious. Then Randal Rauser claims he is offering a skeptical review of The End of Christianity. Say that again? He's doing a skeptical review of the book? This is clearly Orwellian Doublespeak where the word "skeptical" now replaces the word "believing". It is a believing review of my book! And can you or not clearly see that his criticisms miss the mark? I tire of this shit, big time. I'll not even offer a critique since it's so lame. You either see it or you are blind, bat shit blind. Sorry, but that's what I think. That Christian scholars make these kind of arguments only reinforces my claim that defending the faith makes otherwise brilliant people look dumb. Enjoy discussing these things below.

I'll Be Inactive in August

August will be time for me to get some needed things done, so I'll be inactive this month. Not that I won't post some things, just not that much. Become a follower or subscribe by email not to miss a thing. If you have something to share do it below. Cheers.

Are Christian Colleges/Seminaries Afraid of My Work?

Who knows for sure, but maybe they should be. ;-)

By far the single biggest challenge to my Christian faith, during this early part of my de-conversion process, came in the form of a book, by John W. Loftus, Why I Became An Atheist. I believe that most Christians have little difficulty maintaining their faith, even when challenged, since it is propped up by dozens, if not hundreds, of individual pieces (& thought patterns) they deem to be solid on their own (and even stronger together)...if one of those pieces takes a hit, hey, no big deal, there are still plenty of reasons to continue believing!...But what happens when a sizable number of those pieces, propping up your worldview, are attacked simultaneously? Well, this can cause one to question their entire paradigm, and in my case, that paradigm was the truth of Christianity.

Harry McCall: "John’s books would have as much of a chance of ever seeing the light of day in any conservative Bible believing seminary or church as a prohibitionist in a liquor distillery!"

Weston Bortner stated: “John, you can't just assume that people are scared and avoiding you. That's a little silly. Perhaps they have a valid reason and you just don't know it.”

If this is what John assumed, then he made a great assumption!

Animals Don't Think, Or Do They?

Check this site out.

What a Good Christian Apologetics Program Should Include

Over at Apologetics 315 is a listing of some Christian colleges that offer degrees in Christian Apologetics. If we add the ones mentioned in the comments, here they are:

Morality Without God

Part 1 can be found here. Part 2 is below:

Definitional Apologetics, Excessive Skepticism, and the OTF

[Written by John W. Loftus] Philosophers love to define words. It's a good thing too, since Aristotle said something to the effect that "Many a dispute could be solved in a few sentences if the disputants merely defined their terms." Sometimes though, in the hands of Christian philosophers the goal is obfuscation. They try to define away a problem for their faith. I call this Definitional Apologetics, and they are quite good at it. They will feign ignorance about what an extraordinary event is in the face of a concrete example, like a virgin birth or a resurrection from the dead. They will also feign ignorance about what the scientific method is to the point of claiming there is no such thing, even though science continues to progress, purportedly without one. And using Orwellian doublespeak they claim to have a "full-blown skepticism" where they are skeptical of skepticism, thinking this allows for their faith but blind to the fact it also allows for anyone's faith. This is all pure sophistry.

Along these same lines let me respond to one major objection to the Outsider Test for Faith (OTF), as stated in the comments of a recent post:

I think you’ll find that if you try to apply [the OTF] rigorously to every aspect of your life (not just the religious bits), you’ll soon discover what “analysis paralysis” is. You’ll be unable to entertain, even for a moment, any political, aesthetic or moral opinion or value, unless you can back it up by a complete chain of logical deduction from perfectly flawless axioms. Once you get addicted to the “test of skepticism”, *how will you know* where to draw the line and refrain from excessive skepticism? So my question about where to draw the line between healthy and excessive skepticism is a genuine one, not some sort of ploy by the christian-apologist-boogeyman ;) Skepticism is indeed a slippery slope – the question is where do you draw the line? Link.

50 Renowned Academics Speaking About God

Answering My Critics, Two Reviews of TEC

vorjack, the managing editor of Daniel Florien's blog Unreasonable Faith, wrote a review where he said, "All told, there are fourteen strong articles here, plus Loftus’ OTF in the introduction and a brief closing from Robert Price. It’s a solid collection of essays that work well together...On balance, the book is a solid addition to the atheist library, and it makes an excellent companion to The Christian Delusion." That's cool, but I get the sense he's tired of me or something, for he also wrote: "No one has ever accused Loftus of being timid," and, "By this point Loftus can only muster a three paragraph introduction..." and, "Richard Carrier, who Loftus credits with doing the actual editing of the book..." and, "One of the advantages of these collections is always the chance to hear new voices, and that gets lost when you turn it over to the usual suspects...if Loftus et. al. wants to publish another book, it may be time to develop the field a little more and bring in some new blood."

Old Testament Scholar Michael Heiser and I Discuss OT Prophecy

He has been kind to discuss this issue with me even though it was an aside to a post of his on Bible study. It's hard to replicate the order of our comments since it was two different discussions, but I tried. See what you think:

Kris D. Komarnitsky Replies to William Lane Craig

"The Cognitive Dissonance Theory of Christian Origins," Link.

Want To Know What Blind Faith Is?

At my recent talk in Indy a Christian named Phil heard it and said that given how passionate I am I'll come back around to Christianity. He also said the atheist movement was from God, presumably God's judgment on America in the last days before Jesus comes back. Jerry Wilson was there and shouted, "How do you know that?" That's a great question! There is no evidence leading Phil to believe what he said, none. Which reminds me, Bill Craig said there is still hope for me too! Yep, and that's why I reject faith. It can and does lead people to believe almost anything. Who in their right mind would say such things? If I haven't committed the unforgivable sin then no one has.

Where Do Morals Come From?

They certainly do not come from the Bible, that's for sure. But Christians claim otherwise. In order to do this they must cherry-pick the Bible for minority voices and reject the majority voices since much of Biblical morality comes from a barbaric era. Let's take a different tack and say there was never a Bible and never a Christian religion at all, or any religion. Is it really plausible to say we needed the Bible to tell us anything about slavery such that without it we would still embrace slavery, or any other socially needed change? Where do social advancements come from? How about human creativity and need, just like the advancement of science? We noticed slaves were human beings. We noticed women were not inferior to men. We noticed people are not evil so much as they may be maladjusted. We noticed that democracy is a better way to solve our disputes. We noticed that medicine heals people and that science works. We noticed that animals feel pain. We noticed that the environment is important to sustain all life. Isn't that enough for social and ethical change? No, Christians did not get their morals from the Bible. They noticed the same things and simply picked the few good cherries out the Bible and rejected the overwhelming number of bad ones.

Dr. Jaco Gericke - Confessions of a Died-Again Christian

Jaco was interviewed on the Point of Inquiry program recently. Enjoy. Click on the tag below for more from him.

Quote of the Day on Hitler, by Richard Carrier

Even if Hitler had to pretend to be a Christian to get people behind his program against the Jews (and it was a public program, as Mein Kampf makes clear, and of course the fact that thousands of Germans happily carried it out), then the idea that atheism caused the holocaust is clearly refuted. [via email]

Quote of the Day

With over 30,000 different denominations and sects to choose from, Christianity bears no orthodoxy, no consistency and no authority whatsoever. It has hundreds of 'official' denominations who disagree, sometime violently on all foundational tenets of the religion. Given the general level of ignorance people have about the religion they adopt and their propensity for moulding it to be what they want it to be, one could argue that each Christian has their own denomination. We can state confidently, with evidence and reason that Christianity hasn't a clue what it believes or why. Until the Christianity’s can actually internally agree and harmonise what they believe and state why, they all remain a laughably absurd and unsubstantiated proposition to those who do not believe. Your argument is not with atheists, it's with the other 29,999 sects who view your Christianity as a joke. Link.

My Responses to "You Were Never a Christian"

As an ex-Christian you've heard the same spiel, "You were never a Christian." How do you respond? I respond in four ways: 1) That's just one of your delusions. There are many more; 2) Your God promised that if I believed he would save me. I believed, so why didn't he keep his promise?; 3) I don't care what you think. Deal with my arguments; 4) You're right, because there isn't any truth to Christianity. I was never saved because Jesus doesn't save anyone and that includes you.

My Talk for CFI Indiana

I enjoyed speaking for CFI Indiana last night. Reba Boyd Wooden is the executive director. I'm told it is the most active CFI group in America. This is got to be due to Reba, a retired teacher, who has a great group of people behind her. She kept saying things like "let's hope we have a good turnout" before the meeting. So I began wondering whether we would, especially 20 minutes before the program was to begin when we only had 6-7 people there. But they came and packed the small room we had with about 90 people. They paid $5 (members) to $10 (non-members) to come hear Lil Ole me speak. So far my experience from Los Angeles to Denver to Chicago to St. Paul to Cleveland to Buffalo to Grand Rapids to Madison (and elsewhere) has been that more people show up for my talks than was expected. That's cool. Thanks for your encouragement. Book me now! :-)

Win a Free Copy of The Christian Delusion

Hemant Mehta, The Friendly Atheist, announced how you can win a free copy of my book, which was very nice of him. As you can see, the Kindle version is doing very well right now: