Atheists...What if You're Wrong?

Militant Atheist?

I Am An Unfriendly Not-So-Famous Atheist Who is Not Preaching to the Choir

When it comes to famous atheists (i.e., those who have been on the cover of Time Magazine as but one example), many Christians will attack their work and them as people. When it comes to atheists who are not so famous, whether or not many Christians attack their work and them as people depends. It depends on whether or not they are considered friendly or unfriendly to Christianity, and it depends on whether or not they are "preaching to the choir." I find that there are several books written by unfriendly non-famous atheists who preach to the choir that get many glowing reviews from other atheists but are ignored by Christians because they don't consider their works to be informed.

I am an unfriendly non-so-famous atheist who is not preaching to the choir. ;-) So my work and person gets attacked more than other non-famous atheists. I would hope atheists would understand this. Many do.

The Argument From Christian Diversity: There is No Such a Thing as “Mere Christianity”

[Written by John W. Loftus] That Christianity is a diverse phenomena cannot be doubted. But it is diverse not only in the number of denominations but also within each denomination itself (follow the links):

Is this the Best Possible World and does God have Free Will?

Let us assume the triple properties of the classical approach to God: that he is omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent. In terms of the classic Problem of Evil argument, if there is too much evil in the world, God knows what to do about it, is powerful enough to do it, and is loving enough to want to do something about it. This argument has been around since the days of Epicurus and still remains one of the most hotly debated theological issues in modern times, causing many believers to leave the fold due to its evidential power.

A Christian Mother: "May You Rot in Hell"

A man was sentenced for molesting a boy who received what justice demanded, putting him behind bars thus keeping our boys safe. But I was struck by this outburst in the courtroom from the victim's Christian mother found in the full version of the story. Yes, it's understandable that she would say what she did. But what is it with that particular phrase? Upon further reflection and with some cooling down time, does she really wish this on her son's molester? Is any crime deserving of an eternal hell? Isn't the molester to be considered more like he's sick than evil? Perhaps he was molested and damaged as a kid himself? And would this molester's own mother ever wish an eternal hell on her son? How could a loving mother ever do that? Now it's said that a loving God doesn't send people to hell, people choose it. If this man ends up in hell did he choose to go there? Does anyone have this kind of self-hatred who would wish to go to hell with eyes wide open? And what's with the Christian mother's hell wish itself? If people choose to go to hell then what good does it do to wish it upon them? Have fun with this.

On Making A Rational Choice About Religion

Let's say you were shopping for the best car made. Your father brought you up as a die-hard Chevy lover but now you want to seriously find which car is the best one out there. How would you go about doing it? What are the criteria for what is to be considered the best car? There would be objective criteria but there would also be subjective person-related criteria. Are there any similarities here with choosing the best religion? Dissimilarities? Is choosing the best car analogous to how people search for the one true religion? In what ways? Which religions and sects within them would you seriously consider? Why not consider them all?

Then consider whether everyone could agree on which car is the best car made. Of course they couldn't, even with some agreed upon objective criteria. But let's say everyone who makes the wrong car choice will be cast into hell for an eternity? ;-) Sound unfair? Sure it does. Then why isn't it unfair when it comes to choosing the best religion? Have fun with this.

Get Educated About Homosexuality

An Omniscient God Solves All Problems and Makes Faith Unfalsifiable

It doesn't matter what the particular problem is for a person's faith. Having an omniscient God concept solves it. It could be the intractable and unanswerable problem of ubiquitous suffering; or how a man could be 100% God and 100% man without anything leftover, or left out; or how the death of a man on a cross saves us from sins; or why God's failure to better communicate led to massive bloodshed between Christians themselves. It just doesn't matter. God is omniscient. He knows why. He knows best. Therefore punting to God's omniscience makes faith pretty much unfalsifiable, which allows believers to disregard what reason tells them by ignoring the probabilities.

I call this the Omniscience Escape Clause (read the link). There is only one way to convince believers in an omniscient God that their faith is false. They must be convinced their faith is impossible before they will consider it to be improbable, and that's an utterly unreasonable standard since the arguments to the contrary cannot hope to overcome the Omniscience Escape Clause. So think on this: Given that there are so many different faiths with the same escape clause let believers seriously entertain that their own God might equally be false. Sure, an omniscient God might exist (granted for the sake of argument), but how we judge whether or not he exists cannot rely over and over on his omniscience since that's exactly how other believers defend their own culturally inherited faith. Reasonable people must not have an unfalsifiable faith, and yet an omniscient concept of God makes one's faith pretty much unfalsifiable. But this is not all...

Christians are morally compromised

Christians Need a Gestalt Shift In The Way They See Their Faith

My mentor Dr. James Strauss argued that defending the Christian faith is not necessarily about gaining more knowledge, or more evidence. It's about helping people see things differently. Skeptics who disagree don't accept this of course, but then maybe they were never on the Christian side of the fence. And maybe they don't understand why they deconverted away from it either. Seeing things differently demands a Gestalt shift, a paradigm change in the fundamental way people view something. It can be facilitated with more knowledge and evidence of course, but as with any enculturated or brainwashed mind, it might not produce a deconversion. It demands a willingness to see the Christian faith differently, and so that which forces them to see it differently is probably almost always person related. Check this description out, along with these images.

My Other Mentor, James D. Strauss

You know I earned my Th.M. under the mentoring of William Lane Craig, with whom half of my credit hours were under his teaching in the Philosophy of Religion. Here's the rest of the story. My other mentor prior to my time with Dr. Craig was Dr. James Strauss (follow the link), with whom I took the maximum number of credit hours in two Master's programs under his teaching. Strauss was the one responsible for my passion for apologetics and the philosophy of religion, and it is his method of apologetics I use in reverse when debunking Christianity, as I said in my book. Students of his were called Straussites, because we imitated him, quoted him as the authority, adopted his attitudes, and argued the way he did. He lit me up like a firecracker. He is a one of a kind guy, knowledgeable in a host of subjects. I remember having different lecturers come to speak at our seminary who then sat in his classes and said they were amazed at his breadth of knowledge. In the picture above he is with Dr. Craig at my graduation from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), June 14, 1985.

I've Finally Arrived. Now I Have a Wikipedia Article About Me.

Link. Is this a good thing? ;-)

Atheists and Sex Offenders

My Brief Response to "God's Word Never Changes"

A letter to the editor appeared in my local newspaper written by Ken Blinco, whoever he is. Since he expressed what a lot of Christians think, I responded:

The Deuteronomist and King Josiah

[Written by John W. Loftus]Here's just a brief introduction to the JEDP theory. The D stands for the Deuteronomist author/editor. That the Deuteronomist had a very unusual fondness for King Josiah, who ruled over Judah in the South from about 640-609 BCE, is found in many ways.

Is My Book Autobiographical?

There are a lot of people who are reading my anthologies right now who have not read my magnum opus, Why I Became an Atheist. If you see any review of it on Amazon or anywhere else where the person says it is autobiographical you can be sure that person has never read it. Yes, it is in parts, but that is not how I would describe it. Just a heads up. Cheers.

An Evangelical Attempts to Answer My Anthology "The Christian Delusion"

[Written by John W. Loftus] Look at the accolades for the new book Biblical Christianity: Truth or Delusion? It purports to be "A Refutation of Contemporary Arguments Against the Christian Faith, with Specific Reference to the Recent Book, The Christian Delusion," by Mark M. Hanna. Reminds me what I wrote right here. I guess we just are not informed, right? If we were "better" informed then we'd believe, right? Balderdash!

The Real God

For corroboration see this.

How Christian Apologists Work

If you read Christian works you'll see something very interesting that should tell us all they are wrong. Here's what I see. First off, there are more apologists authors than there are skeptics. So they can write five or even twenty essays and books for every one that skeptics write (and produce more YouTube videos too). There are no atheist universities but there are a plethora of Christian colleges and seminaries that support these authors while they do their research. So these apologists and philosophers refer to each other's works. If a skeptic hasn't read a particular philosophical or Biblical work (which are being spit out at an unbelievable rate) the apologist can point to something and say if we read it then our objection would fall to the ground.

Tim Kent On Why Believers Think Prayer Works

This is a nice list. Check it out.

Blog Essays on "Answered" Prayer

Hey Christian, You Can Test Your Prayers Objectively.

On God Answering Prayers Retroactively.

Who Answers Prayers?

Does God Answer Prayer? A Better Perspective.

Proving That Prayer is Superstition

Why Believers Think God Answers Prayer

Hector Avalos and Me

Recently I met up with Dr. Avalos in Goshen, IN, for a lecture he gave on his book Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence, which I highly recommend. He and I are your hosts here at DC as the #1 ranked Biblioblog, although Hector doesn't post that often.

Has Christianity Passed the Outsider Test for Faith?

It is said that Christianity has been passing the Outsider Test for Faith (OTF) from the very beginning, and is still doing so as the gospel penetrates non-Christian cultures. Let me respond briefly.

Professor Matt McCormick On "Defense Lawyers for Jesus"

William Lane Craig's and Wolterstorff’s revelations here put their arguments for God in a new light. When Craig presses the Kalam argument, or any other argument for a religious conclusion, what we see now is that he doesn’t really mean it. He has openly resolved to reject any other argument no matter what its merits if it doesn’t have the right conclusion. The acceptability of any argument is determined solely by whether it gives him the conclusion he already favors. Trying to argue him out of that conclusion is doomed to fail because the only legitimate function that reasoning can be put to, as he sees it, is in support of Jesus. There are no considerations, reasons, pieces of evidence, or arguments, even in principle that could possibly dissuade him. That would presume that his conclusions about Jesus were arrived at on the basis of reasoning, and not the other way around. Link

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.