Cody Rudisill's Infant Salvation in Evangelical Theology, pt. 2 - the response

A few weeks ago I posted a piece of work that Cody Rudisill, a commentator here, had put together on the subject of infant salvation - whether newborns and young children would be saved or damned eternally in the context of Calvinist Christianity. Cody clearly showed the problems in Calvinist thought and presented a good syllogism.

In this piece, Cody revisits the problem and deals with the typically problematic response that he received within Christian academia. See what you think:

101 Reasons Why Evolution is True

Here is a great compilation of evidence on a single page.

Good intellectual ammo for debating creationists.

Perhaps Ed Brayton and PZ Myers Should Both Apologize

It's not like I am threatening their jobs, or calling for their resignation from an atheist organization, or saying I won't speak at the same events they do, or refusing to buy any of their books or anything (wait, they didn't write any). But that's what we have seen from a few Freethought Bloggers, including a defense of Greg Laden who actually physically threatened Justin Griffith. You should see what they're saying about me now. They don't even realize that by talking about irrelevancies and/or personally attacking me it does not answer my arguments, which are backed up by a lot of women feminists here, there, and everywhere, who just wanted a chance to speak up, having been frustrated by FtB so far. There is an utter lack of respect for disagreement and a nastiness that goes with it at FtB that disheartens me very much. I wish the more reasonable voices at FtB would teach them a thing or two about critical thinking, but I hope in vain. Many of them don't even understand a simple argument. But these are the kinds of people being attracted by the bloggers there, especially by PZ Myers and Ed Brayton. The buck stops with them. They have created this environment and they owe the rest of us an apology. I don't expect one though, but they should. It's okay to move into the future with welcomed new policies at FtB. But before that they should both apologize to us all.

Ed Brayton, PZ Myers, and Freethought Bloggers, Listen to Me

I know you have a herd mentality and have a strong tendency not to listen to outsiders, especially "apostates" who have "left the fold" like me. But you must if you want to restore your credibility and be a positive force for skepticism in the world. We are allies in our desire to change the socio-religious landscape, not enemies. For those who don't know, Greg Laden, the obnoxious Ph.D. from Harvard, was just kicked off FtB for good reason [Harvard must be so proud--not!]. So also was Thunderf00t. I've written about Thunderf00t before. He set a record by lasting less than two weeks at Freethought Blogs! Ed, PZ, if you had just listened to me you would not be in this mess. Let me explain.

Baker Books Catalog Entry for "God or Godless"

You can see it here. I feel the same as Dr. Rauser does when saying on his blog:

I have to tell you, the worst part about writing books is sitting on your hands for the year-long lag from completion of the manuscript to the day it hits the bookstores. As a result, you end up biding your time pathetically posting in your blog even the most trivial updates on the book which, come to think of it, is exactly what I’m doing right now.

Quote of the Day, by Thunderf00t of Freethought Blogs

I personally see ‘freethoughtblogs’ as unrepresentative of the wider rationalist community in:

1) The disproportionate amount of attention it gives to sexism compared to other issues.

2) The way that those who disagree on the matter of sexism are attacked with a disproportionate amount of strawmen, invective and branding (misogynist, MRA, etc etc). This is a behavior more in line with bullying than free thought.

.. and this puts FTB on a trajectory to be more of a fringe group that is intolerant of non-conformity, than a haven for free thought. An ill wind that really doesn’t blow anyone any good. Link.

Susan Jacoby vs Dinesh D'Souza: Is Christianity Good for American Politics?

See what you think below:

Book Review: The New Edition of WIBA is "A Stunning Tour-De-Force"

With an eye towards answering his critics, he has revised, expanded, and improved the book. This new version is a stunning tour-de-force criticism of the Christian faith both from an outsider’s and insider’s point of view. Mr. Loftus confronts the problem of evil, the self-authenticating witness of the Holy Spirit, miracles, the veracity of holy texts, the ‘problem’ of science, and so much more in this volume. Anyone doubting their faith or anyone who wants to defend it must deal with the issues Mr. Loftus raises in Why I Became an Atheist.- Reviewed by Jonathon Howard for the Sacramental/San Francisco Book Review.

DC to the rescue! (and atheism is NOT a religion)

A poster at DC who has recently started contributing, Michael Wassil (under the moniker amwassil), asked for some help with an argument he was having on another forum. He requested we somehow copy and paste the thread over to here so regular contributors could get involved in the discussion. This is not what we usually do, admittedly. I like the idea that we can be of assistance to those who need it. In this case, it is the Christians commentators on that thread.

Rather than copy and paste the whole thread, I will set out some of the main points they make in order to discuss them. However, there are so many points, and so many egregious errors, as to make this a difficult task. I will set out the first 5 and see where we go. Hopefully, some of them might drop by and we can have a good ole debate.

Why Doubt Is The Adult Attitude And How Science Helps Us

Anyone who understands the slightest bit about human rationality knows enough not to claim he or she knows too much with any high degree of assuredness. Doubt is a virtue. It's the adult attitude. It's the attitude we must develop since we're not born with it. As children we believed whatever we were told, until we become adults. Even as adults it isn't very easy at all for most people to doubt what they were raised to believe. Most adults still believe a large part of what they were taught as children, especially when it comes to their religious faith. It doesn't even occur to most of them that they should doubt their inherited faith. I have repeatedly made the distinction between affirming a claim and doubting it. And there is a continuum for doubting a claim based on how out-of-the-ordinary that claim is to us. The more out-of-the-ordinary a claim is then the more evidence we need to accept it. There is nothing controversial about this at all.

“Without God and the Bible, Atheists Have No Morals!”

Upstate Pastor Charged in Prostitution Sting The pastor at an Upstate S.C. church has been charged in a prostitution sting, according to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. Michael Wolfe., senior pastor at Advent United Methodist Church, was arrested on June 1 and charged with prostitution first offense. A parishioner told WYFF that on Sunday, Wolfe addressed the congregation and said he would not be preaching for a while. He said that he stopped to help someone and was naive and stupid got caught in something. He assured the congregation he felt he would be vindicated. Wolfe declined WYFF's request for an interview. Laura Campbell with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office said 48 people were arrested in weekend prostitution stings. According to the church's website, Wolfe, who is married, also taught religion at the University of South Carolina, Spartanburg Methodist College, Erskine Seminary and most recently, Greenville Technical College. Deputies made 34 additional arrests for prostitution or loitering to engage over the two day period.

Why don't all animals photosynthesise? (the Problem of Evil revisited)

Here is a video I did some time ago which I think sums up the Problem of Evil is one fell swoop. The question sidesteps free will theodicies, especially as it applies to the rest of the animal world. See what you think.

Perhaps I've Been Going About It All Wrong ;-)

I have purposely tried not to criticize other atheists so as not to offend them in hopes they would recommend my work. Well, as I reported earlier, some important atheists aren't doing it even though I've avoided criticizing them. I know I get the attention of Christian scholars when I critique their work, just as I respectfully did with professor John F. Haught, who in turn responded to my review of his book, "God and the New Atheism." The two following music videos don't convey exactly how I feel, but they express just a little of my feelings as I consider what to do differently, if anything. I suspect a change of some kind brewing. Brewing, that's a good word. Time for a beer. ;-)

PZ Myers and JW Loftus Compared

The reason I like Pharyngula is that PZ doesn't give a shit what the religious think except when they try to make their stupid ideas and actions affect those outside their sanctuary. Then, it's no-holds-barred ridicule.

Divine Knowledge--Or the Lack Thereof

This is a brief excerpt from our book that is almost completed.  It relates to my past post on Yahweh, and how this anthropomorphized god is further illustrated to be quite ignorant.  

Epistemology is the study of knowledge, and epistemologically speaking, knowledge is gained by asking the following questions: What is it? How do we find knowledge? How do we know?

Aron Ra's "Faith is not a Virtue"

Articulett gave me the heads up to this video and asked that I post it. It has some nice little nuggets in, not least the quote I transcribed and posted below which I am using in another post. The video is Aron Ra, known in the blogosphere, giving a public talk for half an hour and then receiving questions.

My Response to Ed Brayton of Freethought Blogs

Ed Brayton says he welcomes disagreement. Does he? If we both started driving toward each other we could meet halfway in an hour and a half for a few beers and laughs. We are that close to each other in our views too. We are not world’s apart. I suspect he welcomes disagreement from people he considers his friends. Am I his friend? We shall see. While Ed appreciates my work very much (thanks so much Ed!) he recently answered two questions of mine and offered two basic criticisms of me. Let's start with the questions.

Quote of the Day, D Rizdek on writing the Gospels

During a debate with Vincent which has been really fruitful, over here (on the nativity accounts), D Rizdek came out with this gem. It is well worth posting. Lots to talk about. It is such a rich subject - what sort of person compiled the Gospels and how would they logistically go about it? See what you think.

It always puzzles me at the idea that someone might assume one person, be he named Matthew or Sam, just sat down one day and decided to write a book called the Gospel according to Matthew from memory or from his own notes. Is this how literary scholars think things got written? It seems much too simplistic to me.

An Example of the Absurd Logic of Christian Apologist, JW Wartick

This post is an illustration of the absurdity of the Christian apologist, JW Wartick's argument concerning The Morality of God: Christ at the Center

Wartick claims that:

"They (New Atheists) accuse the God of the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) of being an evil, sadistic being (to put it nicely). They defame God’s name and delight in calling Him unjust. In all of this, however, they betray their complete lack of knowledge about Scripture, God, and the universe. ...there are (among many others) two primary ways that the New Atheists are in error when they attack God in such a way. These two ways are:

1) They forget that if God does indeed exist, then they are in no position to judge God.
2) They ignore Christology, which is of utmost importance in any discussion of God.

Wartick then provides the following argument:
1. If the God of classical theism exists, then He is sovereign (i.e. the ultimate authority in the universe)
2. Assume, for the sake of argument, that the God of classical theism exists.
3. Therefore, God is the ultimate authority in the universe."

The Confusing and Contradictory Doctrines of Christian Salvation

Anytime someone is presented salvation in Jesus Christ, it is assumed they know and understand the Hebrew sacrificial system that has been modified to (again) accept human sacrifice. (1) Other than that, the idea of a person giving their life for you is nothing short of an universal emotional “sob story”.
Here are some major problems with any doctrine of Christian Salvation:

How Evangelical Christians Can Be Better Prepared For College

The answer, in short, is to become better informed. [My specific advice is below, but first here is some important background information]. I have spoken about the continued retreat of believers who have refashioned their theology down through the generations because of the skeptical onslaught, and I mean this. It happens in every generation. It has happened in my generation. The only people who don't know this are young kids who are raised within cloistered Christian communities, attend parochial schools (and/or home-schooled), and who attend parochial Bible Colleges and Seminaries. They are taught the parochial theology of their day as accepted by their parents and teachers as if it has always been the truth, that the different theologies of yesterday were wrong, and/or that their particular evangelical faith is the culmination of all Christian thought and reflection of the past. They are taught that what they believe is exactly what Jesus, Paul, and James all believed. I wrote about the changing theological tide in the Introduction to The Christian Delusion, which is evidenced further by my own alma mater: What Happens When Evangelicals Attract the Best and the Brightest? The Test Case of My Alma Mater, Lincoln Christian University. Now listen to what an evangelical like Peter Enns writes below, with a title that says it all: "Rethinking Biblical Christianity."

Most Skeptical Thought Is But A Footnote to Robert G. Ingersoll

Everyone should know something about Robert G. Ingersoll, who helped produce what's been described as the Golden Age of Freethought (ca. 1856-1899), an era that might be seen akin to the modern so-called "New Atheism" but eventually ended (will our era be overtaken once again sometime in the future by superstition? I doubt it.) There are tons of his masterful lectures to be found in several volumes, which are extremely erudite and insightful, prefiguring much of what skeptics are arguing for today. In fact, it could be said that most skeptical thought is but a footnote to Ingersoll, aside from the continued findings of science, the different historical realities, and the continued retreat of believers who have refashioned their theology based on the skeptical onslaught. One difference about Ingersoll with some of the New Atheists is that he understood the Christianity of his day as well as most theologians did. I have excerpted the following paragraphs from a debate he had with a Mr. Black on "The Christian Religion," the full text of which can be found here. You will enjoy this, I guarantee it:

The Nativity: A Critical Examination

Whilst some of you may think Christmas has come early, the reality is that I have a new book out which deals with the historicity of the nativity accounts found in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. As if all the other arguments that we and you produce here at DC aren’t enough, there’s nothing like topping it all off with a healthy dose of critical historical analysis.

So the book is called The Nativity: A Critical Examination and the more involved in writing and researching it I became, the more amazed I was that anyone actually buys a historical ideal of those accounts! In this post, I will look to just one niche aspect of the two Gospels that report the birth of the Godmanspirit on earth.

How To Avoid Just Talking To Ourselves

It is inevitable that when people form a community they have a tendency to eventually forget why they formed that community in the first place. It depends on the type of community of course, but usually this is this case. So communities are in danger of becoming myopic and focused on themselves, their needs, and their issues. Being involved in a community demands that people in that community talk to one another about their community needs. They must talk about the issues of that community for they are relevant to the people in it. I have noticed this when it comes to some of the Freethought Bloggers, but other places as well.

Jesus as a Huge Colony of Bacteria: Unclean!

Trillions of bacteria live in our bodies. They outnumber our human cells, 10 to 1. So who’s in charge? What are we? Maybe you thought your body was a noble castle poised against the onslaughts and invasions of the world. Well, think again. It turns out, we are the world. Our bodies are loaded with a jungle of microbial life, inside and out, that is essential to healthy life. New science has found ten times as many bacteria cells as human cells in and on the human body. A load of microbes that work with us from the moment of birth in all kinds of key ways.
Listen to this fascinating discovery on NPR .
(It's claimed Jesus was not tainted by Original Sin, however - based on modern facts - he sure was during vaginal birth!)

Mike Mcrae Interviewed About His Wonderful Book

Previously I highly recommended Mike Mcrae's book Tribal Science: Brains, Beliefs, and Bad Ideas. Now you can hear an interview with him about it.

An Open Challenge to Dr. Keith Parsons and Other Atheist Philosophy of Religion Professors

On September 1st 2010 Keith Parsons announced he was no longer going to teach in the area of the Philosophy of Religion. He wrote:

The “Snopes” of the Christian Urban Faith Claims

From a Reviewer:
There are two types of people who need to read this book - Christians who keep circulating "messages of faith" on the internet without first checking to see if they are true, and "everyone else" because they will find the truth behind some of those emails quite funny (and embarrassing for the Christians). I find it ironic that people of faith, who purport to adhere to the Ten Commandments, have no problem with circulating outright lies which happen to support their beliefs - and in doing so violate the 9th Commandment (Thou shalt not bear false witness). If you care if what you believe is true read this book, and if you are okay with being a liar by all means pass it by.

Most all chapters can be read for free on line at Amazon .
Harry McCall

Peter Boghossian, "Faith is Pretending To Know Things You Don't Know"

This is a follow-up to his talk, Faith Based Belief Processes Are Unreliable.

Infant Salvation in Evangelical Theology, pt. 1: The Reformed Consensus

I have been conversing with Cody Rudisill, a poster here at DC, recently. He approached me with an argument he has been working on as a student at Ligonier Academy (headed by R.C Sproul). I think it is pretty fatal for the Reformed Theologian (Calvinist) who adheres to infant salvation with regards to young children escaping eternal damnation upon their untimely, early deaths. See what you think.

The Case Against Christianity in 15 Minutes or Less

One of my favorite foils in the Christian blog world is JW Wartick, (one of many apologists who have blocked me) so I thought I would take one of the favorite posts on his blog, and have a little fun with it. I find it interesting that Christianity is constantly on the defensive, because if it was a logical, with consistently held belief, it would be easier to defend against skeptics without using Humpty Dumpty semantics and/or ad hoc measures. However, since this is not the case, Christians such as Wartick and others of his ilk are constantly trying to defend their inconsistent and illogical beliefs, so Wartick came up with his, "The Case for Christianity in 15 Minutes (or Less).  Well, we'll see about that....lol.

The Original Sinner and the “Original Sin” in Eden Exposed

Preface
What totally amazes me is the fact that I know of many highly intelligent people who are Doctors of Medicine, Law, Physics, Chemistry, Accountants and many more who have not only proven to have a high I.Q. with advance degrees and who have also passed their State Boards. However, ironically these normally smart professionals are extremely “dumbed down” by swallowing far-fetched stories (that they would clearly have rejected in their daily business lives) simply because they are labeled “religious”. In this way, these highly intelligent professionals function much like autistic savants, only in reverse in that while they are usually brilliant in their professional fields, they tend to have little cognitive skills in reality when exposed to wild religious stories they swallow hook, line and sinker! Thus, the theme of my Post in reading the Eden account with some logic:

My Resume On a Card, Five Published Books in Five Years

This was a lot of hard work and I am especially grateful for the contributors to TCD and TEC. The last two books will come out early next year, which I'm the most excited about right now. I'm very grateful to Randal Rauser for inviting me to co-write God or Godless with him. These books will have an impact over the coming years. The main problem is getting people to read them. Most people don't read more than a book or two a year. ;-)

Victor Reppert and finding it tough to love your enemy

I was perusing Victor Reppert’s blog in order to catch a feeling of what apologists around are saying, in response to the feedback the other week. Something that Reppert was talking about over on his blog dangerous idea the other day struck me as slightly nonsensical. Reppert was dealing with Keith Parsons talking about the commandment to love thy enemies, and how far this should be taken. Parsons gives examples of really terrible actions of certain people and Reppert counters that loving these people is “above his pay grade”:

Parsons: A further issue I have always had with Christianity is the one you express as follows:

"Christians are enjoined by their faith to love others, and I take it that means that regardless of how badly a person has gone wrong, we think that, by the grace of God, that they could someday be brought to disconnect themselves from their sin by repentance."

Taken literally, this means that Christians are enjoined to love, say, people who throw acid into the faces of little girls to keep them from going to school. Indeed, Christians are enjoined to love tyrants, serial killers, traffickers in sexual slavery, drug cartel thugs, terrorists, fanatics, con men who cheat the elderly out of their life savings, etc.

Christian Scholars Are Defending Me? Now I Know I'm Doomed! ;-)

In writing to Jeffrey Jay Lowder who is the co-editor and contributor to the best skeptical book so far on the resurrection of Jesus, Christian philosopher Victor Reppert used me as a contrast with the “so-called” New Atheists:

I think the New Atheists are doing things which are a fundamental betrayal of the basic rules which must underlie all discourse concerning matters so serious as religion. It affects people like John Loftus, who has some interesting ideas, but invariably ruins the possibility of serious discourse with him by propagandistic tactics. A kind of atheist fanaticism is brewing, which undermines the very process which makes atheist-theist dialogue at all rewarding. Link

David Marshall, a Christian apologist who has written several books defending his faith, said:

Christianity-- A Disingenuous Religion Based on Lies and Deception

According to the video below, C. Michael Patton, Th.M. and Tim Kimberley, Th.M of Credo House, describe how, when believers are presented before Yahweh, their own resumes could never measure up, so instead, they must submit the resume that belongs to Jesus in order to be "saved" and this post will explain how this analogy illustrates how disingenuous the Bible and Christianity is at its core. The video is based on the verses in Ephesians 2:8-9, which many Christians believe relieves them of any responsibility for their "sins"--for they believe that as long as they have this "gift" of "grace," they will be "saved."

Does the New Testament Misquote Jesus?

An oldie but goodie.  Bart Ehrman delivers a salvo of arguments against biblical inerrancy in his 2010 debate with Craig Evans.  

The full debate can be found here.

Why the Crucifixion of Jesus was a Waste and Rejected as Atonement by Yahweh (God)

A. The Roman method of crucifixion, which included the beating Jesus received before he was nailed to the cross, was done by non-consecrated pagan gentile men who were not set apart as holy in God’s sight. Plus the fact that Jesus’ beating and crucifixion generally was not any different from the thousands of other rebels and criminals the Romans made examples out of. (1)

A Simple Question for Christians about God’s Goodness

First, the doctrinal background for my question:

The Bible: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1: 31a) This phase ". ..it was good." is used seven times in Genesis 1.

Hell, Craig, Bradley and creating from a subgroup of freely loving individuals

I was going to post something else but A for Atheist’s post made me remember this post I did some time ago on my own blog. Although it refers to hell, it can actually refer to heaven if one switches the “don’t create the bad lot” to “DO create the good lot” and thus we have, it seems, some kind of logical evidence for God creating those of Godly nature that A was referring to herself.

I have just listened to Ray Bradley debate William Lane Craig. I heard this several years ago but didn't really pay it close attention. This time round I was quite shocked at how many points Craig evaded, or logical demands from Bradley that he met with the terms "God may" and so on.

Craig squirmed big time when Bradley pressed him on subsets of compossibles. This is a REALLY important point. I will try to set it out here:

Yahweh and the Problem of Evil--Why Yahweh is an Egotistical, Evil, Sadistic, Masochistic God

Yahweh is said by Christians to have certain attributes such as being all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful, but the attributes of the god Yahweh, as depicted in the Bible, present a god that is not only supposedly loving--but also angry, jealous, vengeful, and just plain evil. According to Christians, Yahweh is an all-powerful, all good, all knowing god--which is inconsistent with a world of suffering--and this is known as the Problem of Evil. The dilemma for Christians is that if Yahweh is all powerful and all knowing, he could accomplish any of his tasks without the need for suffering--or he would not be all powerful and all knowing. If he was all good, he would want to create a world without any pain and suffering, since it would be within his power and knowledge to do so. But clearly we have pain and suffering. Therefore, Yahweh is not all knowing, all good, or all powerful.

Apr-Jun 2012 Index

This is the index of posts from April to June 2012. It is a work in progress, as it takes an inordinate amount of time to do. Hopefully, after a while, the whole backlog of DC's catalogue, so to speak, will be much easier to peruse.

One suggestion would be to use 'ctrl+f' (the find shortcut) to search for a term. For example, if you wanted to find posts on the 'Kalam' or 'Reformed Epistemology', you could press ctrl+f and put 'kalam' or 'reformed' into the box and it will highlight the terms of the page so you can easily see the posts on this and other index pages with relevant terms that you might be researching. Alternatively, use the search bar in the sidebar.

How To Self-Destruct As a Movement

I write this as an attempt to open up a real dialogue among atheists with no axe to grind (as best as possible). It's about self-destructing as a movement. Is there any danger the atheist movement in general can self-destruct? No, not a chance. Over-all there is no danger for atheism as a whole since atheists have gained and are gaining too many victories. I think however that some atheist communities can do so, yes.

King David and Jesus: The Bible’s Mythic Super Heroes

A decade ago, I read Steven McKenzie’s King David: A Biography(Oxford University Press, 2002). What I soon realized was that the Bible creates propaganda to sell faith in its God, especially though famous characters created to promote belief in Israelite monotheism; be they Abraham, Moses, David or Jesus. These embellished Super Heroes function like our comic book (now in movies) Super Heroes such as Superman, Batman and Spiderman battling the forces of evil for a world of good. But these idealized figures simply function to serve our fantasies in a world where reality is fraught with suffering and injustice

Steven McKenzie continues his discussion of the quest for any Historical King David (a highly idealized king, but a man who was nothing short of a ruthless criminal) Here.

The Contradictory And Chaotic Gospel Lies Used to Prove the Resurrection

The Gospels can’t even get their post-resurrection stories straight! In fact, they have used lies to cover earlier lies in selling Christianity. (I view both telemarketers and the Gospel writers driven by the same ideology: Sell the product at any cost. Lies are totally OK if it creates a sell / belief!)
Here are a few of the many lies the post-resurrection Gospel stories use:

William Lane Craig and the Kalam Cosmological Argument (#1)

Recently, William Lane Craig has produced a video, based on an essay in a book he and Paul Copan have edited this year (“Come Let Us Reason: New Essays in Christian Apologetics”) entitled “Terrible objections to the Kalam Cosmological Argument”. I am yet to read the essay, but I must assume it to broadly follow the line of his video of the lecture “Worst objections to the Kalam Cosmological Argument”.

I have a mild obsession with the Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA) and am potentially one of the internet infidels to which he derogatorily refers in his introduction. What I found in his exposition of these “worst” arguments is that the talk was a fantastic array of straw men, ad hominem, mischaracterisation of cogent arguments, and poor reasoning. I will tell you for why.

A Response to Justin Griffith a Freethought Blogger

You can read our respectful exchange right here. My response follows:

What is the Mission Statement of Freethought Blogs (FtB)?

Before reading any further this present post was prompted by responses to my post In Defense of DJ Grothe. I'm not picking a fight with the FtB but I would really like to know what the mission statement of the mammoth skeptical Freethought Blog is. What unites them? What is it? Most organizations have a mission statement. I think the FtB's should come together to produce one. I would really be interested beyond the fact that they are non-believers. I'm not talking about what they agree about, since they are united about non-belief and the need for diversity, but rather what their agendas are, their goals for being there. However, my guess is that if they produced one it would be so broad of a statement that it would end up being equivalent to something like this:

Elaine Pagels’ The Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, has some of the most dramatic and frightening language in the Bible. In her new book Revelations: Visions, Prophecy and Politics in the Book of Revelation, Elaine Pagels places the Book of Revelation in its historical context and explores where the book's apocalyptic vision of the end of the world comes from. Listen on NPR

Elaine Pagels is Harrington Spear Paine Foundation Professor of Religion at Princeton University and has been called one of the world's most important writers and thinkers on religion and history. She won the National Book Award for her book The Gnostic Gospels. She is also the author of Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas.
Harry McCall

Jesus the Homosexual: Evidence From the Gospels

Jesus is created / redacted in each of the Gospel author’s mind to give credence to their own story of Jesus which – for them – would have trouble standing on its own merits. Thus in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is the New Moses and his life is set in a Roman Palestine context that mimics Israel in Egypt complete with the killing of the toddlers to Jesus even being taken down to Egypt by his family so – like Moses and the Israelites – Jesus comes out of Egypt.