One of the most common claims about my books, coming mostly from Christians but also from a few atheists, neither of whom have any credentials or body of work to their names, is the accusation that there is nothing new in them. I think the reason they say this is because it makes them sound intelligent. For it's very very difficult to come up with a new argument in this late stage of human understanding. Anyone can say this with little fear of being wrong (except when it comes to new scientific findings). Any ignoramus can say such a thing too. It makes them sound superior without actually doing the hard work themselves, of in-depth researching for the best arguments in the available literature and then trying to make a good case themselves. Confound the ancients, they've stolen all of our ideas! So here's my attempt at disabusing them of this claim, something I recently wrote in response to an atheist who said it about the book God or Godless?:
July 06, 2013
Christians Shouldn't Outta Do That!
I went to the local Christian bookstore yesterday and guess what I found? My book God or Godless?
was displayed on a bookshelf with the cover facing the shopper. They had three copies. Woooo Hoooo! Little do Baker Books and those bookstores know but they have invited the devil into their houses. ;-)
July 05, 2013
Three Questions Concerning the Function of Theism in the Modern World
1. Should it be an ethical mandate for science to remove a whole section of God’s creation from the face of the earth (for example, the total elimination of certain harmful parasites, germs and viruses)?
2. If no (to protect theism), should humanity be left to suffer with these divine creations as the Will of God?
3. If yes, then should the logical next step be to eliminate God (Theism itself) as an ethical failure due to the fact that science is having to cleanup up God’s many malevolent creations?
2. If no (to protect theism), should humanity be left to suffer with these divine creations as the Will of God?
3. If yes, then should the logical next step be to eliminate God (Theism itself) as an ethical failure due to the fact that science is having to cleanup up God’s many malevolent creations?
Atheism 101: The Null Hypothesis
An excellent explanation of the null hypothesis and burden of proof from Youtuber AntiCitizenX. Be sure to check out his channel for more excellent videos on apologetics, as well as a fascinating Psychology of Belief playlist
July 04, 2013
An Analogy on How Most Christian Apologists Defend the Bible
An atheist arguing with a Christian apologist is like driving down a highway with him (or her) in your car. As you drive along, he continually and randomly points to land, cars, buildings and even planes in the sky stating: “My family owns that . . . and we own this . . . and we own that . . .I KNOW we do without a doubt along with much more!” However, common sense tells the atheist that these claims aren't logical, in fact, they’re impossible and the atheist tells this to the Christian.
July 03, 2013
July 02, 2013
Open Thread for Comments On the Book "God or Godless"
Since so many people have gotten the free ebook God or Godless?: One Atheist. One Christian. Twenty Controversial Questions.
let's now discuss what you're reading. What d'ya think?
July 01, 2013
"God or Godless" Now Ranked #1 in Free Kindle Apologetics Books
That's exactly where I want to be given today's free promotion. ;-)
Richard Carrier on the Free ebook Offer of "God or Godless"
There is one thing people should to know about my friendship with Richard. He was the first scholar to recognize and recommend my work, and for that I'll be ever grateful (Ed Babinski did so before him). As I look at the five books I've published in five years, Richard's influence on me is evident. You can see it with my use of him as a solid resource in support of my arguments, or as a contributing author for my anthologies, or as a blurber for my individually written books. Here's what he additionally said today about the book "God or Godless":
I’d recommend starting any debate online, for example, by having both sides read the corresponding mini-debate in this book, and then continuing from there. And if you just want some ideas for how to debate these topics in general, or even to help you think about them in building your own philosophy of life, this book is well suited as a primer for the task. Even if you don’t think either side is making the very best possible defense of their position, it’s even a useful task to think through how you’d do it better, since both are representative of some of the best approaches. So even then it’s a good place to start. LINK.He joins other atheist reviewers like Robert Price in recommending this book. And, did I say you can get it free today, July 1st? That's right!.
Inspired With Error: The Gospel of Matthew Can’t Remember Who Said What in the Old Testament
The following was copied from Bruce Metzger’s A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed., p. 55.
What is exposed is a total screw up / misquote by the author of the Gospel of Matthew (who is under divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit) when he thought that Jeremiah (Ἰερεμίου) made a prophetic statement about Judas: “Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the
thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel,” Matthew 27:9.
Finally, we then see how later editors tried to cleanup this misquote by either re-assigning it to Zechariah or Isaiah or by leaving out "Jeremiah" altogether.
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Finally, we then see how later editors tried to cleanup this misquote by either re-assigning it to Zechariah or Isaiah or by leaving out "Jeremiah" altogether.
June 29, 2013
New Puzzles About the Divine Attributes by Moti Mizrahi
The first puzzle he presents about omniscience purportedly shows that the divine attribute of omniscience is incoherent. The second puzzle about omnibenevolence and omnipotence shows that these two divine attributes are logically incompatible. The third puzzle about perfect rationality and omnipotence shows that these two divine attributes are logically incompatible. See what you think:
Reach an Audience Who Visits Here About 180,000 Times Per Month!
You can reach this huge audience with your product or service for just $75 a month here at DC. See the advertisement at the right for Reasonist Products? That's all they're paying. The ad doesn't have to be atheist oriented. It could be for an insurance agency, a financial agency, or an artist who wants to promote her work. Christian ads will cost more than that but I'll entertain them, I'm not scared. Contact me at johnwloftus@comcast.net. Serious inquiries only.
June 28, 2013
Tell Time Magazine to Stop Dismissing Secular Generosity
Ed Brayton just put up a post asking people to email the editors of Time magazine and urge them to do a full story about the growth of secular charities. Foundation Beyond Belief would really like to get the entire atheist blogosphere behind this effort. Time has had a reporter talking to some of the Oklahoma folks on the ground but they are vacillating on whether to actually do the story. We want to put some pressure on them to tell the full story of the incredible growth in secular service organizations. LINK. The email address for the Time editors is in the post. Help spread the word on this to others on your networks and to your readers. It's time that Time acknowledges the charitable work that the secular community does.
F**ked-up Heroes of the Bible: Samson (continued)
Recap: In Part 1, our hero has met a hot lady whom he wants to marry. He loses a riddle bet due some trickery by the aforementioned lady friend, and is forced to kill thirty guys so he can steal their clothes to pay the bet. He’s bummed, so he bunks out at his mom and dad’s, and while he’s gone, his disloyal fiancé marries the best man from the canceled wedding. Time for some good, old-fashioned revenge!
Exhibit 5:
Samson said, “This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines.” Then he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together in pairs, and he fastened a torch to each pair of tails. Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the grain fields of the Philistines. He burned all their grain to the ground, including the sheaves and the uncut grain. He also destroyed their vineyards and olive groves.Arson and animal cruelty. That’s two out of three of the psychopath indicators. Definitely not PETA-approved,and we have the deliberate destruction of private property.
Judges 15:3-5 (NLT)
June 25, 2013
Quote of the Day, by a Christian Named Tannert:
I have been trying to disprove the Bible for quite some time now.He (?) is a first time commenter, the kind we get who thinks he can straighten us out, saying,
All religions, except for Christianity, conflict with scientific fact, and history. If you can show me one plausible conflict contained within the Bible, and explain to me how its writers predicted the future far before it happened in specific detail...Then I will move it to the list of my false gods, but I promise you won't be able too.I threw out a few examples. Undeterred, he's the "answer man" and mindlessly spit out some answers. If he's truly interested in trying to disprove the Bible *cough* then I suggest he reads just two books, Why I Became an Atheist, and The Outsider Test for Faith: How to Know Which Religion is True. In fact, if any Christian claims to be doing this then I've suggested twelve books to read, one per month. You can start reading them any given month. I very much doubt he'll read any of them. So much then for disingenuously claiming what he did. It's empty rhetoric, an apologist's trick, claiming he's doing something he isn't doing in order to sound more believable. Typical Christian. It reminds me of so many Christians who are now claiming to have been atheists before becoming Christians, when in reality they weren't intellectual atheists but rather practical atheists. There is a big difference. For all I know, they are still practical atheists. ;-)
June 24, 2013
Refuting the"Fine Tuning" Argument for God (Sean Carroll)
Physicist Sean Carroll lays some of the problems with the popular "fine tuning" arguments for a god.
You can check out Carroll's post-debate reflections on his blog here: http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2014/02/24/post-debate-reflections/
June 23, 2013
Surely He Wasn't a "Real Christian"!
Pastor arrested, charged with sex crimes
SUMTER, S.C. —A Sumter pastor has been charged with sexually assaulting three female members of his church. Police said Friday that 58-year-old Larry Durant had been arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. He also faces four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Police say family members told them Durant coerced the victims into having sex with him starting in 2011. Police say the Word International Ministry pastor told the victims the activity was part of the "healing process" and "private prayer."
It wasn't known if Durant had an attorney. He is also charged with forgery after allegedly forging the name of one of the victim's grandmothers on property documents, which he then filed with Sumter County.
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matt. 19: 26)
SUMTER, S.C. —A Sumter pastor has been charged with sexually assaulting three female members of his church. Police said Friday that 58-year-old Larry Durant had been arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. He also faces four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Police say family members told them Durant coerced the victims into having sex with him starting in 2011. Police say the Word International Ministry pastor told the victims the activity was part of the "healing process" and "private prayer."
It wasn't known if Durant had an attorney. He is also charged with forgery after allegedly forging the name of one of the victim's grandmothers on property documents, which he then filed with Sumter County.
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matt. 19: 26)
June 22, 2013
F**ked-up Heroes of the Bible: Samson
With as irate as fundamentalist Christians get about sex and violence in movies (well, sex at least- they are pretty okay with violence), it is surprising the kind Bible stories that get passed off as appropriate for the kiddies. Sunday School lessons are populated with all sorts of unsavory characters plucked from the pages of the Good Book, sanitized and shined up to be presented to impressionable children. Christians are so desensitized to the nature of what is really going on in the stories that they fail to see that maybe - just maybe - these Hall of Shame members are not the best role models for kids to look up to.
Today’s example: Samson, who even has been immortalized as an children's action figure.
Samson’s sordid saga is detailed in Judges, chapters 13 through 16. It is like one long and violent soap opera. For the sake of brevity, we’ll just hit the low-lights as I present evidence that this hero of the faith (Hebrews 11:32) was just a scoundrel living the thug life.
June 21, 2013
Luiz Fernando Zadra on the Matrix Possibility
We know we are not in the Matrix because there's no Morpheus around asking us to take red pills, and traveling with us to a different realm of experience from where he can show us that our past life is an machine created illusion. After taking the red pill, your belief in the Matrix will become justified. Until there, it is not. Pretty simple. I don't know why people get so confused about it.
Quintessential Articulett
I'd say that anything that leads you to believe that you know which immeasurable beings are real and which ones are myth/false/superstition is irrational. It's a poor epistemology-- you can see this when it comes to people who believe in fairies or that they are the reincarnated spirit of Buddha or that demons are possessing you-- Heck, they may believe YOU are the anti-christ... but that doesn't mean that they are using the same process that you use to believe that you are NOT the anti-christ. The reason the Scientologist believes Scientology is not the same reasoning you use to believe that Scientology's teaching are bullshit. You are confusing belief in supernatural/far fetched thingies with the dismissal of these ideas-- all believers in magic like to classify skepticism of their claims as beliefs and pretend (as you do) that this means there's a 50-50 probability that their magical beliefs are the truth. (they confuse 2 options with the idea that both options are equally likely.)
Mathematician Dr. James Lindsay Explains How Math Originated
In the beginning, people like you had a rock. The idea of "one" was invented to describe the number of things you had. Then later, you found another rock, and the idea of "two" was invented to describe the situation for when you had one rock and added another rock to your pile. It was realized that the same applies not just to rocks, and numbers were given abstract meaning of their own. Arbitrary symbols, though not arbitrary like "A+A=B" (really, you embarrass yourself) for these numbers were eventually assigned.
Quote of the Day, by Papalinton ;-)
The rise and rise of Debunking Christianity as a forum for measured discussion continues. And just as a heading-lock gyro in a helicopter keeps it tracking true, no matter the direction the wind is blowing, so too does DC track straight and true. It is the place I start the morning, first thing, with a coffee, orientating my day. Increasingly DC is becoming a point of first referral at many sites across the blogosphere, its status and standing as a platform for reasoned discussion continues to consolidate, forensically clipping the remaining bedraggled and time-worn strands to a by-gone worldview, challenging head-on the recalcitrant nature of supernatural superstition.
Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand
After over 300 comments on how I know E=mc2 I'm transferring the discussion/debate here. I do find it interesting, so in a way I thank Steve for raising it. Now he has brought up a different example. In his own words:
My Podcast Interview With Reasonable Doubts
It's Episode 116 (my part begins around 31:30). Unlike almost all others this 30 minute interview was done in a studio. It's about my two recent books.
June 19, 2013
How Do I Know E=mc2
Since I demand sufficient objective evidence for what I think is true, here is the question:
I assume, from reading your book the OTF, that you believe that E=mc2. (Perhaps you would say that you do not "believe" that E=mc2; rather, you "know" that E=mc2. Either way; I won't quibble. At least not for now.) The initial question that I have for you is: How do you believe (or, if you insist, know) that E=mc2? Not why, but how? What is the process by which you John Loftus have arrived at the belief (knowledge) that E=mc2?*Sheesh* Right now I have other things to do than waste it on this drivel. Maybe others can help me out here. [FYI: I did a master's degree research paper on the theory of general relativity.] Here we see another science denier for Jesus.
June 18, 2013
Use of Classical Greek Etymologies as an Apologetic Defense for New Testament Hellenistic Greek: A Two Edged Sword
I received two comments telling me that I was wrong on the use of the word the church (τη εκκλησια) in Matthew 18: 17.
The first was more technical by a Daniel and is quoted in full below.
June 17, 2013
A Biblical Lie (The Exodus) Exposes Jesus Christ as a Fraud
Sadly for all Christians, their Holy Savior Jesus Christ (as a good Jew) swallowed this baseless Jewish myth hook-line and sinker! What we now find exposed is the fact that this all-knowing Son of God was little more than a wandering ignorant Jewish bigot (if he ever existed).
Victor Reppert Again. I Swear Christians Have Stunted Imaginations
It's as if they cannot even conceive of anything different than what they believe. I showed this with regard to Richard Swinburne in The End of Christianity.
[By the way, that is a damned good book even if I say so myself]. Victor is defending the "truth" but also the ridiculousness of the three-tiered world that is required in order to believe Jesus ascended into heaven (i.e. the sky). How does he do it? He rhetorically asks: "And if God is going to show first-century people that he went to heaven, how would you suggest he go about doing it?" My response:
Vic, this is easy. Jesus could have predicted he will disappear into the spiritual realm from whence he came. He could have said he will disappear at high noon the next day from off Mt. Olives. Then the next day when the crowd arrived, he would say goodbye and then *poof* he's gone.Again, you can't make this shit up. No wonder we reserve the right to ridicule his beliefs along with how he defends them. His brain is made stupid by his faith, I'm sorry to say.
PZ Myers Takes Down Yet Another Attempt to Save Genesis from Refutation
PZ is best when he writes about science, his expertise. He has just written a devastating critique of Daniel Friedmann's attempt to defend concordism, the view that the six days of creation in Genesis represent an unspecified literal chronological order in Genesis. I highly recommend it. All such attempts fail, all of them. If you want to read a book length treatment of other attempts to harmonize the Bible with itself and science get Robert Price and Edwin A. Suominen's excellent book, Evolving out of Eden: Christian Responses to Evolution.
June 16, 2013
Randal Rauser: "Theology is the Queen of the Sciences"
Randal was interviewed not long ago on the "Apologetics 315" podcast. The 315 refers to 1 Peter 3:15 where we read, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." Randal was raised to believe, which is typical. He is a generalist, just like me. But he affirms the antiquated view, long ago rejected, that "theology is the queen of the sciences." How is theology a science? What evidence does it deal with? What is the method of faith? This all baffles me to no end. You can't make this shit up! LINK. I do appreciate that Randal is willing to revise his theology by reinventing the origins of Christianity when needed. And I appreciate that he doesn't think atheists are necessarily irrational. But come on Randal, you know better than this, don't you? To Brian Auten of "Apologetics 315" I say, why don't you open up your interviews to atheists like me? Do what Justin Brierley of Unbelievable does. Invite a real dialogue not a monologue. Your site would be better. Unlike Justin, you couldn't even link to my blog.
Christian Philosopher Victor Reppert: "Ridiculousness and truth are not incompatible."
Here is the major defender of the argument from reason to God speaking, mind you. Either he is deliberately trying to be provocative in order to get hits or, well, you decide. He said:.
I can listen to someone mock my beliefs, in fact I can even mock them myself, and not find any reason whatsoever in the mockery for rejecting that belief. I enjoy this kind of mockery. In fact, I hold that there are certain beliefs that are on the one hand completely ridiculous, and on the other hand, completely true. Ridiculousness and truth are not incompatible.The definition of Ridiculousness: "Deserving or inspiring ridicule; absurd, preposterous, or silly. See Synonyms at foolish." I would never say that of the things I think are probably true, since probabilities are all that matter here. Faith makes you say stupid things Vic. Your Brain is Made Stupid By Faith. I'm serious folks. You can't make this shit up!
An Interview With Joe Nickell, Author of "The Science of Miracles"
Prometheus Books just released an interview with Joe Nickell about his new book, The Science of Miracles: Investigating the Incredible.
It's a book I wrote a blurb for and recommend highly. Here is their interview:
June 15, 2013
Is Atheism a Set of Beliefs?
One of the most annoying and persistent accusations made against atheists is that we have a set of beliefs. Let me try, probably in vain, to disabuse believers of their ignorance on this. They utterly fail to understand what we think. It's as if they close their eyes and stop their ears and shout while we try to explain it. Randal Rauser claims he's trying to understand us. Is he? There is a distinction to be made. Can he make it? Let's see.
Justin Brierley Interviews Randal Rauser and Myself On "Unbelievable"
Unbelievable is a top notch Christian online radio show in the UK. We were scheduled to be interviewed at 7 AM that day but Justin called at 5 AM instead (citing a time zone error). So we scrambled together to do it at 5:30 AM. I was not completely awake, nor did I have enough energy for it, but here ya go. LINK.
Dr. James Lindsay, The Outsider Test for Faith is a "Silver Bullet"
Lindsay is the author of the wonderful book, God Doesn't; We Do: Only Humans Can Solve Human Challenges.
He said some really nice things about my book, The Outsider Test for Faith.
Here's the money quote:
John Loftus's Outsider Test for Faith is well-written; it is passionate; it is important; it is engaging; and it is surprising. It's well worth the relatively short read and a lot of consideration. It's a silver-bullet argument on its central theme: which religion is true? None of them! Get it; read it; and press the OTF out into the world where it can do some good. I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in discussions about religious faith. LINK.
June 14, 2013
Dr. Hector Avalos's Book on Slavery is Now Available At An Affordable Price!
Previously Hector sent me a review copy of his book, Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Ethics of Biblical Scholarship.
I wrote a three part review of it, which can be read beginning with this first post. Now it's available at an affordable price. GET THAT BOOK NOW! Don't delay. It is without a doubt the best book on slavery and the Bible out there, and probably the best atheist book published in the last ten years or more, depending on your interests.
"The Call of God" by Ex-Preacher Is Free Today Through Sunday
The Bible says, "Many are called, but few are chosen..." This mini-book examines the call of god on the lives of Pastors, Preachers and lay people. Ex-Preacher also addresses the argument that people who leave the faith must never have been truly saved in the first place. With real life testimonials from other ex-church leaders and ex-Christians this book is a must read for all those who have left the faith or are questioning their beliefs! LINK.My own five definitive answers to Christians who say I was never saved can be read here.
Does Randal Rauser's Silence Mean He Cannot Answer Our Objections?
I just did an interview for the Reasonable Doubts podcast of Freethought Blogs (to be aired later). They asked me the above question concerning their objections to his views on the genocidal texts in the Old Testament. In February Randal said he would respond, but he needs prodding I suppose. Their objections make good sense to me. See what you think.
"This Book Changed the Course of My Life"
It's not often that one book can change the course of someone's life, but it does happen. That's what a reviewer recently said of a book. Which one? What else did he say? Here, read it for yourself:
Did You Know Ed Brayton of Freethought Blogs Was Recently Ordered to Take His Site Down?
That's right! Here's what he was told:
You are heretofore given notification to take down your atheist website. You are notified your website leads to scientific illiteracy. You are therefore hereby commanded the following: this communication also functions to notify you of the narrow minded and blasphemous nature of the content you host. It is decided atheist fiction and error has no rights. It has therefore been decided that both the conceptual and physical expression of atheist superstitions has no raison d’être either on your site or anywhere else for that matter. The Sovereign Jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Church has made this determination. Should you fail to abide by that which has been declared herein: expect a swifter arrival of condemnation. Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation: view www.vaticancatholic.comDid he do it? Hell no. What utter and complete nonsense. But that's what you get when your brain is made stupid by faith, and everyone who has faith is made to be stupid to some degree, as I recently argued. Christian, you can see it in others. Why can't you see it in yourself?
June 13, 2013
Southern Baptists Continue Their Tradition of Bigotry.
The Southern Baptist Convention, under the leadership of Rev. Fred Luter Jr. just voted to officially condemn the policy of the Boy Scouts of America, which now allows the participation of gay Scouts. They will seek the removal of executive and board members of the Boy Scouts who tried to allow gay members without first consulting religious groups. They affirm support for churches which decide to drop ties with the Boy Scouts..The irony in all of this? The Southern Baptist denomination formed as a pro-slavery breakaway from American Baptists, in 1845. In 2012, they tried to atone for their racist past by electing Fred Luter - a black man - as their leader. And now, under his leadership, they vote overwhelmingly to support bigotry against gays. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up!
Written by J. M. Green
June 12, 2013
Do Pro-Life Christians Really Care About Babies?
Lately, I've noticed a number of instances of Christian schools (Protestant and Catholic) firing teachers who become pregnant out of wedlock. The schools are the sort that like to micromanage the personal lives of their teachers, as well as their students, and often require teachers to refrain from ‘ungodly’ activities such as pre-marital sex, pornography, and homosexuality. Quite possibly masturbation or reading 50 Shades of Grey might also be firing offenses.In the case of Cathy Samford, she was engaged to be married and offered to move up the wedding date, so as to remedy her pregnant-out-of-wedlock status, but that simply wasn't good enough the squeaky-clean Pharisees at the Heritage Christian Academy in Rockwall, Texas.
According to Headmaster Dr. Ron Taylor,
"It's not that she's pregnant. The issue here is being an unmarried mother. Everything that we stand for says that we want our teachers, who we consider to be in the ministry, to model what a Christian man or woman should be."
Apparently, what the model Christian man would do is kick the pregnant Ms. Samford - along with her two dependent children from a previous marriage – out on the streets, leaving her with no job or medical care – WWJD – right?
June 11, 2013
Debating Randal Rauser in Edmonton, Canada
You can now listen to the audio of our debate in Randal's home church. It was our third and last one. There is a twist though. Just listen to the introduction to hear what it is. Hint: the Q&A was different. Enjoy. The video of it will be available soon.
A Tea Party Member Laments the Passing of White Christian Male America
{Note: Occasionally I’ll receive a spam email from the far right. The email below really drives home the ideology of the Tea Party as it confronts a changing America. Yet the IRS is being attacked for not giving immediate tax exempt charitable (non-political) status to Tea Parties with the mindset of the member below! Harry}
Written by a USMC Vet
(Spammer's Comment: The saddest, albeit possibly most accurate, short message you will read. I'm afraid this guy might be right on target! I can't argue with any of it. Passing it along as it was received.)
He wrote: The American Dream ended (on November 6th) in Ohio. The second term of Barack Obama will be the final nail in the coffin for the legacy of the white Christian males who discovered, explored, pioneered, settled and developed The greatest Republic in the history of mankind.
Written by a USMC Vet
(Spammer's Comment: The saddest, albeit possibly most accurate, short message you will read. I'm afraid this guy might be right on target! I can't argue with any of it. Passing it along as it was received.)
He wrote: The American Dream ended (on November 6th) in Ohio. The second term of Barack Obama will be the final nail in the coffin for the legacy of the white Christian males who discovered, explored, pioneered, settled and developed The greatest Republic in the history of mankind.
The Theology of a God as an Intelligent Designer Exploded!
Christian apologists claim that the detail of the universe proves the creation of a master designer: God. However, as you can plainly see in this video, a man made dumb frequency generator can create many different detailed intricate designs. Enjoy!
Tomorrow Night I'll Be Speaking for the CFI Group in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Here's the link. If you'd like to have me speak for your group email me at johnwloftus@comcast.net. Serious inquiries only.
June 10, 2013
Is Randal Rauser Impervious to Reason?
I have said this about Rauser before. See the definition at left? I could say it of any Christian to some degree, depending on how close he or she is to the truth (liberals are closer than progressive evangelicals who are closer than fundamentalists). Well is he?
Every claim is context dependent. I admit Rauser reasons well in other areas of his life unrelated to his faith. He could even teach a critical thinking class. So he's rational, very much so. But like other Christians he is not rational to believe or defend Christianity because it is not true. When it comes to Christianity he is a believer. Like all believers his brain must basically shut down when it comes to faith. When it comes to faith his brain must disengage. It cannot connect the dots. It refuses to connect them. Faith stops the brain from working properly. Faith is a cognitive bias that causes a believer to overestimate any confirming evidence and underestimate any disconfirming evidence. So his brain will not let reason penetrate it given his faith bias. Some people have even described faith as a virus of the brain (or mind). It makes the brain sick. Maybe Marx said it best though. It's an opiate, a deadening drug.
Every claim is context dependent. I admit Rauser reasons well in other areas of his life unrelated to his faith. He could even teach a critical thinking class. So he's rational, very much so. But like other Christians he is not rational to believe or defend Christianity because it is not true. When it comes to Christianity he is a believer. Like all believers his brain must basically shut down when it comes to faith. When it comes to faith his brain must disengage. It cannot connect the dots. It refuses to connect them. Faith stops the brain from working properly. Faith is a cognitive bias that causes a believer to overestimate any confirming evidence and underestimate any disconfirming evidence. So his brain will not let reason penetrate it given his faith bias. Some people have even described faith as a virus of the brain (or mind). It makes the brain sick. Maybe Marx said it best though. It's an opiate, a deadening drug.
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