My Own Scale for Dumb Theistic Arguments
Luke over at Common Sense Atheism has a scale for how he ranks several theistic arguments and asked me how I would rank them. Okay, why not?:
The Intelligence² Debate, Is Atheism the New Fundamentalism? With Richard Dawkins, AC Grayling, Richard Harries
This debate is posted below:
A Great Review of Jack Good's Book: "The Dishonest Church"
"Andrew J. (Jack) Good, author of The Bible: Faith’s Family Album (Chalice Press 1998), is an ordained pastor of the United Church of Christ. Educated at Boston University School of Theology, the Maxwell School at Syracuse University (International Relations), and the Lancaster Theological School, Dr. Good has practiced his socially oriented theology in pastorates for over forty years. He has lived in villages in Pakistan and Bangladesh and has, through these and other experiences, formed a great respect for other cultures and other ways of worshiping God." Here's a great review of his book The Dishonest Church:
"One of the surprising discoveries of modern psychology is how easy it is to be ignorant of your own ignorance.”
I had started in September with what I call the Argument From Ignorance, Part I of which can be found here. This is Part II, the final part. Sorry it took me so long.
What Type of Critique of the Christian Faith Do I Have to Offer?
There are different types of critiques of Christianity. Each one of them stresses something different coming from different areas of expertise. Some of the major areas of criticism come from 1) The sciences, especially evolution and brain science; 2) Biblical and historical criticism; 3) Philosophy, especially the philosophy of religion; 4) Archaeology; 5) Cultural anthropology; 6) Psychology; and, 7) Social and moral criticism of the Bible and the church. There are others. Which one do you think is more effective? Christian which one gives you the most trouble?
Labels: Denigrate Science to Believe
Two More Leave the Fold
Here is a story from Vince, and another one titled Freedom from the Bondages of Evangelical Christianity by a former missionary.
Waiting for Armageddon
Is it any wonder why we think religion causes suffering in the world? Check this out:
Jaco Gericke: Fundamentalism on Stilts: A Devastating Response to Alvin Plantinga's Reformed Epistemology
[Written by John W. Loftus] Being a philosopher of religion specializing in the analysis of ancient religions and a biblical scholar to boot, Dr. Gericke has written what can be considered a refutation of Plantinga's Reformed Epistemology. "The trouble with Craig and and Plantinga," he tells me, "is that their philosophy of religion conveniently ignores the problems posed for their views by the history of Israelite religion. They might as well try to prove Zeus exists. People sometimes forget 'God' used to be Yahweh and it is possible to prove from textual evidence that 'there ain't no such animal.'"
Labels: "Gericke"
Bart Willruth On The Christmas Wars.
Bart was a team member here at DC at one time. Now he's writing for "Fresh Conservative." Don't ask me why 'cause I don't know.
Jaco Gericke on "The Collapse of Realism, Cognitive Dissonance and the 'Died-Again' Christian Syndrome"
Previously I posted an amazing deconversion story written by Dr. Gericke right here. Then I posted something from him on how he got over his angst at leaving the Christian faith right here. In what follows he writes on the issue of cognitive dissonance (used with permission):
Labels: "Gericke"
PZ Myers on Life After Death: "The Dead are Dead"
One of the most important tools for promulgating religion is fear, and one of the biggest sources of fear is the inescapable fact of personal mortality: we're all going to die someday, and we all know people we've loved who have died. Religion steps up to the challenge of death in its usual glib and dishonest way, and promises a mysterious "afterlife," in which you'll get to go on being you despite the inconvenience of your flesh rotting away. None of the proponents of this belief have the slightest scrap of evidence for their claims, other than an appeal to emotion and desire, and sometimes some really bad experiments and sloppy observations of phenomena that vanish when a little rigor is applied.
A Major Survey of What Philosophers Believe Just Released.
David Bourget and David Chalmers have released the results of the largest survey of professional philosophers ever conducted. There were 931 respondents from 99 leading philosophy departments around the world. Luke over at Common Sense Atheism tells us some of the results:
Christian Can You Really Worship a God Who Will Send Your Family and Friends to Hell?
I want you to think about it rather than regurgitate the standard pat answers from the Bible itself. Just think about it. I attended a funeral this weekend and my brother conducted the memorial service. In it he warned us that "the wicked will end up in hell." At the funeral dinner I asked him if he thought I was going to be in hell and he responded: "Only God can judge." Now think about this, okay?...and be consistent. Is it just that believers cannot say what their theology commits them to when it comes to a family member? Look your non-committal family members in the eye and tell them they are going to hell. Can't do it? Why? That's what you preach. And then think about this song:
On Richard Dawkins Refusing to Debate William Lane Craig
In a mocking YouTube video Bill Craig tells us he wants to debate Richard Dawkins. There is even a petition Christians have set up for this debate to happen and a discussion about it at Richard Dawkins.net. Here's a clip being linked to by Christian sites where Dawkins declines:
C. Michael Patton on Essential Creedal Expressions for Christian Salvation
C. Michael Patton has come up with a list of essentials that true Christians must believe along with a chart that supposedly distinguishes what is non-essential from unimportant beliefs. Here are the essentials according to him:
Labels: Mere Christianities
Okay Now, This is Just Damn Funny!
This is unbelievably good! Some girl is showing us video clips of Christian rappers and then singing one herself. Way too funny. Christians are repressed sexually. No wonder so many of them are obsessed about it. If you want to skip her intro on sex education then start watching at 2:19.
Another One Bites the Dust: Simon
Simon emailed me saying: "Just wanted to let you know that your site was a contributing influence during my journey this year."
News Flash: A Debate With William Lane Craig Is In the Works
All I know at this point is that someone is working on it. I do not know if Dr. Craig has been asked or whether he has agreed. I'll leave it to the bookies to take your bets and set the odds. D'ya think there's a chance? Link. Would you like to see it?
Indianapolis - The Bible, It Turns Out, Is Too Liberal
Yepper, let's do something about that, right?
Dr. Gericke on How He Got Over the Difficulty of Losing His Faith
Previously today I posted his well-written deconversion story here. Now he wishes to explain how he came through that dark period in his life.
Labels: "Gericke"
Dr. Jaco Gericke's Deconversion Story: "Autobiography of a 'Died-Again Christian'"
This is an appendix to his Ph.D. dissertation written in 2003, which he has granted me permission to share. Dr. Gericke is also writing a chapter for my work in progress. Listen up Christian, does this sound like a person who wanted to reject God? No way in hell! It is the story of us all. We wanted the gospel to be true. We put our whole lives into serving God. It is quite literally life shattering to find out we were wrong. What you'll read below also describes why it's so damned hard to help Christians see their faith for the delusion it is. It's because you want it to be true. It's because it would be life-shattering for you to admit you're wrong.
Labels: "Gericke"
A New Book I'm Working On: The End of Christianity
To see the website I just made for it click here.
Very Interesting Lists You'll Want to Check Out
Luke over at Common Sense Atheism says he's a list freak. Here's an index of his lists:
* Best Atheism Books of the Decade, 2000-2009
* Top 20 Evil Bible Stories
* Top 10 Atheism Blogs
* 6 Responses to Religious Diversity
* Top 10 Atheist Songs
* 100+ Living Philosophers of Religion and Their Best Work
* 50+ Christian vs. Muslim Debates
* 90+ Free Audiobooks About Religion
* 400+ Atheism vs. Theism Debates
Become Informed: The History of Christmas
In a history of the holidays video, learn about the origins of Christmas. Although many of us only associate the birth of Christ with the holiday, most of us do not realize that many aspects of Christmas come from different winter celebrations. See this link to several "History Channel" videosThere's more out there but this is a start.
The Basis for the Uniformity of Regular Laws of Nature
It is said that if metaphysical naturalism is true there is no ultimate meaning, ultimate morality, nor is there a basis for the uniformity of regular laws of nature. It's correct there is no ultimate meaning nor is there any ultimate morality, even if there is meaning and there is morality. Meaning and morality do not depend on anything ultimate. I should still love my wife for consequentialist reasons even if there are no ultimate reasons. I even find the notion of "ultimate" to be a bit meaningless. Based on this and as a non-scientist let me throw out one suggestion about the uniformity of nature to see the reaction. In the same way there is no ultimate uniformity of nature either. There is uniformity which we can rely on for science. But there is no ultimate uniformity, whatever that is, because of the quagmire of quantum mechanics. On a microscopic level it's a bizarre world.
Anyone With Knowledge and Passion Want to Take Over the Debunking Creationism Blog?
If so, here it is. Just let me know. You already have some contributors and followers.
Richard Carrier On the Use of Ridicule (via email)
By and large the minds of the ridiculous can't be changed. It's their flock we're talking to. But even the ridiculous change under ridicule some respond by getting more ridiculous (and those are the ones who could never be swayed even by the politest methods), but others accumulate shame until they see the error of their ways (I've met many ex-evangelicals who have told me exactly that). Thus, ridicule converts the convertible and marginalizes the untouchable. There is no more effective strategy in a culture war.I like what he said.
D.M. Bennett: The Truth Seeker, to Be Released Shortly
This new one-hour HD (High Definition) video chronicles the life of D.M. Bennett, the nineteenth century’s most controversial publisher and American free-speech martyr. Link
Dinesh D'Souza vs Peter Singer Debate
Since I'll be debating D'Souza on February 10th at the University of Illinois I'm studying his debates. Check this out. The other parts can be found there as well.
The Power of the Internet on the Younger Generation
Parents beware! The younger generation is rejecting the faith of their fathers and the rise of the internet is making a great impact on them. Today's music, movies, and video games are also making an impact.
Join the War on Christmas: Court Rules No Religious Christmas Songs in the Schools.
Get over it Christian. Your reign is over. This is a more diverse population. Be happy that your child isn't forced to sing Jewish Hanaka songs. And since you so often want to ignorantly claim that atheism is a religion then be happy your child doesn't have to sing songs written by Dan Barker.
Where Does the Soul Fit?
Check out this article that demonstrates the incoherence of the idea of the soul at QuIRP.
Read more >>
Abstract: The concepts of the "Soul" and "Free Will" are tightly coupled and are misunderstandings of emergent properties of complex biological systems due to fallacious causal oversimplifications and are, in effect, a phenomena analogous to a rainbow. In the case of a soul that is separate from the self it would be judged by God for actions it did not condone. In the case of the soul as the self, the soul is locked into the body every night during REM sleep and is catastrophically impaired by malfunctions of the body it resides in. While religions are divided on whether animals have souls and/or spirits, with or without them, animals have some of the same types of cognitive abilities as humans and they get along well within their biological limitations. The philosophical soulless zombie as the null hypothesis for souls fits with established knowledge better than the "soul" described in unauthenticated bronze age "divinely revealed" texts.
Read more >>
What's So Great About Dinesh D'Souza, by Advocate Atheist
Dinesh D’Souza in his book What’s so Great About Christianity takes great effort to misrepresent Darwinian theory and atheism nearly every chance he gets. In this critique I’m going to reveal D’Souza’s bag of tricks, expose his rhetoric, and show how he does a great job of running in circles, shifting the blame, and avoiding having to offer any real tangible answers to the atheist’s inquiries concerning religion. Link
Skeptics and the Question of Audience: Who Are We Writing To?
So far I have not been able to get the attention of many skeptics, including Richard Dawkins, and PZ Myers. Yes, I have tried, several times. Sure, they are very busy. But I just learned why I probably haven’t, which is what I had suspected. For the record I have purposely not criticized Richard Dawkins or the other New Atheists, either in my book or on this blog. In fact, I recently defended Dawkins and the other New Atheists, including Bill Maher for his movie Religulous, in a talk I did at the Society of Biblical Literature against a few scholars who thought their arguments lacked substance. You can read what I said here. I also defended Dawkins in a long series of email exchanges that took place last year between skeptic James Lazarus and me, which were copied to Jeffrey Lowder, Steve Hays, David Wood and some others. It got heated since I did not back down in my defense of Dawkins.
Labels: Freethought Blogs
"The Best Way to Combat Christianity is...From Within"
So says the Sexy Atheist, who thinks I know something about doing this:
An Explanation and Critique of Substance Dualism
Substance dualism is defended by Christian apologist J.P. Moreland. Watch this:
Special Investigation: 20th Century Killers, Stalin, Pol Pot and Hitler.
You've got to watch the video below until the end. Brilliant!
Headline: John Loftus Pleads Guilty to Third Degree Murder and Sentenced to 25 to 50 Years in Prison
Wow! Some theists will go to extreme lengths in order to malign me. They'll even kill in my name. Link. Now I know what God must feel like when believers kill in his name...right? ;-)
The First Endorsement For My Upcoming Debate with Dinesh D'Souza
John W. Loftus, author of Why I Became an Atheist and a previous visitor to this forum will be debating Dinesh D'Souza at the University of Illinois on February 10. The topic will be "Does the Christian God Exist."
DC's First Time on the Biblioblogger List Made it Into the Top Ten!
Link. That's pretty good in a list of mostly Bible believing Blogs.
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