Judges 19-21 is a Major Obstacle to Why I Cannot Believe the Bible
Before reading further read Judges 19-21. Okay?
Steve Hays Recommends My Forthcoming Book, The Christian Delusion! ;-)
The Christian Delusion is new book by a hack village atheist editor (and contributor) who has rounded up a number of other hack villages atheists to form a literary village of hack village atheists. On top of that, the hack village atheist editor has also rounded up some additional hack village atheists to write glowing blurbs for a book by, to, and for hack village atheists.[Edit] I just put up his Blurb on the website. ;-)
This is a truly monumental breakthrough in the history of hack village atheist publications. Link
Start You Own Recovering Religionist Group
If you are one of the millions of people who have determined that religion no longer has a place in your life, this may be the right spot for you. Many people love the social support they get from religion, but can’t deal with all the crazy ideas they are required to espouse. It can be difficult to leave a religion because family and culture put so much pressure on us to stay and pretend to believe. If this is you, we want to help you find your way out. We are Recovering Religionists™, people who have given religion our best shot but just can’t bring ourselves to believe in virgin births, resurrections, 2000 year old miracles and the “power of prayer.” We are recovering Baptists, Mormons, Catholics, Jehovah Wittnesses, Hindus, Moslems, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Evangelicals, and more. Link
Notre Dame Conference: My Ways Are Not Your Ways: The Character of God in the Hebrew Bible
I really like Luke's website Common Sense Atheism where he recently called my attention to the videos of this conference that took place in September. I think everyone interested in the issues that separate us should subscribe to his site. It's my favorite one, both informative and keeping me up to date on what is happening on the web.
On God Answering Prayers Retroactively
Christians like C.S. Lewis and recently William A. Dembski in his book The End of Christianity, claim God can answers prayers retroactively. Kevin Timpe explains by saying "past directed prayers, as I understand them, are requests for God to have done something at a time prior to the time of the prayer." And he argues like Lewis and Dembski that God does in fact answer these prayers on most accounts of God's foreknowledge. ["Prayers for the Past" Religious Studies (2005) 41, 305–322. This raises some interesting problems and allows me to propose a scientific test for prayer.
There's a Young Freethought Blog for Younger Freethinkers
Young Freethought is an independent blog, open for anyone, but with the aim of providing a way for young people to find the ideas of like-minded peers regarding issues such as rationalism, atheism, science and philosophy. Young Freethought is here to try and give a voice to a small section of society that, we feel, is currently being ignored. Link
Joe Holman on "God’s Entrapment and James’ Idiocy"
It's one of the worst blunders in the scriptures, and it comes from James, writer of the New Testament. He says:“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” (James 1:13)Link
Christianity Has Died Out a Hundred Times Before
Christians claim that skeptics have come and gone but their faith has withstood all attacks so far and survived. Balderdash! Here's the truth. The Christianity that survived is a reinvented one in each generation as the result of skeptical attacks, sometimes coming from within. Just think of the modernist rift due to the enlightenment which divided all denominations to some degree. This division can be attributed to the skeptical attacks of Hume, Kant, Darwin, Nietzsche, Paine, Ingersoll, and many others. The liberal church is a testament to the effectiveness of the skeptical arguments. Even within conservative denominations there are liberal ideas that would have been condemned by the Office of the Inquisition, like Open Theism, a metaphorical and/or annihilation view of Hell, women in leadership, Preterism, the emergent church, acceptance of a gay orientation, the mythical (or literary) view of Genesis 1-2, and so forth and so on. The Christianity practiced and believed by any denomination today is not something the early church would recognize. And the future church will be almost as different. Let's have done then with this cockamamie notion that the church has survived our attacks. No it hasn't. In each generation the former Christianity dies, so to speak, and a new one is invented due to skeptical arguments.
What Have I Learned From Blogging For Several Years?
Christianity is a delusion. This is beyond reasonable doubt, beyond serious doubt, beyond sane, informed, intelligent doubt. Beyond a doubt Christianity is a delusion. The evidence against it is overwhelming. There is staggering psychological and anthropological evidence that we simply adopt what we were taught to believe as credulous kids who then seek to confirm that which we were led to believe. Skepticism is not an inherited trait. We must learn to be skeptical. And there is every reason to be skeptical. There is textual evidence, scientific evidence, and archaeological evidence against Christianity. There are also philosophical conundrums that cannot be solved if Christianity is the case, like reconciling the trinity within itself, the incarnation of a person who is 100% God and 100% man, and personal identity after death. Then there are problems that cannot be solved for a perfectly good God with the amount of intense suffering in our world, including massive ubiquitous animal suffering and a final punishment in hell. I am so sure of this I am willing to risk Pascal's Wager on it. Beyond a doubt Christianity is a delusion.
On Judgment Day I'll Just Plead Insanity!
Yep, that's what I'll do if there is a judgment before God. My friend Kevin Harris, who produces William Lane Craig's podcasts, tells me that: "Going to hell is insane! But that's what sin is! Self-induced insanity!" Link. But if this is true I plan on pleading insanity. I could not believe differently than I do. Consequently, I did not know what I was doing was wrong, nor did I know there would be such severe consequences for my actions. Now what fair judge (much less a perfectly good one) would ever sentence me to hell, any hell, based on these considerations? None! Q.E.D.
Christian, Just Think! That's All You Have to Do. Think!
In yet another attempt to defend his beliefs my friend Kevin Harris wrote: "Christian theology teaches that Adam perfectly represented you and me. We all would do the same thing even in the fantastic beauty and circumstances of Eden." Link. But if we would all do exactly what Adam & Eve did by sinning, then we were imperfectly made, or it was entrapment, hence the buck stops with the Creator. Only if some of us would not have sinned as they did can Christians claim otherwise. Q.E.D
New Book: The Historical Jesus: Five Views
Robert M. Price, Darrell Bock, John Dominic Crossan, Luke Timothy Johnson and James D. G. Dunn are the contributors. Click here: The Historical Jesus: Five Views
Dinesh D'Souza vs. John W. Loftus Debate In the Works
There are details to be worked out before I can say the debate will definitely take place. I just heard from the sponsor today.
An Ongoing Interview: "What Was it Like Studying Under William Lane Craig?"
I'll post an interesting question and my answer from time to time. Here's one from Eric:
I think it would be fascinating to read about your time studying under William Lane Craig: what your relationship was like, what you thought of him as a teacher, what the most important things you learned from him were, what some of your most memorable interactions with him were, etc.
Labels:
"Interview"
Understanding the New Atheism, an Interview with Victor Stenger
Welcome to The Promethean's exclusive Q&A with Victor J. Stenger, author of the New York Times bestseller God: The Failed Hypothesis. Even believers can appreciate Stenger's fervent discussion of an emerging atheist movement, as he explains in his newest book, The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason.
Why Must We Even Bother With Presuppositional Arguments (TAG)?
No one has an epistemic right to presuppose a whole set of bizzaro extraordinary beliefs...No One! Nonetheless some people have the patience to take this argument seriously.
Joe Holman's Movie Review Blog
You should check this out, especially his latest review of the movie The Invention of Lying.
Announcing a Fund Drive for $1,000 to Send Me to the SBL in New Orleans
As previously announced I've been invited to participate as a respondent on a panel for the prestigious Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) in New Orleans, which meets November 21-24. As you'd guess I'm very honored. They will show the movie Religulous by Bill Maher Sunday evening and then the panel will discuss it the next day at 1 PM. The participants include professors Hector Avalos, Dennis MacDonald, Carol Exum, Randall Reed and yours truly. I am to respond to the other four papers. Here is the link. While we're there several of us including Hector Avalos, Jim Linville, and Ken Pulliam will be having a meeting to discuss a non-religious group within the Society of Biblical Literature, which should be interesting and exciting.
Most institutions of learning pay for these scholars to attend the SBL by covering their expenses. Since no institution will pay my way I'm conducting a fund drive to help my wife and I travel there so I can participate. I calculate that we'll need $1,000 to cover the costs of gas, food, and six nights stay in hotels (four while there and one both coming and going). It might be more, but $1,000 should be good enough. To answer your question in advance, yes, we will go regardless of whether or not we raise the needed money. But it is needed nonetheless, lest we go deeper in the hole than we already are financially.
If this Blog is helpful to you in some way then please consider helping out by donating $5-$20-$50-$100 or more. Any amount would help quite a bit. Just click on the link "Donate" in the sidebar to do so. For any gift of $100 I'll send the giver one copy of my book and it's companion, both of which are titled Why I Became an Atheist, if requested as supplies last. There are other ways to financially help, but this drive is about helping pay for us go to New Orleans. I've created a graphic below to let you know the progress and will update it once a day as money comes in. As of this posting we leave in 18 days. Can this money be raised? We'll see. Thank you so very much if you can help. If you can't then thanks for visiting and participating in the discussions at DC regardless.
Most institutions of learning pay for these scholars to attend the SBL by covering their expenses. Since no institution will pay my way I'm conducting a fund drive to help my wife and I travel there so I can participate. I calculate that we'll need $1,000 to cover the costs of gas, food, and six nights stay in hotels (four while there and one both coming and going). It might be more, but $1,000 should be good enough. To answer your question in advance, yes, we will go regardless of whether or not we raise the needed money. But it is needed nonetheless, lest we go deeper in the hole than we already are financially.
If this Blog is helpful to you in some way then please consider helping out by donating $5-$20-$50-$100 or more. Any amount would help quite a bit. Just click on the link "Donate" in the sidebar to do so. For any gift of $100 I'll send the giver one copy of my book and it's companion, both of which are titled Why I Became an Atheist, if requested as supplies last. There are other ways to financially help, but this drive is about helping pay for us go to New Orleans. I've created a graphic below to let you know the progress and will update it once a day as money comes in. As of this posting we leave in 18 days. Can this money be raised? We'll see. Thank you so very much if you can help. If you can't then thanks for visiting and participating in the discussions at DC regardless.
Jim (aka T & T) Linville on "Can ANYONE be non-religious about anything?"
He begins:
This was the question blogger Rick Wadholm asked in response to a plan for a secular biblical researcher’s special interest group meeting in conjunction with the Society of Biblical Literature (which is the largest academic society in the world dedicated to research into all matters biblical). I wrote this up a few days ago and then decided that I should just ignore these comments but darnnit… some very important points need to be made. Link
Looking for Definitions of God for a Book.
I've been invited to submit some definitions for God which will turn into a book, but having seen the other ones it seems they covered it well enough already. ;-) Any other suggestions?
Announcing A Special Screening of "Creator of God: A Brain Surgeon's Quest"
Lee Randolph's Blog
Some of you have asked me where some of the former DC Members have gone. They are Blogging on their own. Check Lee's Blog out. Look around and comment, it's a good Blog!
The Cosmology of the Bible
Evangelical OT scholar John Walton's commentary on Genesis is available online.
The Strongest Argument For Christianity, by Keith Parsons
I like what he said at the end very much and agree wholeheartedly:
My Thoughts On the Poll About My Book After One Day
I'm going to stop it. I've learned what I wanted to learn. Here are the results after a bit more than a day:
Look for the Movie "Creator of God: A Brain Surgeon's Story"
I met neurosurgeon Vivekanand Palavali recently who has made a documentary movie about his quest to find out who God is. See the trailer below. This is gonna be good!
Joe Holman: "The Best Seat in the House"
Former blog member here at DC has his own Blog, like I recommended that they all start on their own. Joe's latest post starts off like this:
Look around and see what you think.
I want to introduce you to my friend Terri. She is a person of simplicity, and yet her depth of character has you looking down and not seeing bottom. Being a complicated person is not what I am talking about. Any chick – any dude, for that matter – can be complicated, conflicted, unpredictable, with “issues.” That’s not what I’m talking about at all. I’m talking about a person who is enough of an individual to have a personality you can nail down. You can predict them, and yet they can teach and surprise you in unforeseen ways. Such a friend is Terri.
Link.
Look around and see what you think.
Are Believers Ever Argued Into Faith, or Argued Out of It?
Eric asked some interesting questions in the com-box of a post of mine. Read my response below.
A Question About the Most Effective Way to Reach Believers and My Response
I was emailed the following question and I responded to it. See what you think:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
