In a painfully acquiescent article for The New York Times, columnist Nicholas Kristof heralds the recent direction of discourse from atheist writers as nigh “reverential” to religion. He cites three recent books, one from Alain de Botton titled Religion for Atheists, Edward O. Wilson’s new book, The Social Conquest of Earth,…
My previous post considered Alvin Plantiga’s claim that a rational belief in god doesn’t require evidence, as outlined in this speech. Paul Pardi, who runs the Philosophy News website, recently delivered the speech in Seattle. Pardi outlines the theologian’s ideas and points out that this particular assertion by Plantinga specifically…
Rick Santorum is having trouble keeping his food down. A statement made about religion and politics a long time ago gave him a sour stomach. The candidate for the Republican presidential nomination was speaking out in favor of religion in the public square on Sunday, and according to CBS News:…
I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I reached the conclusion that the evidence and arguments for the existence of a god were insubstantial or illusory, I gained entrance to a wealth of advantages for living a better and happier life. I recently realized one of these benefits…
I recently wrote a post titled Why I Criticize Religion in an effort to explain my views to my deeply religious friends and family. I received some responses, and as I suspected, many disagreed, although a few voiced support. In the end I had to spend some time explaining the…
My children received two movies a few years ago. They were either given to them by a friend or purchased at a garage sale. I can’t remember which, but it’s not important to my argument. The films featured a group of vegetables talking about positive values. I figured they would…
I passed a hard-bound copy of Christopher Hitchens’ book Arguably while walking the aisles of the bookstore the other day. Later that night I provided my wife with the polite assertion that perhaps this $30 book would be a perfect birthday gift for me, which is Monday. As she gathered…
In the early 1900’s, an evangelical organization called Gideons International began distributing free copies of the Bible. You can find this tome in almost any hotel room in America. In my skeptics fantasy of the universe – one of many – you would instead find a book on informal fallacies,…
Dr. Peter Boghossian gave a provocative sounding lecture titled “Jesus, the Easter Bunny, and Other Delusions: Just Say No!” last Friday, Jan. 27, at Portland State University. I was disappointed that my schedule did not allow me to attend the lecture. I contacted the organizers, the Freethinkers of Portland State…
