tag: evolution , Darwin , science , creationism

By Heather H This post is really mainly a rant, but it is also an actual question to all Christians out there. The question is really why on earth they try to convert me in the first place? An old one, perhaps, asked by many here, but over reading the Bible recently I’ve come to a conclusion, possibly a question a lot of people have come to... but I digress. It’s really doing my nut though and makes me wonder why on earth people would even try to make me believe in their version of a god. I first stopped really believing in that religion mainly due to scientific proof showing the creation story to be absolute bunk, (among other stories); as well as making a few friends of other faiths in university (or none). See, I was not entirely comfortable with the fact that these perfectly nice people would roast while I’d be dancing it up with Jesus without a care in the world as if it wasn’t happening right below my feet. Yeah. That never really sat right with me. But I’ve come to a rather larg...

By James C Evangelist Hagee took some heat recently for a comment in a sermon concerning the holocaust, " How did [the Holocaust] happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel ." But Orthodox Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg at: http://www.washingtontimes.com /article/20080524/NATION /810558402/1002 responded by supporting Hagee, saying, "Viewing Hitler as acting completely outside of God's plan is to suggest that God was powerless to stop the Holocaust, a position quite unacceptable to any religious Jew or Christian." At http://www.populstat.info/Asia /israelc.htm we find that Israel's population only went from 880,000 in 1930 to 1,834,900 in 1945, an increase of 954,900. So the pastor and the rabbi both feel their God thought it was OK to slaughter six-million people in order to get less than one-million to emigrate t...

By Dave, the WM I was just reading about 71-year-old Rev. George O. Lowe, that he is in prison for sexually abusing a child in his congregation back in the 80s. There’s nothing particularly unique or interesting about the story; it's just another in a long, long line of sexually perverted religious leaders. What caught my eye in this story is that that the good reverend had recently tried to appease his victim who is now an adult by quoting Bible verses that discourage Christians from taking Christians to court and by claiming that God had already sufficiently punished him. Quoting Bible verses to support a position (any position) is typical, but the statement he made that God had already punished him, that one got me to thinking. The doctrine that God does or will eventually punish the wicked is universally touted as true by every variety, branch and stream within Christendom. Christians are frequently encouraged to leave to the Lord all thoughts of paying back the wicked for t...

By Billy B I hope that I've learned my lesson. Yesterday my Christian neighbor came to my door under the false pretense of wanting to ask my permission to place a sign endorsing a local political candidate in my yard. What he really wanted was an excuse to try and drag me into another mental cage-match over his insane worldview...(i.e. the Bible , prayer in schools, 'Expelled the movie'...etc...) I took the bait and within 15 minutes he had me so fucking mad that I literally had to laugh. Luckily the tension was broken by an important phone call that allowed us both an honorable exit from the situation, but this experience taught me a very important lesson: Engaging stupidity is self-abuse. I've finally realized that there are some situations where I will only be submitting myself to emotional torture by entering a debate with certain types of Christians. Therefore, I've given myself permission to take a passive stance and let them run their mouths while I silently...

By Clair Most of us come in regular contact with others, and when the subject of religion comes up a person can react in many ways: 1.Happiness and agreement. 2. Silence and a vague pleasant expression. 3. Silence, waiting for them to drop it. 4.Irritation and voicing non-agreement, with or without eye rolling. 5. Louder more serious disagreement. 6.Shouting with very unpleasant outcome. But, we move on, get over it ASAP. People that we truly care about though can cause serious mental anguish. Parents can push buttons with great emotional dexterity. This is no suprise, since they are usually the ones who at least helped to indoctrinate their children. When the kids are grown, and have their own children, some grandparents are secretly afraid that all that bullshit has been found out. They want the illness to be carried on so they will be assured of having someone to agree with them. Or maybe they just want everyone to be physically uncomfortable for a minimum of two hours at the same ...

If you are an educated Christian, I would like to talk with you today about an important and interesting question. Have you ever thought about using your college education to think about your faith? Your life and your career demand that you behave and act rationally. Let's apply your critical thinking skills as we discuss 10 simple questions about your religion. The answers will amaze you. -- http://whywontgodhealamputees.com

What if it could be proved that Jesus never existed? What if there was evidence that every word of the New Testament is based on myth and metaphor? And what if those revelations extended beyond Christianity, putting into question even the fundamental beliefs of Judaism and Islam? These are the ideas presented in The Pagan Christ , a documentary based on theologian Tom Harpur's explosive, best-selling book . Using an investigative reporting approach to the topic, the cameras journey from the Egyptian temple at Luxor and the Great Pyramids of Giza to Vatican City and Jerusalem's wailing wall . What do you think about the ideas presented in this film?

By Geoff I tend to avoid writing about or discussing the topic of religion. In general, my unconventional views on the subject get me into a heated discussion with a zealous, but well meaning believer concerned with my eternal destiny or a mentally draining screaming match with a pretentious asshat who believes I worship Darwin and who seems convinced that atheism is just another religion (which is like saying that not playing sports is a sport). Despite this, I usually try to remain civil. After all, we are all entitled to believe whatever we want, right? HOWEVER! There are a few annoying arguments Christians use that quite frankly make about as much sense as a gay republican. Were I to go into all of them, I would be typing here for hours and hours. So, I will focus on one for now: Moral Relativity Moral relativity essentially states that analysis into whether an action is right or wrong should come from several facets of study, culture, context, usefulness, etc. This ideas lies in s...

An interview with Dale McGowan, author of Parenting Beyond Belief .

This debate, which examined the rational evidence for faith in Jesus' resurrection, was given at the University of California, Los Angeles on April 19, 2004, and was moderated by S. Scott Bartchy, Professor of History at UCLA and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion. Richard Carrier is a historian and philosopher, whose articles have appeared in many publications, including the Skeptical Inquirer and the Secular Web. His book, Sense and Goodness without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism, is due out next year, along with an anthology, Jesus Is Dead, which includes three chapters by Carrier on the Resurrection. He is currently writing a dissertation on ancient Roman science at Columbia University. He has been involved in online, atheist-theist debates for more than ten years and served as Feedback Editor and Editor in Chief of the Secular Web for many years. Mike Licona is a New Testament historian with a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Liberty U...

By James C Most of us are aware of the Noah's Flood story. People of the earth evil. God upset. Floods the world but saves Noah & family and enough animals to re-populate the world. But, for an interesting "another take" on that story, link over to the Wikipedia story about the same, with inputs concerning the other Abrahamic religions and their look at the whole thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /Noah's_Ark#cite_note-14 The ark itself. Skeptics have, for a long time, questioned how a small family with no boat-building experience could have accomplished the ark; what kind of wood was used; that the dimensions are larger than any known successful wooden ship; and that it could not have held all the animals and the food and water necessary to keep them alive. So let's explore comments on that: Origen stated that Moses had been thinking of the (larger) Egyptian cubit, meaning the Ark was even larger vs the historically successful wooden...

By Doc Mike This is hilarious! Christian scholars and theologians are releasing a manifesto today to "take back" the term Evangelical from the politicians. Apparently, it's starting to have a negative connotation in the world of politics. I wonder why? USA Today says in Manifesto aims to make 'evangelical' less political : "Evangelical" has been widely used to refer to Christians who have conservative political views, but the Evangelical Theological Society requires members to agree on just two points: inerrancy of Scripture, and belief in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as "separate but equal in attributes and glory" and essential for salvation. This really makes me laugh because if "Scripture" is nothing else it is errant. In fact that's exactly what my blog ( By The Book Comics ) is all about. And don't even get me started on the "holy trinity"... Ha! Technorati Tags: humor Atheist Bible Christian Comi...

By Astreja Trying to get something of value out of religion is kind of like trying to open a locked box. At the beginning of our experience, we are informed that the box contains something of inexpressible value, something that exists only in the box, something that we can't buy or borrow or build. And then we see... the lock. A combination lock forged from dogma, tradition and our own expectations. Before we can open that magic treasure chest, we have to crack the code. Some combinations appear to be fairly simple, but the gears stiff and heavy... The actual day-to-day practice of the creed proves too arduous, and we walk away. At other times, the lock has so many parameters that we can twirl the dial for a lifetime without actually getting anywhere. Once in the while we do hear something go 'click', which reinforces the desire to keep trying. But, once in a while -- Sometimes totally by accident -- the lock just opens by itself. Some people find peace, love, a sense of ...

By AL Hello. I’m Al. I’m an atheist, I actively believe that supernatural gods don’t exist. In my previous video, “What Science Isn’t”, I detailed the case that the intelligent design movement had motivations that were far more political than scientific. Creationism never had the anywhere near the level of objective evidence that evolution provided, but creationism still sees popular support in the United States. Although I’d like to go into the overwhelming evidence that evolution has, in this video I’ll detail my thoughts on why anti-evolutionism is so prevelant in America. This video doesn’t touch on atheism as much as my previous videos, but I think everyone, atheists included, has a stake in seeing that our education system stays true to scientific principles. Also, because this video is centered on religion in America, I’ll mostly be talking about Christianity instead of theism in general. I think I have some good insights into why science comes under assault when it deals with...

By Dave, the WM A look around at the tremendous variety, beauty, power, and complexity in nature can evoke admiration, awe, and wonder from even the most hardened cynic. Modern Christians often appeal to these emotions to argue the existence of a creator deity. Many Christians consider the arguments from nature to be powerful and convincing evangelistic, apologetic tools. The concept of nature somehow proving the existence of god isn’t particularly new. In 1691, John Ray , one of the most eminent naturalists of his time, as well as an influential philosopher and a theologian, wrote, “ The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of Creation. ” One of the most popular books on the subject was written in 1802. Authored by William Paley -- British Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian – the book was entitled “ Natural Theology, or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity Collected from the Appearances of Nature.” Paley is also the one credited with birthing the ...

On C-SPAN's Book TV , reason 's Nick Gillespie recently sat down with Susan Jacoby, author of the new book The Age of American Unreason , to talk about anti-intellectualism on the right and left, trends in popular culture, and what Jacoby sees as a dangerous decline in the level of academic and political discourse. From C-SPAN's description of the book: In "The Age of American Unreason," Susan Jacoby offers a critique on American society and says that the combination of anti-intellectualism and anti-rationalism in American culture is becoming a serious problem. In the book she focuses on issues including society's addiction to mass media, ineffective educational systems, and religious fundamentalism. It's a spirited and intense conversation between a cultural pessimist and a cultural optimist that lasts for about an hour.

By Bill Jeffreys Every criminal act committed was done so for emotional reasons. No one acts rational and logical and then goes out and commits a crime. Yes, even serial killers have emotional reasons for the crimes they commit. They just don’t have guilt. It never is, "I just realized how logical it is for me to murder". It’s always some underlying emotionally based dysfunctional belief that they are acting upon. Religion is very similar. No one goes out and follows god for reasonable and logical reasons because the foundation of religion isn’t based on accurate evidence, reason or logic. People don’t convert because of the supposed evidence. They convert for emotional reasons. They convert because it's supposed to make them feel better and give them hope. If I remember my Christian stats correctly (when I was a Christian) most people convert in their childhood or youth when the brain is most susceptible to fantastical thinking. That was why we always targeted young peop...