This is a video segment of a lecture by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson . Tyson (b. October 5 , 1958 in New York City ) is an American astrophysicist and, since 1996 , the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History on Manhattan 's Upper West Side .

Todd Friel debates Dan Barker over the existence of God. Watch this 4 min segment and get a taste of the debate that took place. A full debate is available in audio below the video. Note: If you choose to listen to the podcast, keep a barf bag handy. A rational response:

By John W. Loftus Chris Hallquist and Brian Flemming have both weighed in on the recent debate about the Blasphemy Challenge. I've already commented on it here . But several atheists are calling it "pointless, juvenile and stupid," including Ed Brayton and Jim Lazarus. As the creator of the Blasphemy Challenge, I really liked what Flemming wrote. He said: "...negative press is part of the goal of the project. Seeking positive press is a fool's errand for any atheist. I have no desire to rub up to the mainstream media and beg them to present atheists as slightly less evil, and to call that a public-relations victory." He went on to say, "But the Blasphemy Challenge was a publicity stunt conceived in the real, rough-and-tumble, knife-fight media world that we actually live in, and, critically, it was designed to actually make a difference in our culture -- to shake people up and force them to encounter a new idea. The goal was not to have the press proc...

By DagoodS It is amazing what power a few words can have. “This means war!” “Will you marry me?” “You’re Fired!” Each sentence can be stated with less than a breath, yet those syllables will have far-reaching implications. We even can vividly bring to mind powerful images, and broad implications from just a snippet: “I have a dream…” ”Fourscore and seven years ago…” “One small step for man…” Hollywood is well-aware of the power of just a few words. I’ll bet most people could immediately state the movie in which we heard: “I’ll be back.” ”Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” “You had me at ‘Hello.’” Think of the impact a smattering of words have, when labeled with the ostentatious sticker of “God said,” on the world at large. 1 Cor. 14:34-35 and 1 Tim. 2:11-12 consist of only 85 English words out of the more than Three-Quarter of a Million of English words in the entire Bible. Less than 1/100th of a percentage. Yet those few verses, and their clear statement of “Women be silent i...

By D. R. Khashaba Socrates’ Prison Journal (2006) was my first venture into fiction. My two earlier books, Let Us Philosophize (1998, out of print but freely downloadable in full from my website: http://www.Back-to-Socrates.com ) and Plato: An Interpretation (2005) as well as all of my published articles, were all theoretical. In Socrates’ Prison Journal I made use of the fact that Socrates spent a month in prison before being executed in 399 B.C. Around that fact I weaved the fiction of his keeping a journal throughout that month. In one of the daily entries I made him give an account of a conversation with Aspasia, the beautiful and intelligent wife of Pericles. I reproduce that entry here and hope you will find it of interest. DAY TWENTY-THREE One midsummer morning I woke up to a harsh voice calling, "Socrates!" I recognized the voice of one of Pericles' boys attending on the beautiful Aspasia. "Well, friend." I said, "what brings yo...

By John Blatt The word "Hell" is a very popular word in English. Actually it is not an English word, it is a German word. As a matter of fact, about 90 percent of the King James English is actually borrowed from the Anglo-Saxon language, that is, German. The word "Hell" appears in many common phrases. There are even well known funny poems about Hell. A couple of them are in this article. Here are some of the phrases found on the internet with the word Hell being a part if it: go to hell from hell in hell like hell what the hell heaven and hell hell's angels run like hell hell's kitchen gates of hell hell yeah hell song operator from hell bastard operator from hell hell lyrics highway to hell life in hell hell hath no fury hell freezes hell freezes over hell michigan bat out of hell hell fire hell on earth road to hell going to hell hotter than hell marriage of heaven and hell yaoi hell hell hole convent of hell hell song lyrics linotype hell hell's ...

The premise of this program is that there is a war going on against science and reason. Video approximately 49 minutes in length.

Bestselling author Jack Huberman has collected a veritable treasure trove of quotes by philosophers, scientists, poets, writers, artists, entertainers, and political figures. His colorful cast of atheists includes Karen Armstrong, Lance Armstrong, Jules Feiffer, Federico Fellini, H. L. Mencken, Ian McKellen, Isaac Singer, Jonathan Swift, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Virginia Woolf and the Marquis de Sade. The following quotes come from The Quotable Atheist , Richard Dawkins: Kenyan-born British zoologist and evolutionary theorist. "Could we get some otherwise normal humans and somehow persuade them that they are not going to die as a consequence of flying a plane smack into a skyscraper? ... The afterlifeobsessed suicidal brain really is a weapon of immense power and danger. It is comparable to a smart missile. ...Yet ... it is very very cheap. ...To fill a world with religion, or religions of the Abrahamic kind, is like littering the streets with loaded guns. Do not be surprised if they...

CNN's recent report on allegations of discrimination against a family of atheists. The members of the "objective" panel in the second segment is interesting.

By John Fraysse The Biblical God appears Evil to me and millions of others. I am NOT necessarily critiquing "God" per se, but more assuredly, the Biblical accounts of his dealings with individuals, groups and nations. By-in-large, I believe that God, if he/she/it exists, has been misrepresented in at least some of the Bible's many chapters. The reason I think this is because God’s actions appear inconsistent with his own teachings, so the Bible must have some of the aspects of "God's Principles and Nature" wrong. In a sense, while not certain of God's existence, I may, nevertheless, be perceived as "Defending God’s Honor". I will leave this matter to you and God. There are many Biblical examples supporting the “Evil God” assertion, but for now, I would like to focus only on God’s seemingly murderous and capricious nature. These attributes can not be those of a Good and Kind “Heavenly Father” unless, of course, one DEFINES anything that God d...

Sent in by G_D I've always had a great interest in psychology, biopsychology and the mind and so it was with great interest when I saw the latest special issue from Time magazine: The Brain - A User's Guide What's even better is that many of the articles are online (don't you just love the internet!). I'm sure many of the members and readers of this site will find the information, latest studies and frontiers in the study of the mind both enlightening and exciting. One thing I've noticed and find quite exasperating on this site is the number of religious posters claiming amazing faith healings, miracles, and other superstitious garbage. Do they not realize how incredibly strong, flexible and resilient the mind is and yet how weak and susceptible it is at the same time? I guess it's often hard for people to see and understand that given they are technically "sitting in the driver's seat" .. but still, I think psychology and biopsychology should ...

By Hannah Naiditch Because I believe that the idea of a supreme being has its roots in prehistoric times, and it is outdated in an age of enlightenment and an age where science has made unprecedented progress in helping us understand the world we live in. Not only is there no need for God to explain physical events, but the concept of a supreme being raises too many questions that cannot be answered. Many books have been written on this subject. If there is an almighty God, why does he allow good people to suffer? How did he allow the Holocaust to happen without intervention? Some of the answers are that God acts in mysterious ways that are beyond man's understanding. For me this is a cop-out, essentially admitting that there is no answer. Others say that God gave man free will, and that, therefore, God does not interfere in human affairs. But does that still make him a just and benevolent God when he watches such tragedies without stopping the misery? Is he still an almighty and m...

By DagoodS Well, I saw the inevitable. I was about to become a heathen. A "them." An unsaved, hell-going, apostate, infidel non-Christian. I was curious what was to unfold next. As a Christian we had spent long hours discussing heathens. Since we were to be in the world, but not a part of it, it was extremely important to understand the distinction. We talked about heathens in movies, heathens on Television, heathens in music, here-a-heathen, there-a-heathen, everywhere-a-heathen. We heard testimonies of former heathens. Gossiped of back sliding Christians becoming heathens. Oh, we knew heathens all right. And I was about to transform into one. I did what any self-respecting heathen-in-the-making would do. I bought a gun. See, we were certain that God established an absolute morality. Why, without a God, what was to keep a person from robbing a bank? Nothing, of course! How many times had we craftily caught the heathen by demonstrating that there was nothing to prevent them...

By Brian B A father is standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. A few feet away, his son is peddling around on his bicycle. Everything is tranquil and serene. Then, the son peddles his bike into the middle of the road. "Son," says the father. "I want you to come back here because I love you and I don't want to see you get hurt." "No!!" answers the child in defiance. In the distance, the sound of a truck approaching can be heard. "Son", the father reiterates gently, "I don't want to see you get hurt." He doesn't move. "I don't care", says the child. The father can see the truck rolling down the hill, bearing in on his son. He begins to shed tears. "Well," he sobs, "If you don't want to be with me, then I guess you have to get hit by that truck", he sobs. He stands there and watches as the truck slams into his son and crushes him into a thousand pieces. He i...

The truth of Genesis... the band Genesis , that is. Jesus, He knows me You see the face on the TV screen Coming at you every Sunday See that face on the billboard That man is me On the cover of the magazine Theres no question why I'm smiling You buy a piece of paradise You buy a piece of me Ill get you everything you wanted Ill get you everything you need Don't need to believe in hereafter Just believe in me 'Cos Jesus he knows me And he knows I'm right Ive been talking to Jesus all my life Oh yes he knows me And he knows I'm right And hes been telling me Everything is alright I believe in the family With my ever loving wife beside me But she don't know about my girlfriend Or the man I met last night Do you believe in god Cos thats what I'm selling And if you wanna get to heaven Ill see you right You wont even have to leave your house Or get outta your chair You don't even have to touch that dial Cos I'm everywhere And Jesus he knows me And he knows ...

Sent in by Philospher D. R. Khashaba It is not my intention to give an exposition of Bruno’s thought. That is a task that I willingly leave to those who are better equipped to perform it. Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) was a lover of myth, allegory, and symbol, and knew fully well the power of those magical wands to reveal and illumine where discursive thought hid and obscured. In this short note I treat of Bruno himself as an emblem of the mystic paths that lead to the inner reality of our being. Bruno was the epitome of his age, an age of intellectual and spiritual ferment, an age when science and mysticism walked hand in hand, an age which saw the birth of humanism. He is a true paradigm of the whole human being that our contemporary fractured and fragmented humanity stands badly in need of — a fractured and fragmented humanity where religion is indissolubly wedded to dogmatism and superstition and where rationality is blindly bound to soulless physicalism. Yet Bruno has not yet receive...

By DagoodS We have all seen various arguments for/against theism. Many have fun, fancy names such as ontological, or teleological, or start with "Problem of" as in "Problem of Evil" or "Problem of Coherence." One I have not seen much action on, though, is the "Problem of Love." Granted, it is only designed to address a God that allegedly loves humanity, and particular the Christian God. But when I have raised it to Christians, the end result is usually, “I have no answer to that. God is mysterious.” Which is not very satisfying.In simplest form, the problem is: If God loves me, why won’t He talk to me? To unpack this further... I am informed that the single greatest act of love ever exhibited in the entire history of humankind was a God, taking the form of a man, dying and separating Himself from God, so that humans could be saved from the wrath of God. Setting aside the huge non-monotheistic implications of this sentiment, not to mention the his...

By Dave, the WM What should anyone think when confronted with reported claims of miraculous healings? From time to time a commentator on this blog emphatically claims to have witnessed miraculous healings. Naturally, credit for these magical interventions of divine health is attributed to a moving of the Holy Spirit in some religious meeting, or perhaps by some special "anointing" that spontaneously falls on someone. One believer in supernatural healing commented on a letter posted here: You have a little mind . But are Christians the only people laying claim to supernatural healings? Here are some excerpts from the Deccan Herald published in India: Gopi Malhotra down on holiday from the US says, "Sure I do believe faith heals, not just physically but mentally too. One does not have to put down ones crutches and walk to be healed. Mentally and emotionally too we can be healed through faith." Pratima Mathias readily answered the question. "Yes! I do believe ver...