By DagoodS The concept of god is a solution to a then-current perceived problem that did not have an apparent resolution. Let’s look at the course and development of the concept of god(s) from what we know as humanity travels through history. Every day the sun would rise. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the sun provided light to see by, warmth to live by and regularity by which to monitor time. Useful thing—the sun. But where did the sun come from? Why was it so regular? How is it that it provided light? It was that “why” question that started to trouble humans. Worse, without the knowledge of the “why” we lose some sense of control. How do we know the sun will continue to rise day after day? Sure, we could put a blanket over us to avoid the light. Or go to shade to avoid the heat. But what accounted for it? Without that knowledge, we are powerless to either stop the sun if we desired, nor fix the sun if it was required. We were helpless. And so, the ...

By Dave, the WM Smoking in public areas has been outlawed in several States in the US and in many countries around the world. This past November, the citizens of my home state — Ohio — voted to ban all public indoor smoking throughout the state. Smoking is not allowed in stores, restaurants, bars, places of business, clubs or within shouting distance of doorways to any public establishment, private or otherwise. So it is written, so let it be done. This isn't a rant about smoking, by the way, but eventually I'll make my point. Smoking has been part of American heritage and history for perhaps thousands of years. Native Americans are frequently credited with discovering and harvesting the tobacco plant, and with inventing the practice of smoking. Smokers claim that enjoying a cigarette, cigar or pipe, helps facilitate a quiet moment of rest and relaxation. Some say it aids digestion. Many would be hard pressed to make it through the day without a smoke. For certain Native Am...

By Dr. Zachary Moore In Cobb County, Georgia, the same mecca of rationality that declared all biology books must be labeled to protect the dear, innocent children from the dangerous message of evolutionary theory, a couple faces a murder charge stemming from the deadly discipline used on their son, inspired by the teachings of their unique Christian church. Sonya and Joseph Smith, of the Remnant Fellowship Church (also of the "Weigh Down Workshop" weight-loss plan), followed along with the church's policy of physically disciplining children with strikes from foot-long glue sticks. According to this article : On Oct. 8, 2003, emergency crews were called to the Smiths' home in Georgia after the couple reported Josef was having trouble breathing. He died the next day at an Atlanta hospital. Sonya Smith told police that on the day he died the couple had disciplined Josef with a series of glue-stick whippings, delivered in increments of 10. She said the boy was locked in a...

By D. R. Khashaba [First published in Philosophy Pathways Issue No. 108] Prefatory note On November 11, 2005, one hundred and fifty years will have passed since the death of Sören Kierkegaard at the age of 42. Kierkegaard's philosophy dissertation was entitled On the Concept of Irony with constant reference to Socrates . He may have seen himself as continuing the Socratic mission of freeing people of passively received dogmas and making them turn inwards into themselves. But in this paper I find more contrasts than similarities between these two differently exceptional personalities. I try to bring out this contrast, or rather opposition, by examining Kierkegaard's exposition of his notion of the "teleological suspension of the ethical." But first let us try to get an overview of the intricate relations between their outlooks. Kierkegaard and Socrates Greek thought and Hebrew thought do not make a good mix. Christianity of course is such a mix and...

A few weeks back, CNN 's Paula Zahn put together a panel of so-called experts to discuss whether or not atheists are discriminated against in the US. Apparently CNN was flooded with emails about the panel not including an atheist, so Richard Dawkins was invited to speak on the topic. Enjoy! To view the short articles leading up to this interview with Dawkins, click here: Discrimination against atheists . This video is about 3.5 minutes long.

By Sailorfraud The Bible says God is almighty who answers your prayers. So how do you know if God is real other than that faith crap? Try the power of prayer when an earthly situation occurs which is beyond your control and only an almighty God who created the universe and all life can control. Suppose you or a close family member has a terminal disease like cancer which cannot be medically cured? A certain time line is given, so like all hopeful human beings, you humbly and diligently pray to the almighty God who says in the Bible he answers prayers. Time and reality passes, the disease takes it's toll, and your prayers go unanswered. Maybe one in a million may be saved, but looking at a 99.9999% failure rate for prayer is evidence that God does not exist. Now, compare it to an atheist who suffers the same terminal disease and wishes for healing. The same 99.9999% failure rate occurs. Now compare it to a devout Muslim suffering the same terminal disease and prays to his/her ...

By Justin Baragona Religion is a very important element in the lives of the majority of people in this world, whether it is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism. The level of belief that one person feels to his or her religion varies, from casual recognition of your religion on major religious holidays all the way towards full blown extremism. However, it would be safe to say that the majority of people, at least in this nation, believe in a god and feel that there is a deeper meaning to their existence, that there is a heaven or some form of an afterlife, and that through worship of the god that they can attain everlasting happiness in the afterlife. Then, you have the flip side of the equation, the atheist. The atheist came to a conclusion sometime in his life that there was no such thing as a higher being, that there is not an afterlife and that once you die that is all. Most likely, this happened while he was a teenager or a young adult, when his religious teachings s...

The latest success in an "atheist literary wave" is GOD: THE FAILED HYPOTHESIS ($19.32, Amazon Books) in which Victor Stenger --a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a research fellow of the Center for Inquiry --argues that science has advanced sufficiently to make a definitive statement on the existence or nonexistence of the traditional Judeo-Christian-Islamic God. After evaluating all the scientific evidence, Stenger concludes that beyond a reasonable doubt the universe and life appear exactly as we might expect if there were no God. He convincingly shows that not only is there no evidence for the existence of God, but scientific observations actually point to his nonexistence. Stenger invites readers to put their minds--and the scientific method--to work to test this claim. Bestselling authors Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris have praised GOD: THE FAILED HYPOTHESIS : "Marshaling converging arguments from physics, astronomy, biology, and philosophy, ...

By John W. Loftus In a recent email from a Christian student at Fuller Seminary named Tim Bowers he tells me that a classmate and him are doing a project called Letters from Leavers and that "it is essentially a webspace for people who have left the Church to write a “Dear John” letter to the Church." Tim continues, "It may sound weird coming from a Christian (I hope it doesn’t) but I am very interested in hearing your story and would love you to check out the site. If the site interests you we would love it if you could help us out by sending any folks that you know that might want to connect with a site like this to the page. Thanks so much for your time and consideration." Then he adds, "I assure you this is no ploy to try to re-evangelize you. We are genuinely interested in hearing your story and that’s it. You can post anonymously to the site so no one will be able to contact you if you don’t want them to." I have already posted my deconversion story ...

By DagoodS You are in a building. The building contains a bomb which you must find. You do not know the size of the bomb, the make-up of the bomb, nor any markings on the bomb. It could be in any shape, and anywhere within the building. It could be a painting on the wall, the wallboard itself, or behind the wall. You have a limited amount of time to find it. You are free to get advice from any bomb expert you choose, but there is no guarantee the bomb expert is correct. In fact, most bomb experts will tell you false information. You don’t know which ones are accurate and which ones are not. Eventually you must make a choice as to what is the bomb. But you will not know whether that choice is correct until after the time of the bomb’s explosion. Seems pretty incomprehensible, doesn’t it? Yet that is exactly what theists request of us. They claim there is a God in the building—that much is certain. But as to its size and shape and color, we are left totally in the dark. How ma...

A great text by Douglas Adams, read by Simon Jones (who played Arthur Dent in the original HHGTTG radio and TV series), where he explains his positions about the existence of god(s), opinions and the scientific method.

This is a small portion of the book that I have been working on about Christianity. Even this small portion is not what I want it to be nor is it "cleaned and polished" as some of my book already is. I share this unfinished portion now because of the need to have people think and understand the foundations of the major world religions and WHY they are harmful to the mind and consciousness of humanity. Any feedback on this would be appreciated. Thanks! John Blatt ************************************************* The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil By John Blatt It is common knowledge that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil lies at the very foundation of the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Regardless of the various interpretations there is no dispute – that at this Tree the whole of these religions are founded. Yet there is one extremely important fact that is repeatedly overlooked in the understanding of this doctrine within the ...

See if you can list all the Christian fallacious arguments used in this video. (Hint: Many of the same arguments have been presented by Christians right here on ExC.) The video is approximately seven minutes long.

The Deep South in the United States is frequently called the " Bible Belt ." Strongly Christian, with churches literally on nearly every street corner, the powerful influence of Christian values on the life of average people is perhaps more concentrated in the southern U.S. than in any other location in the country, and maybe the world. So, what happens when the hosts of the BBC 's Top Gear program take a trip to Alabama to make some friends? This video is about seven minutes long.

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...