By Dave, the WM Some Christians who come to this site testify to having experienced a significant mystical/spiritual experience, an experience so powerful that they know that they know that they know that their religion (typically some version of Christianity) is not only true, it is THE TRUTH. Although finding a rational way of explaining this experience to others eludes them, they still maintain that their faith is not based on any mental delusion, or odd quirk of their own mental chemistry, but on something more... something beyond this world... something more real than what most of us typically understand as reality. I, for one, know exactly what these believers are talking about. I too have had my share of powerful, supposedly irrefutable spiritual experiences. For years no one could have convinced me that what I'd felt was anything less than the divine presence of God Almighty. Obviously I no longer believe anything of the kind. The more that is learned about the inner workin...

By Daniel Morgan The debate bode very well for atheism, and very poorly for any future hope for Friel at a career in philosophy. I think Eddie won handily. Friel basically sermonized and waxed emotive all night. His only arguments were from incredulity and ignorance (something I expected, from personal experience with him and the general creationist style ). He honestly sounded more like a guy trying to convert a bunch of teenagers than someone attempting to make a rational case for theism. But...make up your mind for yourself, and leave a comment. I really won't go any further than that, because I swear I don't think Friel is worth the analysis. He had nothing new, and what older arguments he did have were mangled versions (e.g., the first cause argument), which Eddie was able to refute, as he was met only with more personal incredulity and appeals to ignorance. I was unable to tape Eddie's opening because I was limited by lack of equipment, but his arguments for...

An exceprt from Letters From The Earth by Mark Twain (1909) Human history in all ages is red with blood, and bitter with hate, and stained with cruelties; but not since Biblical times have these features been without a limit of some kind. Even the Church, which is credited with having spilt more innocent blood, since the beginning of its supremacy, than all the political wars put together have spilt, has observed a limit. A sort of limit. But you notice that when the Lord God of Heaven and Earth, adored Father of Man, goes to war, there is no limit. He is totally without mercy -- he, who is called the Fountain of Mercy. He slays, slays, slays! All the men, all the beasts, all the boys, all the babies; also all the women and all the girls, except those that have not been deflowered. He makes no distinction between innocent and guilty. The babies were innocent, the beasts were innocent, many of the men, many of the women, many of the boys, many of the girls were innocent, yet they had ...

A Catholic family discusses atheism.

Penn & Teller examine the Bible.

Make your own signs at http://jesus.christ.comicstripgenerator.com/ .

YouTuber Albert10110 responds to the January 30th 2007 Paula Zahn Now broadcast on CNN, which had quickly degenerated into an absurd atheist-bashing session. A transcript is available on his website at http://coffeeghost.net .

The number of episodes in the Mr. Deity series is now up to ten. The short films are produced, written, and star Brian Dalton, who uses them to explore the lighter side of religion. The first episodes were launched on January 17, 2007, and within a few days there had been over 200,000 downloads from YouTube, iTunes, and at his own webpage, mrdeity.com . Dalton is an ex-Mormon who came to skepticism in the late 1990s through the Skeptics Society. In time he gave up his religion, but remains utterly fascinated by religion in general, and he has written a pilot for a television series based on his character, Mr. Deity.

Atheist Eve is a hilarious comic strip created by Tracie Harris, a graphic designer in Austin, Texas, and updated monthly on the Atheist Community of Austin website . Harris' long, slow recovery from a rabid fundamentalist upbringing provides the inspiration for Atheist Eve . The following are posted with permission of the author. For more from " Atheist Eve " visit Atheist Community of Austin . One-Size-Fits-All Apologetics Click on the image to view at full size. Defining Existence Click on the image to view at full size.

Sent in by Andrew T: I am an ex-Christian and very familiar with the Baptist way of thinking. I have a good friend who is a Southern Baptist who I will call Mr.K. He's happily married with 2 kids and life seems to be quite satisfactory for him. He sings in the Church choir and his wife plays the piano at the same Church. When I was a Christian I happened to make acquaintance with a person I will call Tim. He used to frequent our Church. A pretty jolly fellow! A few years ago, Tim committed suicide. He had bought Mr. K's condo when Mr.K decided to get married and move into a house. Tim shot himself in this Condo. However the gun shot did not kill him instantly. He was able to call 911 for help, but died anyway after reaching the hospital. While having a discourse with Mr. K about my renouncing Christianity, I mentioned Tim's death and reminded Mr. K, on how Tim used to frequent church and still, God did not prevent his tragic death. For me it was proof that the Christian God...

By DagoodS I spent an amusing evening reading The God Debate in Newsweek between Rick Warren and Sam Harris. At one point I was not certain whether Rev. Warren was arguing “Is God Real?” or “Are atheists real?” He seemed to hit every Christian Caricature Canard about atheists known to humans—we are angry, we think everyone is ignorant, we are selfish, we are hopeless and, to top it all off, we don’t “want” a God. Warren: You’re more spiritual than you think. You just don’t want a boss. You don’t want a God who tells you what to do. We’ve all heard this in a variety of forms. “You want to be like God.” “You don’t like submitting to an authority.” “You think you are smarter than God.” Is this nuts? Let’s think about this for half a second, okay? I realize that most times the theist is envisioning not wanting a God because of a moral sense, but there are so many more facets to a God than that! Our universe is comprised of 100 Billion galaxies made up of 100 billion stars in eac...

By D. R. Khashaba The question of religion is becoming oppressive. The onslaught of religious militancy worldwide is threatening to drive human culture and human civilization millennia back. I have just seen an article by Charles Murray (“Jewish Genius”, Commentary, April 2007, ( link ). I have no intention of dealing with the main theme of the article. I wish merely to point to two statements that I find particularly stupefying. But first, since the article has something to do with Jews, I beg you before rushing to the charge of anti-Semitism, to have a look at my recently published Hypatia’s Lover (2006) and see my treatment of Jewish characters and Jewish events there. Professor Murray speaks of "two examples of great Jewish accomplishment ... The first is the fully realized conceptualization of monotheism, expressed through one of the literary treasures of the world, the Hebrew Bible. ... The second achievement is not often treated as a Jewish one but clearly is: Christian t...

By Dave, the WM An increasing number of articles, commentaries, and opinion pieces are being published on what has been dubbed the “New Atheism.” One website, interestingly entitled NewAtheists.org , describes a four-pillared platform on which the so-called “New Atheism movement" rests. It reads as follows: Tolerance of pervasive myth and superstition in modern society is not a virtue. Religious fundamentalism has gone main stream and its toll on education, science, and social progress is disheartening. Wake up people!! We are smart enough now to kill our invisible gods and oppressive beliefs. It is the responsibility of the educated to educate the uneducated, lest we fall prey to the tyranny of ignorance. A recent article at Wired.com stated: The New Atheists will not let us off the hook simply because we are not doctrinaire believers. They condemn not just belief in God but respect for belief in God. Religion is not only wrong; it's evil. Now that the battle has been joined...

An accurate retelling of the Book of Job (with some things ommitted for time's sake).

By Never Going Back Looking back on my sixteen year "relationship" with Christ, hindsight has lent me the wisdom to discern that it was truly an abusive one. I have an intimate knowledge of domestic violence. I experienced it growing up and as an adult woman in unhealthy relationships. My counselor defined domestic violence as controlling another person through the use of fear and manipulation. If that is the case, then I think it's safe to say that my "loving Heavenly Father" beat the shit out me! For sixteen years I lived in morbid fear of this place called Hell, where he would promptly send me for any infraction. I was constantly confused by the scriptures that seemed to insult me one minute and build me up the next. For sixteen years I heard Him tell me that my righteousness was as filthy rags and that without Him, I was nothing. For sixteen years, I was told that nearly all my desires were sinful, all my thoughts and feelings were wrong, and all my pl...

Julia Sweeney shares the first 15 minutes of her solo show at TED2006 . The comedian and playwright created the SNL character "Pat," and wrote her own hit Broadway show "God Said Ha!" (produced also as a film). (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA.)

By Amanda, a.k.a. newly not It was a weird feeling the day I shifted my beliefs and discovered there wasn’t a God. For those of you who are also recently confirmed in the Almighty’s nonexistence, I offer some pros and cons to the new lifestyle in light of the slight mourning you may be feeling in the dissolved hope of eternal life: Pros: 1.) You’re no longer required to force the following things into your daily schedule: Read the often confusing, boring, contradictory, and vile text that is the Bible. Have a sincere chat with God (a.k.a. the ceiling), asking for anything to do with yourself last, mind you. Live for GOD and obey God’s Word, which, if taken literally, would include dozens of absurd laws. Serve God in your work (even if you work at McDonald’s) and love strangers (even if you innately don’t like people). You know, the things a “good” Christian should be doing, but many of us ex-Christians weren’t doing regularly, anyway. 2.) You’re no longer obligated to attend church se...

Imagine a couple arriving at a church in a limousine- she's in her finest dress, he's in a tuxedo. In front of their friends and family, they stand before each other and pledge a covenant- she to remain his, and he to protect and care for her. After exchanging rings, they embrace and join each other on the dance floor to commemorate their vows, as the guests eat fancy cake. Sounds like a wedding, no? Sure would be too, if the couple weren't father and daughter. While not a wedding, these " Father-Daughter Purity Balls " are designed to be enough like one to really set off my creepiness alarm. Now, it's all well and good for fathers to have strong and loving relationships with their daughters, but this seems to be taking it too far. The vow made by the daughter is strictly sexual- she is essentially ceding sovereignty of her body, and specifically her genitals, to her father. According to recent participant Mike Parcha, this arrangement "is a culmination o...

By DagoodS (Title by Voltaire) Claiming that a person does not believe in God because of their Pride is a rotten argument. Do not be surprised if it fails to even nudge the skeptic. It is often said, in the debate of why a person believes or not, that the non-believer failed to be humble, or thought too much of themselves, or was arrogant, and thus dismissed the concept of God. Since it is not true, the statement fails to compel. If you are guilty of using this claim in a debate, you can save your breath and your fingers. You see, in order to be persuasive, we must talk in concepts and ideas that the other person can relate to, not simply push out some platitude and assume that it is effective. I may find it extremely persuasive that a Chevrolet Corvette can go from 0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds. That may be the impetus by which I am persuaded to purchase the vehicle. Can you imagine my using this selling feature to a mother with three children? While she may be thrilled to hear how...