By DocMike The Bible describes a flat, circular Earth sitting on pillars, with a dome over it, which contained the Sun, the Moon, and the stars. God lived in and on the dome. The Moon made its own light and the stars were just smaller lights in the night sky. The Earth was the center of everything. It remained still, while the Sun, Moon, and stars moved over it. Of course this is probably what everyone believed around the time the Bible was written, but wouldn’t the creator of the universe, an omniscient god, know better? Here are some verses that illustrate the Bible authors’ obvious ignorance about these things: Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 1 Samuel 2:8 … for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them. 1 Chronicles 16:30 Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved. Job 9:6 Which shaket...

Image by Travlr via Flickr By Dano I no longer believe in the God of the Bible. He is too vindictive, jealous, mean, and easily offended. In other words, he is too much like a human tyrant. So, I pray to my own version of the creator, or supreme being, if you will. My version of god is bigger and certainly more resourceful and intelligent than Bible-god, who can't even figure out that since he made everything, including all forms of life, that he is ultimately responsible for how we all behave. I figure that a true god, being perfect, wouldn't need or want a bunch of "educated monkeys" worshiping him, and I figure that any God worth his/her salt can do anything. So I pray that he will make it possible for me to win the lottery. Yes! I buy a ticket every month! Why not? That's what gods are for, isn't it? To ask for things? Certainly me winning 90 million dollars would mean very little to a supreme being who is capable of creating a universe, or many univer...

Image via Wikipedia As Madison Avenue has shown us, sex, with the right mix of pop culture and edge can sell almost anything –Coca Cola, the Joker—or, as it turns out, the theological equivalent of either. By Valerie Tarico This weekend's NYT Magazine featured a piece by Molly Worthen about Seattle megachurch Mars Hill : " Who Would Jesus Smack Down ?". The article, like the church itself, leads with titillation. And as in the church itself, the titillation is an opener for Calvinism – the kind of fundamentalism that says we are all utterly depraved, doomed to eternal torture – except that the God of Calvin has chosen a lucky inside group for salvation. Having been to Mars Hill, I can assure you the racy talk in the article doesn’t happen just during sermons about sex. At a evangelistic rally on the University of Washington campus last year, the church’s founder and star, Mark Driscoll , began by expressing the angst he felt when his zipper got stuck right before...

By TheraminTrees Who will be the first to decipher the anagram comprised of the letters painted on the "Complete Instruction Manual Cupboard?"

Image by chrissuderman via Flickr By Valerie Tarico As parents, we want our children to be happy. We want them to achieve great things. But we also want them to be good people. We want to be as proud of their kindness, generosity and integrity as we are of their achievements. How do we help them get there? Moral development Each religion teaches that it is the source of morality. Christians perceive themselves as "a light on the hill" without which the world would fall into moral anarchy. As a freethinker, I have had people ask -- how can you raise good children without religion? In one sense, this question is almost silly. Research shows us that healthy human children come into the world primed to become moral members of society, just like they come into the world primed to acquire language. Moral emotions, such as empathy, shame and guilt, begin to show their presence during the toddler years regardless of a child's cultural or religious context. A toddler may pat a...

Video series by TruthSurge Is there such a thing as an ex-Christian ?

Image by Môsieur J. via Flickr By Syrastis Often do we find a new year filled with new opportunities and a chance to start fresh. Many make resolutions for the new year (that never seem to be followed). And with all of this we still have that wonderful old message that so many at this site despise..... "God sent Jesus to die on the cross to save us. Turn back to Him before you are damned to the depths of Hell forever." We all want this message to disappear from existence, as it's obvious that nobody [here] cares. Yet those who come to this website regurgitate it in a futile attempt to re-convert us. They do it over and over again. And again. And AGAIN. Believers: Why do you come here to try to convert us when we just kicked the stuff? Why do you think you have a better chance at converting us than all the other Christians who come here? Why did you search for this website just to "save us," when all you accomplish is irritating everyone else? Why do you conti...

By Kevin Perry It is often said that atheists have the same amount of faith as Christians. This is a common argument, and my response to this claim is the following question: which of the two belief systems has the most amount of assumptions? I think that both the Christian and atheist assume (probably by faith) that there is an objective reality outside of ourselves, and that there is some sort of natural order that we all experience. But the Christian is generally the one who believes in incredible events that defy the natural order, such as virgin births, people rising from the dead and parting seas. These events are incredibly alien to our everyday experience and current knowledge of how the world works; they are the 'outliers', the exception-rather-than-the-rule kind of phenomena. As an atheist, I base my beliefs on the rule-rather-than-the-exception: balls thrown into the air generally fall down; people who die generally stay dead; water does not generally transform ...

Image via Wikipedia By Jax I've been visiting this site for a while now and I like it. It is actually good therapy to know one is not alone. Thanks to all who started and contribute to this site. And thanks to the fundys and Xtians for their ludicrous comments and vain attempt to battle " Satan "... you blokes are good for a laugh and re-enforcing why I will never return to such stupidity. Anyway, have any of you noticed in religious films how the act of stoning seems to be quite low key? I've been led to believe (thanks to Hollywood ) that the act of stoning used in the Bible and ordered by a loving GOD as a punishment for sin , was nothing more than the throwing of a few pebbles. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let’s set the scene. You are walking down the dusty path, thinking how wonderful and loving god is for giving you a lovely day, a good wife, and a couple of nice kids whom you love very much. Suddenly, two men grab you and take you to the chief prie...

Image by ruSSeLL hiGGs via Flickr By Astreja Putting to one side for the moment the whole problem of "sin" -- That is, the ludicrous notion that an omnipotent deity can be offended or injured by the very thoughts of its supposed creation -- I think that I have identified a fatal flaw in Christianity. When questioned by skeptics and nonbelievers, a follower of the Dead-Rabbi-On-A-Stick cult will sometimes use the following line of unreasoning: God is 'perfect', whatever that actually means. And apparently we are not . Duh. We're humans. Thanks to our terrifying imperfection, we've succeeded in doing something that has annoyed the Big Guy. That's a capital offense ; therefore, we have to die. Unfortunately, that isn't good enough. This god (whom we somehow offended) requires a perfect sacrifice, and we ain't it. Therefore, something perfect has to die. And the only perfect thing in the whole universe is... You guessed it! ...the very same go...

Image by Al Bar via Flickr By Melvin What if there was a group of people that believed that leprechauns were real. They believed in them so much that they believed that the Leprechaun was the key to eternal happiness. They not only believed in them, but they even built idols and places of worship to praise the magical creatures. The Leprechauns dictated how they should live their lives, and even had a set of moral codes to live by. If any one strays from the code or doesn’t believe in leprechauns all together, then they are source of evil, out to destroy the leprechauns and their faithful. The very reason that there are people who aren’t leprechaunites, and there is evil in the world, is because of Belgabesh the eternal enemy of the leprechauns. To a leprechaun believer anyone who isn’t faithful is under the spell of Belgabesh and must be destroyed. So, eventually, these lovers of rainbows, potatoes, and pots of gold get the word from the leprechauns to kill any one who strays ...

The evolution of religions via descent with imagination. Image by Colin Purrington By Uruk Jesus was not the first character to be born of a virgin, to be adored by wise men, and to heal the sick, to suffer and die on a tree or a cross, to be buried in a tomb, and to rise again on the third day only to ascend into the sky. This had happened before. This is an old story. And Christianity's way of dealing with this problem is to ignore it. -- The God Who Wasn't There -- movie trailer Despite my beliefs concerning god's non-existence , I still think one may not be able to disprove (or prove) god's existence. Also, deconverting from Christianity does not mean one's only option is to become an atheist . One may certainly remain theist while still discarding religious practice -- or choosing some other set of religious beliefs to replace the former. How does an atheist one day turn around and allow faith to take over their reasoning? How does one start ignoring such evi...

By John L. Armstrong Quick follow-up: Would you respect someone's doctorate in astrology ? How about alchemy ? Or geomancy ? Or voodoo ? Why do we have any respect for the field of theology as an academic pursuit?

Illustration by DocMike . Podcast by Exfundie Teaching science in fundamentalist parts of America is a challenge for educators. This podcast was submitted by an educator who is devoted to authentic education, regardless of the religious ramifications.

Image via Wikipedia By Bill Jeffreys If we truly love or care deeply for someone, we don't dismiss them. How could you? I do not fault people for not loving or caring for everyone. I only hold those accountable who claim to love me and don't. To be Christ like should mean more than just words or deeds. It should mean honesty in ones actions and speech. Dishonesty is easily masked with religion. It is much like politics. Once should mean what one says and say what one means. I think it is the one thing I have learned in my relationship....to work at being authentic and assertive. I have friends who I don't relate with as well as others. I still keep in touch. Fundamentally, I believe in keeping relationships going unless they become harmful. I am close with my brother even though we disagree on many subjects like, god, religion, politics, and gay marriage and so on. We have learned to see that these things are secondary to our love for one another and our need for relat...

By Bill Jeffreys Recently I have been looking into a learning theory which is new to me. It's called attribution theory . Attribution theory states that people will interpret their environment in such a way as to maintain a positive self-image . It emphasizes that a learners' current self-perceptions will strongly influence the ways in which they interpret the success or failure of their current efforts. We know that a person's self-perceptions come from both internal and external beliefs. We also know that beliefs come from a number of areas, life experiences; culture and education are but a few. This got me thinking about the apparent need people have to maintain a positive view of their beliefs. I'm writing about this based on my conversations with some people. No matter how succinct, factual or rational your explanation, or argument, some people hear only what supports their believe. Our beliefs are often not as rational as we'd like to believe. Ever have an ar...

By Pat Condell Cheers, and merry Christmas to everyone. Especially this idiot: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknew... You can download an audio version of this video at http://patcondell.libsyn.com

Image by ViaMoi via Flickr By Neal Stone When I did my last post on this subject, I was informed I had started off on the wrong foot. Indeed I did as I approached Christians ministers only and forgot to ask those that post here for sources on whether Jesus existed or not, I apologize. In the process I was given many sources including one that suggests the historian Josephus may not have existed and was nothing more than a forgery. The more I researched Jesus, the more I realized just how complicated and and hard this was going to be. I have evidence on both sides and there is a lot of it to go through to the point it is almost too much for me to handle. Then it hit me! Jesus is the most influential and famous person in history. Proving Jesus existed and who he was and his miracles were real is extremely difficult. Why is this? How can the most powerful, influential person in the history of mankind be so hard to prove? Why can't someone come up with solid non-disputable e...

By Tim Whistorn Image by _escalade328s_ via Flickr I admit it: Sometimes I just like to make fun of Christianity and those who keep the faith. On one hand I honestly do respect a person's right to believe anything they want, and to live/practice whatever pleases them. I just don't respect the way Christianity has been used to rob the masses of their personal sense of freedom and power for centuries; nor do I respect the very real threat to human advancement this dark age religion poses through many aggressive organizations, lobbying groups, and advocacies. And maybe I'm a little irked by the fact that most of my family and many of my friends are brainwashed to the extent that a really open conversation about the nature of life is an impossibility. Note To Reader : If Christianity allowed it's members to use their brains in debate this content would be great for dispelling the illusion. Sadly, as we know, Christians have at least two primary fall back arguments they ...

Image via Wikipedia Valerie Tarico interviews Dr. Tony Nugent, scholar of world religions. Dr. Nugent is a symbologist, an expert in ancient symbols. He taught at Seattle University for fifteen years in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and is an ordained Presbyterian minister . Most Americans know how Christmas came to be celebrated on December 25 : The Emperor Constantine chose the date because it was winter solstice in the Julian Calendar , the birthday of dying and rising gods like Mithra and Sol. Some people also know that our delightful melange of Christmas festivities originated in ancient Norse, Sumerian, Roman and Druid traditions - or, in the case of Rudolph, on Madison Avenue. But where does the Christmas story itself come from: Jesus in the manger, the angels and wise men? The familiar Christmas story, including the virgin conception and birth of Jesus , is found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Scholars have pointed out that these stories are somewhat ...