by James C Image by tinou bao via Flickr T he post by Mt/RedAtheist about god not healing amputees hits several items that really get one to thinking. First, let's take a look at the last half of his/her title.... Avoidance of the question. The most telling admittance of this avoidance I've found is in the testimony by Ken Daniels in his "From Missionary Bible Translator to Agnostic (2003)" as shown in his section 3.1 Crisis #5: Deism ( http://www.infidels.org/ library/modern/testimonials/ daniels.html#Section2.2 ) where he states, "We never prayed for an amputee's leg to grow back or for a woman with a hysterectomy to have a child, because we knew it was impossible. We prayed only for the possible, and those who prayed for the truly impossible and claimed it happened were disingenuous, like the televangelists." But saying it was impossible is a direct denial of God's known abilities as a creator (if you buy into creation). If yo...

by Henry Image by danny.hammontree via Flickr I don't really love arguing with Christians. I consider myself a friendly Atheist, and I don't shove my own beliefs in anyones face unless they do the same to me specifically. However, when I do, I'm usually fairly successful in getting my point across. Whether I "convert" them is not of concern to me, as long as they understand my view. Near the end of these conversations there always tends to be the last-stand argument that, even if we can't believe in God and The Jeebus, the Bible is still a good thing for human morality , and that it is a good guide on how to live a good life. I used to just let them have this last word, mostly because I did not have an effective counter argument. But I came up with one that has worked well, that I wanted to share with everyone in case they also had trouble with this. None of what the Bible offers is exclusive What it boils down to is this: morals do not have to come from rel...

"Top 80 Best Short Atheist Quotes About Atheism & Religion" by TranceDevotee (his account is suspended). --- Subscribe to Science & Reason: • http://www.youtube.com/FFreeThinker • http://www.youtube.com/FFreeThinker2 • http://www.youtube.com/BestOfAtheism • http://www.youtube.com/AtheistExperience • http://www.youtube.com/TheAtheistExpe... • http://www.youtube.com/Best0fScience • http://www.youtube.com/SagansCosmos --- "If atheism is a religion, then health is a disease!" (Clark Adams) "The Bible is one of the most genocidal books in history." (Noam Chomsky) "No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always convinced that it says what he means." ( George Bernard Shaw ) "When I think of all the harm the Bible has done, I despair of ever writing anything to equal it." ( Oscar Wilde ) "Science with religion is lame; religion without science is blind. Science without religion is useful; religion with science...

by Neal Stone O K, I get it now. You're not happy. But how is that my fault? OK, so I created Satan and his angles, and I could have easily destroyed them or thrown them in prison, but I chose to let the roam free. And sure, I created Earth right smack dab in the middle of Satan Central, but is it really my fault my creation chose to disobey me? Granted I could have stepped in like any father would and stopped it all right there or even waited till Satan and his buddies were finally rounded up (someday soon I promise), but it's always been My style to sit back and see what you do with the little information I have given. Like for instance a two year old crossing the street. Why teach him, when he can learn on his own and make the right choice? Right? Now best you behave, because when you do make the wrong choice I will show up and write it all down and hold it against you later. This whole mess isn't my fault? Really it isn't! How can it be my fault when you m...

by E Chamberlain MD, San Diego CA I think the most important reason that I left Christianity was because it didn't deliver. It especially didn't deliver love. No matter what other complaint I have against Christianity, surely even Christians-- and, hey, even Jesus-- could agree that if I'm right about this, then, yes, I have a worthy complaint. It's shocking when you realize it, when you see it -- Love, real love, is foreign to the letters of the foremost of the Apostles , Peter and John. It's just not there. Of all the books in the Bible, those letters, five in all, are a quick read and my complaint can be easily verified. But don't Peter and John write about love? Yes, and a jihadist talks about love too I'm sure. Just not love for the infidel. In registering this grievance at the customer service counter of Christianity, I'm not just blaming Christian humans for their failings. I'm blaming Christianity as a theology . As much as I gave of...

By WizenedSage F ighting the forces of faith with reason is very tiring, and sometimes seems so hopeless. Yet, recent surveys show that the percentage of Americans who call themselves non-religious is increasing. We are making progress. The following quotations have been found on various WEB sites. While they may give the impression that the level of Christian ignorance has reached the hopeless level, please remember that these quotations come from the dimmest of the dim; the truly hopeless must be only a small fraction of all practicing Christians. After all, most of the ex-Christians who regularly contribute to this site are clearly very intelligent. I offer the following quotations merely for comic relief; do not allow them to dishearten you. Oh, and need I say, “You can’t make this stuff up!”? “To say the Bible was written by men and may contain inaccuracies completely contradicts the word of the Bible.” [Talking about an eleven year old girl who was raped and then buried alive] ”g...

by Valerie Tarico “I don’t know if it’s real,” my friend Laura said, “but some conservatives have decided to edit the Bible. I sent you the link .” She started laughing, and I laughed too. Over the next few days more friends sent articles about the Conservative Bible Project . All asked the same question. Is this a spoof or is it legit? Andrew Sullivan , who linked the project subtitled his post : “Not an Onion Headline.” On the face of it, editing the Bible to remove liberal bits is ludicrous. It’s makes liberals want to gloat and jeer* and to point out all of the ridiculous ways the religious right works to rewrite history. It makes a lot of Christians cringe. Wrong reaction, from both. When conservatives squawk about the Bible having been twisted along the way by political bias, our first response should be—they’re right. My own guess is that they don’t know how right they are – or they might not have opened this particular can of spaghetti. The Conservapedia team thinks that th...

by Carl S Image by sean_hickin via Flickr I can hardly wait for Jesus to come back. With the TV cameras rolling, will he come floating down through the clouds the same way he went up? Will he walk across the Sea of Galilee , Lake Michigan , the Pacific Ocean ? Will he stop in Africa first, since so many there seem to need miracles the most, as they pray that their children not die from starvation and preventable diseases? Will he cure AIDS and malaria there? With the TV cameras recording, I would like to watch him feeding thousands from five loaves of bread and two fishes, and watch him walk through a wall, and listen to him praise his spokesmen such as Pope Benedict, Pat Robertson , Ted Haggard , et al., and then listen to him constantly chastise and damn the hypocrisy of religious spokesmen again, as written in those gospels. Maybe he will raise the dead again, making them come out of their graves and walk among us. And maybe he will cure blindness and deafness and drive devils...

by MtlRedAtheist Why won't God heal amputees? I observed that theists who try to respond to the question, tend to end up actually avoiding the question in their response and answering an unasked question. Could it be that they have no good answer for why their god refuses to heal amputees every single time, so they try to explain why they're god allows bad things to happen instead and hope we don't notice? I discuss it a little in this video and the reason why I think the question is important.

by Neal Stone Image via Wikipedia W e have all probably seen the video by now of Ray Comfort using a banana to prove god's design and to prove that god exists. Yes I am now using god in lower case. This video is a hilarious video if you are dying for a good life. Not only is he arrogant as hell, but that constant smirk of Kirk Cameron is really irritating as well. I guess it's easy to have faith when your loaded! Interesting enough, he later apologized for the video. Why? Because the banana he used was engineered by humans. Yes, us humans created the modern banana you see in the local super market. Just an FYI, there is a video called “ How does a monkey open a banana ”. Hint, not the way Ray showed us. My post isn't about the banana video. It's about something more important. His lack of research to back up his claim or belief. This is one of my main reasons for dropping Christianity. So many things were passed on to me by other believers only to discov...

by Yak I was on the Long Now Foundation website and found a talk given by retired NYU professor of History and Literature of Religion, James Carse . The talk is called "Religious War in Light of the Infinite Game." In it he examines the nature of religious thinking and belief and the control they exert. I found it rather interesting. If anyone wants to check it out: http://www.longnow.org/ projects/seminars What caught my interest more, however, is a little snippet from his own blog called "Neither Theism nor Atheism," in which he presents the problem of belief and believers that we all regularly bandy about on this site. I found it by turns interesting and illuminating. In his view, due to the nature of belief, theism and atheism cannot truly exist without the other. One must have an opponent, and an active one, in order to survive. I wanted to pass an excerpt of his ideas along for our collective consideration... "Serious believers are generally ea...

by WizenedSage Image via Wikipedia M y most recent "Letter to the Editor" for one of our local weekly newspapers was published a few days ago. I wanted to share its message with you and again encourage you all to become active in the cause of reason in your own cities and towns. Together, we are many voices and we can make a difference. And, besides, it's fun! An Entreaty to Parents I am writing in response to “A Challenge to Parents,” by Judy Howlett, published in the September 10 edition of this newspaper. Ms. Howlett wrote, “I am going to make arguments for church school attendance. See if you can make as many valid arguments against church school attendance.” Ms. Howlett stresses the positive, community aspects of church, with which I have no problem. When people work together to improve their own and others’ well being, that is laudable. But, of course, that happens outside of church, too. In contrast to Ms. Howlett, I would say to parents, “Please, please, DO NOT s...

F amed atheist Richard Dawkins appeared on The Colbert Report Wednesday night promoting his new book on evolution, " The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution "

by Valerie Tarico T he Seattle Times today included an AP article about the recent quake in Sumatra, along with a “how to help” list. Top of that list was World Vision International . What the article failed to mention and many donors fail to realize, is that World Vision is an Evangelical Christian organization with a mission that includes “serving as a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Perhaps the best known program of World Vision is their child sponsorships. As an Evangelical college student, I sponsored a child in India . I even got and sent a few letters, and it felt great knowing that thanks to me he could afford to attend a Christian school in his area. a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ World Vision explicitly states on their website that they “do not proselytize or work with those who insist on proselytism. Proselytism takes place whenever assistance is offered on condition that people must listen or respond to a message or as an inducement to leave one and join ...

by QualiaSoup

by Valerie Tarico I n case you missed the announcement, ShipofFools.com has published an “authoritative” list of the ten worst verses in the Bible. At a time when atheists are posting ads on billboards and busses around the world, you might assume that the Ship is an anti-religious site. But no. Ship of Fools is a Christian website with an impeccable British sense of the absurd. True to its name, the editors go where angels (and other Christians) dare not tread. "We're here for people who prefer their religion disorganized," says Simon Jenkins . "Our aim is to help Christians be self-critical and honest about the failings of Christianity, as we believe honesty can only strengthen faith." People end up defending sexual slavery and scorched earth warfare, even a belief in dragons. I wince a bit at Jenkins’ confidence. As a student at Wheaton College of Billy Graham fame, I thought that the school motto was “All truth is God’s truth.” Later I found out it was...

By Mike S Image by mgerskup via Flickr. Anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death. -- Leviticus 24:16 NOTE: This is a Facebook note that I wrote yesterday; it has received a great response and I thought I'd share it here. Tomorrow, September 30, 2009, is International Blasphemy Day. The date was chosen to mark the four-year anniversary of the Muslim "Danish cartoon riots." Rather than merely fire off another one of my pithy Facebook status updates (although I reserve the right to do this as well), I thought I'd write down a few of my thoughts on the event itself and my own feelings on it. From the official site: "International Blasphemy Day is not just a day. It is a movement to dismantle the wall which exists between religion and criticism." http://www.blasphemyday.com/ My guess is that almost anyone reading thi...