by Valerie Tarico "Neurons in the brain" by Hljod.Huskona via Flickr "I had no need of that hypothesis." O ver the course of the summer I wrote a series of articles about brain science and Christianity, and I promised a final installment that never came. This is it. The series asked and--within the limits of present knowledge--answered a set of questions that fascinate students at the intersection of religion and psychology. How does the structure of human information processing pre-dispose us to religious thinking? Given how our minds work, what kinds of religious beliefs are possible and what kinds are we immune to? How do we know what we know? What gives us a feeling of certainty? What is the relation between reason, evidence, and our sense of knowing? How do conversion experiences work? What makes religious conversion transformative? How do beliefs get transmitted from one person to another? How does our social context influence or even control our re...

Former fundamentalist Ken Pulliam, who holds a Ph.D. from BJU, is now an agnostic . Recently he accepted an invitation to discuss the existence of God with Rabbi Shmuel Greenwald and Father Jeff Vomundon on the Dave Glover Talk Radio Show in St. Louis, MO .

by TruthSurge Is it right for God to take back something He freely gives to humans? What would we think of someone if they gave us a gift, then without warning, suddenly jerked it away from us? What if someone gave you a kidney to replace your last failing one? Then, six months later forced you to give it back? What would you think of that person? What if God did the same thing? Does it make it okay just because he's "God?"

by Neal Stone T here is always the argument that Christians give, “You just have to have faith”. They then throw out the following. You have faith when you sat in that chair. You have faith when you start your car. You have faith you will wake up each morning. So why don't you have faith in god? Well, let's cover this argument shall we. You have faith when you sat in that chair. Sure, because I know it's going to hold me. After all most of the chairs I sit in I have sat in before. So I know they will probably hold me again. But we are talking about faith in an observable, visible physical object. I can see it, test it and determine that it will probably hold me. The faith in the chair is earned based of my observations. You have faith when you start your car. Now give me an old chair that's a little beat up, and I will have some doubt and will sit in it with a little caution and doubt, but will also test it to be sure it will hold me. You have faith when you start...

Mr. Deity and Jesus try to figure out their relationship.

by Carl S. I thought some ExChristian.net readers might enjoy my poem, Round and Round, which appeared in the July/August issue of American Atheist magazine. Round & Round T here are many kinds of dances In the land of Limerick Zoo And the town of Verse-Take-A-Pick, Where the poems and the jokes Doe-see-doe with the folks; It’s the same old/new ballyhoo. F or the jokes and the wordplays are so much alike In the ways they elicit emotion, By twisting, accenting, with insightful might, Elicit prejudice, delight, and devotion. S uppose that the prose, so often repeated, inflected, Must give credence to faith without reason, The most ridiculous things are accepted, Are jokes taken serious by folk, The beyond rhyme or reason, To the point where rejection is treason. A nd they go round and round in perennial repeating tradition, Seeking comfort in pain, which they spurn, By key words and phrases that release inhibition, Despite contradiction, determined and firm in conviction, Unwilling ...

Lawrence Krauss gives a talk on our current picture of the universe, how it will end, and how it could have come from nothing. Krauss is the author of many bestselling books on Physics and Cosmology, including " The Physics of Star Trek ." Books by Lawrence Krauss: Amazon.Com Download Quicktime version (720p HD): http://c0116791.cdn.cloudfiles.racksp... Filmed & Edited by JOSH TIMONEN

From Dealdoctor A mong all the books by the "new atheists " Darrel Ray's The God Virus: How religion infects our lives and culture is unique in that it places focus on the methodologies of religion and the common techniques that give it power. It is like there are various different kind of cars but when you look under the hood you see that their engines are so very similar. Religions are powered by people's need for social interaction , help in crisis, relief from guilt (particularly sexual guilt) , and also major in the brain chemistry altering power of music, repetition and hypnosis . In other words all of those religious services leave people feeling different mildly euphoric and it is all associated with "god" and "god's group". Ray, does a great job of clearly communicating why religion has so much power over people's lives regardless of the particular theological content that any one religion may have while it grabs and holds them ...

The BBC’s Natural History Unit focuses on the planet’s most advanced animal, beginning with a look at how man communicated before the evolution of language . Some gestures and expressions are so ingrained that we have not been able to erase them from our vocabulary. Download this video!

Image via Wikipedia If there were any doubts about writer and general provocateur Christopher Hitchens ability to pull a crowd, they were entirely dispelled by the sold-out opening night of the first ever Festival of Dangerous Ideas. Presented by the Sydney Opera House and the St James Ethics Centre , the Festival brought together some of the more controversial thinkers from Australia and around the world. Hitchens's keynote address, followed by a discussion with our own Tony Jones, was an expansion on his bestselling, " God is Not Great : Religion Poisons Everything ". Hitchens was at his polemical best, delivering a beautifully constructed speech supporting his argument that religion is not only completely implausible, but often actively destructive. Christopher Hitchens's other books include " Letters to a Young Contrarian ", " Why Orwell Matters " and " The Missionary Position : Mother Theresa in Theory and Practice." He also writ...

by Carl S L et’s start with a joke that really isn’t. A little boy asks, “What’s the difference between an accident and an explosion?” His answer, “In an accident, there you are, but in an explosion, where are you?” This was used in my letter to the editor in reference to the Islamic terrorists of 9/11, who expected to have intercourse with virgins in paradise after their bodies had been blown to pieces. It was published just before Easter! As an atheist, ergo realist, I must look reality directly in the eyes, without the luxury believers have of ignoring it, looking the other way, making alternative fantasy worlds and fanciful explanations to make it more comfortable. It is with deep concern that I read of those on this site who still struggle from a terror of death. I will offer you no B.S. about spirits, eternal life (which is an oxymoron), of gaining some eternal bliss via affirmations, words magical, handed over by others like so much free candy, coupled with that persistent bra...

from EChamberlainMD, San Diego Check out the very inspired and innovative 'Visualization Of Bible Contradictions' posted at Reason Project.org (Graphic design: Andy Marlow, Inspiration: Chris Harrison). Very creative and powerful. I think that if we only get one thing to say to Christians to try to show them that Christianity isn’t true, this could be it. I'd like a stack of pocket-sized, fold-up versions for such opportunities (even though I really don't do 'reverse evangelism'). Print your own poster: 22” x 33” or 33” x 44” RGB, 3mm bleedprinting: recommended to print digitally on matte photographic paper The graphic designer has given permission to anyone to download and distribute the illustration. Contradictions in the Bible poster Visualization of the contradictions in the Bible taken from The Scripture Project by Steve Wells (see the Projects section of http://www.reasonproject.org ). The bars that run along the bottom of the visualization re...

by Lisa Just in time for Halloween , a video to scare little Christian children into witnessing for Jesus. My sister sent this video to me. Evidently, her 13-year-old daughter had received it from a friend, and my sister thought it was wonderful, and something that everyone should see and take to heart. She felt "blessed" to be able to pass it on! As a thinking adult, I think it is laughable. But, I can see this scaring kids to death. This is exactly what many people on this site have said that they feared when they were kids--that a friend or parent or someone they loved would go to hell and they would never see them again after death. How despicable is it that people would send this to kids? And how awful is it that they want those kids to scare other kids into joining them in ignorance and fear. I really do have to un-friend my sister from Facebook . I've just about had it with her BS (bible shite). Here's the video:

By Astreja Image by marcn via Flickr Where do we draw the line between tolerating or attacking someone else's weird ideas? I ask this because, over the last year or so, I've become bored with the usual whack-a-troll slugfests here at ExChristian.Net. My weapon of choice, the Clue-By-Four™ (a rune-inscribed virtual cudgel, lovingly crafted from the very finest invisible oak), is staying under the desk most of the time as I struggle to actually communicate with evangelically-minded visitors. I don't have an enormous problem with Universalist Christians, the believers who think that everyone is already saved and that no one is going to Hell . I find their beliefs silly, but mostly harmless. In a similar vein, I respect the many fine folks whose beliefs inspire them to work in the community, feeding and clothing the destitute among us. But oh! those pesky trolls. I simply can't respect someone who comes here to tell us we're evil... So evil, in fact, that their lov...

by WizenedSage A t a Republican Presidential debate in Iowa in 1999, G.W. Bush was asked to name his favorite philosopher. His answer was, “Jesus.” When asked to explain his choice, he said, “Well, if they don’t know, it’s going to be hard to explain.” That part he got right; it would indeed be very hard to explain how Jesus qualifies as a great philosopher. We might forgive Bush because of his legendary incuriosity, but anyone who has actually read the Bible and thought even a little about it should realize that Jesus dispensed a ton of bad advice. To call him a “great philosopher” is simply absurd. What I find most troubling about this is that many believers in non-Christian religions as well as some atheists and agnostics claim to admire the “wisdom” of Jesus. I would argue that what was truly useful in Jesus’ teachings was obvious, and the rest was either nonsense or downright dangerous. First, let me say that I am fully aware that the case for the existence of an actual Jesus is q...

Amazon.com has screwed this up very badly. Please check out the video and then go to http://amazon.com and click on help and click on contact and send them an email. Mirror this or make your own video to get this information around. Link to download this video: • http://cli.gs/UeEUz1 Go here to contact Amazon.com via email: • http://www.tinyurl.com/AmazonFF Blog entry with letter to Amazon on it: • http://cli.gs/pHrRaN --- Letter to Amazon: I wish to bring an urgent matter to your attention. The " Origin of Species " with a foreword by Ray Comfort (ISBN-13: 978-0882709192) is sharing ratings with the more popular and legitimate version. Please correct this as soon as possible and save the internet from Ray Comfort's creationist propaganda. Thank you for your attention. - (your username or name here) A little history on this:

by MystryBox A hardcore atheist finds God when he wasn't even looking for God. It's a touching story with a happy ending.

FOX News interview of 'Atheist' Richard Dawkins with Bill O'Reilly "It's a most of extraordinary piece of warped logic to say because science can't answer a particular question you're going throw in your lot with Jesus," Dawkins said at one point. O'Reilly then suggested that Dawkin's argument for how science should be taught in school was equivalent to fascism . Click here to purchase Dawkin's latest book , The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution .

by Summerbreeze W hy, oh why, do the majority of Christians think that when a person leaves Christianity / belief in God, surely they must be in league with the Devil !? The Devil did it. The Devil seduced them. Why don't they resist the Devil? They have willingly turned toward THE DARK SIDE. This inane thinking reared its ugly head toward me about a month ago, while camping in beautiful " Great Lakes Country " in Northern Michigan . My believer husband has a childhood friend ( who I'll call Joe ) who lives aboard a large boat half of the year, at a marina in one of the cute-sy pie towns. Joe is a life-long bachelor, and a retired school teacher ( Catholic schools ). His brother is a priest, and two nieces are nuns--he is very religious. We see Joe every year, and spend quite a lot of time with him, as we camp about 20 miles away. One of my favorite places to go to, is a tiny town with a 100 yr. old plus General Store . Well known atheist, Ernest Hemingway , spe...

by agnosticman77