by Valerie Tarico L ast week a Muslim US army psychiatrist, Nidal Malik Hasan, shot and killed 13 of his fellow soldiers on the Fort Hood military base, injuring another 29. In response to the Fort Hood shootings, some people are blaming Islam. Others are saying Islam had nothing to do with it, that the problem is our war of aggression or failure to care for psychologically wounded soldiers. I believe both are wrong. The relationship of religion to violence is complicated. With the possible exception of Buddhism , the world’s most powerful religions give wildly contradictory messages about violence. The Christian Bible is full of exhortations to kindness, compassion, humility, mercy and justice. It is also full of exhortations to stoning, burning, slavery and slaughter. The same can be said of the Koran. The same can be said of the Torah. Believers who claim that Islam or Christianity or Judaism is a religion of peace are speaking a half truth—and a naive falsehood. The huma...

by The Thylacine Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it's a stupid way to live. ( Proverbs 11:29 , The Message ) H ad a fabulous weekend a couple of weeks ago. I thought I was going to the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix and catching up with some very old friends -- it was great but that was only a very small part of it all. It turned out that the reason behind the pressure to attend was that a couple I first met while living in a university college (1973, they insisted... a bloody long time ago anyways) was finally tying the knot and getting married. The outdoor ceremony was hilariously entertaining with, among other things the bride being given away by her eight-year-old grandson. As there were no parents still with us to give the traditional speeches, both the bride and groom filled in. Both are professors in their 60's; their public speaking skills are well honed. With good humor the Bride answered the question we had a...

by Tony O Y ou all know that one thing that Xians like to put forward as their justification or rationale for a belief in gawd is that gawd provides “comfort” and “consolation” for the dying, for the grieving, or for those in crisis. I would like to tell you of something that I witnessed which gives the lie to this claim. Please note that I am not generalising to all Xians, I’m simply offering this one thing as a particularly egregious example of the lie of “consolation.” Every word of the following is true. My wife has two very good friends. These friends had a daughter. She died from an undiagnosed heart defect. She was two years old. She was taken very ill, brought into hospital and died the next day despite the best efforts of her doctors and nurses. The funeral was held at the Methodist church that my wife’s family attend. It was, as you would imagine, dreadful. The worst part was seeing the tiny coffin being carried into the church. The time came for the pastor to say the eulogy....

by Sharon: Bachelor of Science UM "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John 12:24 KJV T his verse, attributed to Jesus in the New Testament, is glaringly wrong. Can you see why? Never mind whether or not Jesus actually lived, or whether or not this translation holds the "true" words of God. For the sake of argument, let us assume all of that is true, and these were the actual words spoken by Jesus, and therefore the actual words of God to us. What is wrong with the above statement ? Where does this statement fail in its assessment of both how to grow crops and how to live ones life? For years I had an organic garden I cultivated and tended. It gave me great joy to learn the intricacies of how best to grow flowers and vegetables. I learned much about germinating seeds and spent many happy hours in my house with small containers of dirt containi...

by Marlene Winell I met Jesus in Golden Gate Park many years ago and he helped change my life. He sent me in a new direction – away from Christianity. I was reminded of it on Sunday, October 25, because it was the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, celebrated with enthusiasm at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco . I wandered through the crowd with my grown son, Ryan, as we pushed our bicycles, enjoying the sights and sounds – 60’s music coming from the bands,tie-dyed banners, the smell of incense and herb, and booths selling candles, New Age books and music, psychedelic art, and healthy food. The event was free, and so was the painting – on your face, cloth banners, or sheets of paper on the ground. Peace signs were all around. The folks with gray hair and fond memories were well represented, but so were young people who missed the Summer of Love . Young girls had long hair and headbands, flowers, and even wings. When we arrived, the band played and people sang along, swaying and cl...

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...