- How to Think Critically VII: Risk Assessment
The Observatory • May 30, 2008
Given that this is an atheist site, I feel compelled to start this post with a snappy anti-religion quip, so here it is: Children and teenagers are more likely to be molested or assaulted in church than they are on social networking sites like MySpace. Parents, do you want to protect your kids? Keep them [...]
- Think for Yourself
The Garden • May 28, 2008
In one of his "My Answer" columns, Billy Graham replies to a correspondent who doesn't see the need for organized religion:
Don't make up your own ideas about God, but understand from the Bible who He really is, and commit your life to Christ.
"Don't make up your own ideas" - this is Billy Graham's advice [...]
- Tainted Icons
The Library • May 26, 2008
More than most other belief systems, organized religion emphasizes tradition and continuity with the past. The historical figures who founded today's prominent churches are considered larger-than-life and thought of as possessing uncommon character and virtue. This is probably because religion is widely equated with morality; given this mistaken assumption, it follows that very religious people [...]
- The Contributions of Freethinkers: Verdi
The Loft • May 23, 2008
Today, I'm inaugurating another new post series on Daylight Atheism, "The Contributions of Freethinkers". The purpose of this series will be to dispel the myth that nonbelievers have never contributed anything of worth or value to human culture by highlighting some famous historical atheists and freethinkers who've left their mark. Whether in the arts, the [...]
- Shattering the Myth of Mother Teresa
The Loft • May 21, 2008
In all the universe of religious experience, few figures are so beloved as the Catholic nun known to the world as Mother Teresa. The official biography holds that she selflessly devoted her life to ministering to the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta, suffering through poverty and deprivation nearly as great as [...]
- Evolution and the Problem of Evil
The Observatory • May 19, 2008
In the opening chapter of The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins penned the following words:
An atheist before Darwin could have said, following Hume: "I have no explanation for complex biological design. All I know is that God isn't a good explanation, so we must wait and hope that somebody comes up with a better one." I [...]
- Daylight Atheism in the News
The Foyer • May 17, 2008
I just have to boast: I'm on TV!
Well, sort of, anyway. Daylight Atheism commenter RiddleOfSteel has brought to my attention this clip, in which Richard Dawkins is interviewed for the Canadian TV program The Agenda. As we all know by now, my essay "The New Ten Commandments" is quoted in Dr. Dawkins' book The God [...]
- Sharing the Kook Mail
The Foyer • May 17, 2008
For whatever reason, I don't get as much entertaining e-mail from religious nuts as some other atheist bloggers I know of. If I were inclined to flatter myself, I'd say it's because they're silenced by the devastating power of my arguments. More likely, it's just because most of the notorious crazies haven't come across my [...]
- Further Thoughts on Abortion
The Rotunda • May 15, 2008
Last month's post on the morality of abortion generated - as one might have expected - a wide variety of impassioned responses. Happily, the debate remained mostly civil, which is a rarity when it comes to this issue and one that's entirely due to the thoughtful, rational commenters here at Daylight Atheism.
There were several issues [...]
- New Post on Dangerous Intersection
The Foyer • May 14, 2008
I've put up a new post on Dangerous Intersection, "The traditional media is dying".
This is an open thread. Comments and discussion are welcome.
- On Nihilism and Satanism
The Garden • May 13, 2008
I'd like to write today about two stereotypes of atheism that are common among some quarters of religious apologists: that we are moral nihilists, recognizing no such concepts as right and wrong; and that we are Satanists who worship, or at least admire, the adversary power of monotheism. The atheists who advocate these concepts, rare [...]
- Little-Known Bible Verses IX: Better Miracles than Jesus
The Library • May 11, 2008
To Christian believers, Jesus of Nazareth was God incarnate and therefore possessed of omnipotent power. According to the Bible, he backed up this claim by doing many miracles while on earth - casting out demons, healing the sick and the crippled, calming storms, walking on water, producing food, and raising the dead. It would seem [...]
- Why I Am Not a Communist
The Rotunda • May 9, 2008
Last summer, I wrote a three-part post series, "Why I Am Not a Libertarian", which explained my disagreement with this political philosophy. However, I've realized that despite writing an essay addressing the crimes of communist regimes as they reflect on atheists, I've never written a post on my differences with communism per se. This one [...]
- New Post on Dangerous Intersection
The Foyer • May 8, 2008
I've posted a new essay over on Dangerous Intersection, a review of Glenn Greenwald's latest book, Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics.
This is an open thread. Comments and discussion are welcome.
- A Critique of the Learning Annex
The Observatory • May 7, 2008
The Learning Annex is a privately owned continuing-education school in New York. As a resident of New York City, I can testify to its success - its kiosks of free course catalogs are on nearly every street corner in Manhattan. It was founded in 1980 by Bill Zanker, who sold the company in 1991 and [...]
- Wind and Water
The Garden • May 5, 2008
"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it."
—Matthew 16:18 (RSV)
The biblical metaphor of the church built on rock is interwoven throughout Christianity, used as a metaphor for the presumed stability and eternality of the faith. The Catholic [...]
- Open Thread: A Christian Visitor
The Foyer • May 4, 2008
This is an open thread to address the comment below left by a Christian visitor. Replies are welcome; as always, let's have a civil discussion.
- A Letter to Jack Chick
The Loft • May 3, 2008
Dear Mr. Chick,
You probably don't know me, but I'm writing to send you my thanks. I used to be a hardcore, evil, godless atheist, but after reading some of your wonderful Christian fundamentalist cartoon tracts, I've realized just how wrong I've been. Now I know that there is a God who loves me and who [...]
- Dawn of the Dead: Are Zombies Possible?
The Library • May 2, 2008
Inspired by a recent post on Philosophy, et cetera, I want to talk a little about zombies and what they imply for a materialist theory of the mind.
When I say "zombie," I don't mean the shambling, flesh-eating undead of horror films. This thought experiment is about philosophical zombies, which are a different beast altogether. The [...]
