- Mr. T Tackles the Problem of Evil
The Loft • May 30, 2009
It's not only professional philosophers and theologians who have an opinion on matters touching the sacred. Sometimes, gold-jewelry-wearing, mohawk-having, former '80s television and movie action stars have words of wisdom to express on these weighty matters. Like, for instance, Mr. T, who recently gave an interview to Bizarre magazine in which he made a very [...]
- Epicurus' World
The Garden • May 29, 2009
The story goes that the renowned physicist Richard Feynman was once asked to summarize the most important finding of modern science in a single sentence. Feynman replied, "The universe is made of atoms."
Although there are many other scientific discoveries that are arguably of equal importance, Feynman's choice makes a lot of sense. The discovery of [...]
- Apotheosis
The Loft • May 27, 2009
Last month, in "Dreams of a Better World", I considered some of the immediate problems humanity could solve if we had the collective will to do so. I want to continue that theme in this post, but from a longer perspective.
Historically, humanity's knowledge has exceeded its wisdom. As soon as we invent a new [...]
- Catholicism's Hollow Claims of Moral Authority
The Rotunda • May 25, 2009
The outgoing Archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, had some choice words for atheists at the ceremony this week to install his successor:
"What is most crucial is the prayer that we express every day in the Our Father, when we say 'deliver us from evil'. The evil we ask to be delivered from is not essentially [...]
- Poetry Sunday: Dulce Et Decorum Est
The Foyer • May 24, 2009
In honor of Memorial Day, I've chosen this poem for this week's Poetry Sunday, a classic on the horrors of war written by the English soldier Wilfred Owen.
Owen was born in 1893 in Oswestry, England. His parents were evangelical Anglicans, and Owen himself was a devout believer when young. But, according to Joseph Parisi's 100 [...]
- The Case for a Creator: Steve Statistics
The Observatory • May 23, 2009
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 3
Chapter 3 of Case, which interviews the creationist Jonathan Wells, haphazardly mixes together claims from many different scientific disciplines and will probably take the most installments of any chapter to fully refute. But we'll begin with a simpler claim. As I mentioned previously, Strobel seeks to create the appearance [...]
- Cdesign Proponentsists
The Observatory • May 21, 2009
In 2005, the constitutionality of teaching "intelligent design" was tested in court in the landmark case Kitzmiller v. Dover. The lawsuit was triggered by the school board in rural Dover, Pennsylvania, voting to require a statement to be read in science classes which said, in part:
Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of life [...]
- Some Have Entertained Angels
The Garden • May 19, 2009
In the New Testament book of Hebrews, there's an exhortation to believers reminding them to show hospitality to their guests:
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
—Hebrews 13:2
The implication is interesting: that Christians should be hospitable to visitors, not simply because they are fellow human beings who need food [...]
- The Founders Wept: George W. Bush's Faith-Based War
The Rotunda • May 17, 2009
Friends, fellow Americans, we never knew how bad things got during the George W. Bush era. And yes, I say that with full knowledge of what it implies. True, we saw the results of Bush's policies: a catastrophic terrorist attack on American soil, a staggeringly mismanaged quagmire of war, torture and degradation of prisoners, the [...]
- The Case for a Creator: Pursuing All Possibilities
The Observatory • May 15, 2009
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 2
Before embarking on his interviews, Strobel makes a statement about his investigative strategy:
In selecting these experts, I sought doctorate-level professors who have unquestioned expertise, are able to communicate in accessible language, and refuse to limit themselves only to the politically correct world of naturalism or materialism. After all, it [...]
- The Contributions of Freethinkers: Abner Kneeland
The Loft • May 13, 2009
While some freethinkers have made contributions to science, the arts or the humanities, others are best known for exemplifying a sea change in human history - showing, by their lives, that one age was passing and another would soon dawn. Just so is today's post on the life of an American freethinker who has the [...]
- A Dialogue with Quixote, Part IV
The Library • May 11, 2009
Hello Ebon,
To approach your larger question, what are the real reasons people believe or disbelieve, I've offered a bulletized list for anyone who's interested in pursuing this question:
Some people do not believe in God for a variety of honestly considered reasons.
Some people resent the Christian church's involvement in politics, usually the [...]
- Obama and Prayer: A Small Step in the Right Direction
The Rotunda • May 10, 2009
This past Thursday was the "National Day of Prayer", another symptom of the ongoing infiltration of religion into America's originally secular government. The National Day of Prayer was first established in the 1950s, another spasm of the reflexive Christianism of that paranoid era. Predictably, it was soon hijacked by right-wing ideologues who use it to [...]
- The Case for a Creator: Authorities
The Observatory • May 9, 2009
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 2
In the second chapter, Strobel spends some time telling us how he only became an atheist because he was thereby freed from "having to abide by those pesky rules of ethics and morality" [p.25]. I've already addressed this point, but I'll add that this claim casts further doubt on [...]
- Hold and Build
The Garden • May 8, 2009
Although there's been plenty of good news for atheists in recent weeks, stories that showcase our growing influence and assertiveness, this is no time for us to become complacent. We still have significant work to do to shore up the foundations of our movement, as this Times op-ed by Charles M. Blow explains:
...a study entitled [...]
- Baptizing the Dead Is Not a Big Deal
The Rotunda • May 7, 2009
Americablog's John Aravosis is up in arms over the news that the Mormon church reportedly staged a "posthumous baptism" ceremony last year for President Barack Obama's deceased mother:
What else to call the Mormon's laughable statement today that their posthumous baptism last year of President Obama's mother was a "rare" mistake that might have been done [...]
- Little-Known Bible Verses XIII: Fetuses Don't Count
The Library • May 6, 2009
It's consistently been part of the anti-choice strategy to treat unborn fetuses as separate, autonomous people, even well before the point of viability. For instance, the anti-abortion website Abort73.com says:
It is illegal to execute a pregnant woman on death row because the fetus living inside her is a distinct human being who cannot be executed [...]
- A Dialogue with Quixote, Part III
The Library • May 4, 2009
Hello again Quixote,
In reply to your last letter:
Since we're discussing the real reasons why people become atheists or theists, I concede you make a good point about how many people have just never thought all that deeply about it. That's a good point which I suspect we'll have occasion to return to. I agree [...]
- Sunday Open Thread & Links
The Foyer • May 3, 2009
• You may have noticed the new "Bookmark/Share This" link below each post, which expands to display links to a variety of social bookmarking sites. If you're a member of any of them, please make use of this! Quite a bit of Daylight Atheism's traffic comes from these sites.
• Next up, Andrew Sullivan criticizes Buddhism [...]
- Anti-Gay Bigotry is Anti-American
The Rotunda • May 2, 2009
The past few weeks haven't been good ones for religious bigots. First Iowa and Vermont legalized same-sex marriage in rapid succession; soon afterwards, the state legislatures of New Hampshire and Maine passed marriage-equality bills. (If you live in either state, contact your governor and tell him to sign them!) And now, this stunning poll result [...]
