Daylight Atheism » The Library

The Delusion of a Just World

Ebonmuse — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:43:33 +0000

You've probably heard religious apologists assert that if God didn't exist, the world would be an unjust place where some people were never rewarded or punished as their behavior deserved. (They usually hold back from explicitly stating the conclusion, "Therefore, God must exist, because it would make us very sad if he didn't," probably out of subconscious recognition that this would make the fallacy too obvious.) As prominent a religious figure as visit site to read more]

We Don't Need Religion to Have Morality

Ebonmuse — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 23:40:10 +0000

This essay was originally published on AlterNet.

The most common stereotype about atheists, the most common reason why religious people fear and distrust us, is the belief that people who don't believe in God have no reason to behave morally. In the view of the planet's major religions, the way we know what's right and ... [visit site to read more]

Never Quote Discworld to an Atheist

Ebonmuse — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:36:04 +0000

The other day, I found this article from a Google alert: an essay on the religious website First Things by the author and Catholic apologist Elizabeth Scalia (who also blogs as The Anchoress).

The post was about Terry Pratchett, the celebrated fantasy author and secular humanist. Since his personal beliefs visit site to read more]

Book Review: God, No!

Ebonmuse — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:42:24 +0000

(Author's Note: The following review was solicited and is written in accordance with this site's policy for such reviews.)

Summary: Just what you'd expect from its author: outspoken, boisterous, crude, frequently vulgar, often hilarious. Unapologetically atheist, but more about Penn Jillette the person than about atheism per se.

God, No! is written by Penn Jillette, the louder half of Penn & Teller who's well-known for ... [visit site to read more]

Rebutting Reasonable Faith: The Evangelical Conspiracy Theory

Ebonmuse — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:39:59 +0000

In "The Aura of Infallibility", I mentioned William Lane Craig's belief in something he calls the "self-authenticating witness of the Holy Spirit", which he considers to be the most persuasive, crowning argument for Christianity. Basically, all it boils down to is that Craig has a really strong feeling that Christianity is true, and he believes that that feeling should be privileged above any and all ... [visit site to read more]

Little-Known Bible Verses: The Holy Kiss

Ebonmuse — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:39:32 +0000

Fred Clark of Slacktivist has been on a tear lately, posting some outstanding articles about the theological roots of dominionism and its influence in American politics. And today, ... [visit site to read more]

Be Careful What You Wish For (Why I Hate Hate Crimes Legislation, But I Love Hate Speech)

Ebonmuse — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:20:18 +0000

By Sarah Jane Braasch-Joy

In loving memory of my baby brother, Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 - 02/02/10)

I saw a woman in niqab on the UC Berkeley campus the other week. I was shocked. I didn't approach her. I didn't speak to her. She was with two other women in hijab, on the opposite side of a wide walkway.

But, I was shocked. And, appalled. Here was a woman (or, at least, I assume she was a woman), in the heart of what is arguably the most politically liberal ... [visit site to read more]

Sex and Taboos in Orthodox Judaism

Ebonmuse — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:47:39 +0000

In the past, I've poked fun at the Catholic church for the logical contortions it goes through to get around the problems it creates for itself with its nonsensical decrees about sex. But the Catholics are far from the only sect that has laughably ridiculous rules about sex, nor are they the only sect that goes to absurd ends to get around the problems those rules create. So, today I'm going ... [visit site to read more]

They Have No Answer

Ebonmuse — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:48:49 +0000

The other day, I came across an essay titled "Staining the Silence" on Vox Nova, a Catholic group blog. The author, Mark Gordon, writes about how his son was deployed to combat in Iraq in 2007, how he feared for his safety as any parent would, and how at first he prayed every day for his son's safe return. But as time went by, he found himself unable to avoid an obvious and unpleasant realization: tens of thousands of parents, ... [visit site to read more]

My Notes on the Ideological Turing Test

Ebonmuse — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:20:26 +0000

Following up my post analyzing the results of Unequally Yoked's ideological Turing test, this one lists how I voted on each of the atheist candidates. I took notes as I was going through them, trying to flag what stood out to me as evidence of genuineness or fakery. As you can see, some of my criteria turned out to work, some of them didn't.

visit site to read more]

Thoughts on the Ideological Turing Test

Ebonmuse — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:23:05 +0000

The ideological Turing test that was running at Unequally Yoked has concluded, and if you're like me, you couldn't wait to find out how we did. Well, the results are in: here's the answer key (some real surprises there!), and here's how the voting shook out for the visit site to read more]

Strange and Curious Sects: David Koresh

Ebonmuse — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:37:54 +0000

In a 2008 post on the apocalyptic Millerite sect, I mentioned how several modern Christian denominations were formed from the Millerites' ruin, and how the infamous Branch Davidians originated as a splinter group from one of these. That story, I think, is already well-known: the way a charismatic preacher born as Vernon Wayne Howell changed his name to David Koresh and took control of the group; how he began ... [visit site to read more]