Daylight Atheism » Brainwashing

The Duty of External Obedience

Ebonmuse — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:51:38 +0000

While I was doing research for "The Ordinary and Universal Magisterium", I came across some amazing passages in the New Advent Catholic encyclopedia's article on infallibility. Since it can be safely assumed that these still represent the Catholic church's viewpoint, I thought it was worth calling some wider attention to them.

The article ... [visit site to read more]

Escaping Christian Patriarchy

Ebonmuse — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:39:18 +0000

Ophelia of Butterflies and Wheels has been writing some excellent posts lately about the abuse and oppression of women in Christian communities. One of them led me to an outstanding blog titled Love, Joy, Feminism. Its author, Libby Anne, grew up in an ... [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]

Bowing to the Text

Ebonmuse — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:49:52 +0000

By way of The Panda's Thumb, I came across this story that just had to be shared.

Regular readers of this site are probably familiar with the arch-creationist William Dembski, one of the founders of the intelligent-design movement. When I last wrote about him, I mentioned that he, like other creationists who insist their work is ... [visit site to read more]

The Poisoned Cup of Theodicy

Ebonmuse — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:32:35 +0000

The world has seen and heard enough about the misery and destruction in Haiti this past week that I don't think I need to dwell on it. But I do want to take some time to address the perennial question of theodicy, which comes up in the aftermath of every disaster like this.

To an atheist, for whom the Haiti quake was nothing more than the result of tectonic plates slipping - a disaster caused by impersonal natural forces and random chance - there is nothing to explain. The laws of the cosmos ... [visit site to read more]

Stigmata Scars

Ebonmuse — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:54:45 +0000

By Sarah Braasch

I'm scared to expose myself like this. But, I'm tired of the shame and the guilt and the fear. I have something important to say. And, I want to comfort other victims of religious abuse who feel alone and afraid.

I grew up in an abusive Jehovah's Witness home. When people ask me what my childhood was like, I usually describe it, in all seriousness, as something like growing up in a war zone. I don't mean to belittle or demean the experiences of children who ... [visit site to read more]

Mental Slavery and Creeping Atheism

Ebonmuse — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:51:59 +0000

Evangelical pastor Ray Stedman knows the root cause of everything that's wrong with the world:

It is not nationalism, it is not racism... it is the human heart. It is the pride of man that fancies he can get along without God.

But not to worry, because he advises us how we can conquer this obstacle. To achieve that, we must

...take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ. ... [visit site to read more]

Maintaining the Mystery

Ebonmuse — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:57:22 +0000

In last year's post "The Default", I quoted this astonishing concession from theist Andrew Sullivan:

I have lived with the voice of Jesus read to me, read by me, and spoken all around me my entire life - and I heard it that day. If I had been born before Jesus' birth, would I have realized this? Of course not. If I had been born in Thailand and raised a Buddhist, would I have interpreted this experience as a ... [visit site to read more]

Extinguishing the Fear of Hell

Ebonmuse — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:25:43 +0000

The other week, I received an excellent suggestion from a Daylight Atheism commenter via e-mail. He suggested I write a post on the following topic: How can a former believer overcome the vestigial fear of Hell?

I suspect this is a common problem. Many religions go to great effort to inculcate in their followers an instinctive terror of breaking the rules, and this irrational fear can often linger and continue to traumatize a person even after they have consciously and rationally decided ... [visit site to read more]

The Bubble

Ebonmuse — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:28:36 +0000

The Evangelical Outpost, a major Christian blog, last week published a positive review of Nancy Pearcey's book Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity. In it, Pearcey argues that true Christians must purge their thinking of evolution and all other secular ideas and ... [visit site to read more]

Noises in the Night

Ebonmuse — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:47:34 +0000

In the first chapter of her autobiography Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali recounts some of the Somali folktales her grandmother taught her when she was a child. One was a story of a nomad, searching for a home for his wife and child, who mysteriously finds an oasis with a fine grass hut already built in the middle of the desert, and a smiling, friendly stranger who invites them to live there. Alas for the trusting nomad, the stranger was really "He Who Rubs Himself with a Stick," a monstrous ... [visit site to read more]

Think for Yourself

Ebonmuse — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:37:12 +0000

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 to the seeker. Instead, presumably, we should read the Bible and believe ... [visit site to read more]