One of the most commonly held debates between non-believers is that of whether someone is agnostic or atheist. The problem is that both terms have, in addition to their various, actual definitions, a number of associations that go along with them, and this generally injects confusion into the discussions. What I wanted to do then was build a…

My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God’s truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter.…

Moderate Christians love to talk about how Jesus fixed the Old Testament, or, in other words, obsoleted the horribly offensive parts about slavery, keeping women in their place, killing gays, etc. In fact, he did no such thing. I’ll be doing two things here: Show you that Jesus fully supported everything in the Old Testament Show you exactly…

Perhaps the most overlooked negative outcome of massive (as opposed to healthy trickle) Mexican immigration is the degree to which it raises the number of Catholics here. We don’t need any more anti-choice, anti(gay)marriage influence in the country, and that’s precisely what Catholicism brings. [ 2010-05-26: Edited to include “gay” in the marriage comment. ]

First, watch the talk. Believe me–it’s worth it. Now, I think the talk is brilliant, and I think he makes a strong point that would stand strongly in almost any other time and place. But we are here instead. I feel that the biggest problem logic has is not having enough moderates on its side to fight against…

Harris makes a great series of points here about why it’s important to keep religion in the realm of conversation. Such a clear thinker.

I just had a possibly interesting idea: what is it that makes it possible for religious people to look at a image on TV of starving people dying in Africa and say, Well, that’s what happens when you reject Christ… ? I believe one answer might be the belief in supernatural free will, i.e. the free will given…

What follows is an excellent piece from Reddit on why leaving a religion can be so incredibly difficult. Here is the original thread, which is followed by some excellent discussion. Here is the post in its entirety, written by Ancient09 of Reddit, for those who don’t like to follow links. — It is generally common for atheists to…

I have debated here at great length the degree of benefit or harm offered to society by religion. My position is that religion–even in its so-called moderate forms–causes more harm to modern society than it offers in return. My argument, in summary, is that religion is the direct cause of significant anti-intellectual sentiment in this country, and that…

This is the piece I’ve been looking for; I read it in the book form, but here it is in article form (and length): [ The Problem with Religious Moderates | beliefnet.com ] And yes, it saddens me that due to a lack of time I bring to bear the work of other thinkers in my attempt to…

I’ve been debating here for quite some time the question of how direct, or even confrontational, to be with those who make strong and specific claims about the nature of reality and morality based on religion. I am for directly refuting these claims due to the fact that there is no evidence to support the existence of the…

I think I’ve made a decision to be more direct in my attacks against beliefs in the supernatural (including religion). I make this decision based on an overarching belief that religion is an impediment to societal progress. But I want to make a distinction. I want to be more aggressive against religious ideas, but at the same time…

The study of theology, as it stands in the Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authority; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion. — Thomas Paine I find this to be a refreshingly honest look at…

Few Christians have ever heard in church, or read themselves, the story of the Cannanite woman with a sick daughter. She came to Jesus because she’d heard of his healing powers, and because her daughter was ill. And upon finally getting an audience with Jesus, she asked him to heal her. This is how Jesus responds: It is…

I’m often asked by my smart friends: Ok, we get it…religion can be bad. But why bring it up and talk about it all the time? Why not just let it go? Why not just let them do their thing and go about your business? The answer is simple: religion’s business is to get into my business. When…

[ 2009-04-12 : I’ve decided to back off this specific argument of “atheist” applying to those that lack belief. The reason for this is that although the definitions I point to in this piece agree with my more broad description of atheism, the Oxford English Dictionary describes atheism now as “A belief in the non-existence of Gods”. That…

September 4, 2009 — After much spirited debate I have come to the conclusion that the argument presented below is much weaker than it should be. I am redoing this argument in a new, far superior essay, but I will leave this one up for the sake of documenting the journey it represents. During some recent discussions about…

A friend of mine (CarlM) and I have a long-running debate regarding how logical or illogical the average religious person is in the United States. I believe that the level of religious belief held by most Americans is harmful to human civilization–even in the so-called “moderate” form practiced in the United States. I believe that once a society…

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. — Luke 19:27 1 Christians love to rail against hateful language in the Koran, saying that the extremist teachings there can be used to justify violence. Well, it’s in the Bible too—all over the place 2. What’s to…