Praise God in All Things, Right?

(Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; James 5:13)

Alan Colmes of Fox Radio Interviewed John Loftus [Nov. 3rd 2014]

In February I'll Be Offering Another Class On My Latest Book "Christianity Is Not Great"

That's right, come study my latest book with me, Christianity Is Not Great: How Faith Fails.To read more about this class and sign up follow this link. Yes, anyone can sign up. It should be very informative for the students as it's such a huge book. As an extra bonus I'll contact the contributors to the chapters with the best questions from students of the class!

The Definition Refutation: Christians, You Don't Get To Define The Word "Faith" For Us

Victor Reppert, David Marshall and Randal Rauser have repeatedly said atheists must abide by their definitions of the word "Faith"--then they have all defined that word differently. *cough* Not so. Not at all. Not even close. Here is the definition refutation of such tomfoolery:

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Ayaan Hirsi Ali: This Is Embedded In Islam!

The Kalam Cosmological Argument? What Argument? This Book Utterly Destroys the Kalam! Let's Hear No More About it Then

This book destroys the Kalam argument, by math expert James Lindsay, Ph.D., Dot, Dot, Dot: Infinity Plus God Equals Folly.

Richard C. Miller's New Book On the Resurrection Threatens to Undermine the Whole Christian Apologetic

Given Justin Martyr's Apology (seen left),

This book offers an original interpretation of the origin and early reception of the most fundamental claim of Christianity: Jesus’ resurrection. Richard Miller contends that the earliest Christians would not have considered the New Testament accounts of Jesus’ resurrection to be literal or historical, but instead would have recognized this narrative as an instance of the trope of divine translation, common within the Hellenistic and Roman mythic traditions. Given this framework, Miller argues, early Christians would have understood the resurrection story as fictitious rather than historical in nature. By drawing connections between the Gospels and ancient Greek and Roman literature, Miller makes the case that the narratives of the resurrection and ascension of Christ applied extensive and unmistakable structural and symbolic language common to Mediterranean "translation fables," stock story patterns derived particularly from the archetypal myths of Heracles and Romulus. In the course of his argument, the author applies a critical lens to the referential and mimetic nature of the Gospel stories, and suggests that adapting the "translation fable" trope to accounts of Jesus’ resurrection functioned to exalt him to the level of the heroes, demigods, and emperors of the Hellenistic and Roman world. Miller’s contentions have significant implications for New Testament scholarship and will provoke discussion among scholars of early Christianity and Classical studies.

Richard C. Miller, Resurrection and Reception in Early Christianity, 2015.

Lee Strobel and Other Evangelicals Admit They're In Trouble, Big Trouble

In an email that went out to supporters (along with Ed Babinski who also subscribed) Strobel said:

We are facing a crisis in America. Skepticism is rising. Too many young people are leaving the faith. Few Christians are able to effectively share Jesus with others. At many churches, reaching spiritually lost people falls to the bottom of their priorities.

This is a crisis we need to confront — urgently!

Strobel joins Josh McDowell in being alarmed at the rise of skepticism in our day. So also are John S. Dickerson and others. Dickenson wrote: "In the next decades we will see a massive decrease in evangelical influence politically, economically, culturally, and financially" in The Great Evangelical Recession (p. 26). "260,000 evangelical young people walk away from Christianity each year. Of that number 35% will find their way back, and 65% do not find their way back. Why are they leaving? They don't believe anymore." [Dickerson, pp. 98-102]. "This is not a blip. This is a trend. And the trend is one of decline," said Ed Stetzer [as quoted in Dickerson, p. 32].

Then there is the rise of the "dones" who are done with church, not just the "nones" who have no church affiliation. At a recent Future of the Church conference, sociologist Josh Packard shared some of his groundbreaking research on the Dones:

He explained these de-churched were among the most dedicated and active people in their congregations. To an increasing degree, the church is losing its best.

For the church, this phenomenon sets up a growing danger. The very people on whom a church relies for lay leadership, service and financial support are going away. And the problem is compounded by the fact that younger people in the next generation, the Millennials, are not lining up to refill the emptying pews.

Why are the Dones done? Packard describes several factors in his upcoming book Church Refugees: Sociologists Reveal Why the Dechurched Left and What They're Hoping to Find.Among the reasons: After sitting through countless sermons and Bible studies, they feel they’ve heard it all. One of Packard’s interviewees said, “I’m tired of being lectured to. I’m just done with having some guy tell me what to do.”

The Dones are fatigued with the Sunday routine of plop, pray and pay. They want to play. They want to participate. But they feel spurned at every turn.

Will the Dones return? Not likely, according to the research. They’re done. LINK.

This is all good news! We're winning. They are losing.

Why The Terror Attack On Charlie Hebdo Newspaper in Paris That Killed 12 People Is Religious Violence

The NY Times has an updated story about this senseless terrorist attack to "avenge" the Prophet Muhammad for cartoons ridiculing him. In that piece we read:

In a letter addressed to French President François Hollande, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany offered condolences. “This horrible act is not only an attack on the lives of French citizens and the domestic security of France, it also stands as an attack on the freedom of expression and the press, a core element of our free, democratic culture that can in no way be justified.”

Notice the last part? Such an act against freedom, and a free press, cannot be justified since freedom is a core value of democratic societies.

So how do we know this was an act of religiously motivated violence, and not explained away as a cultural by-product of oppressive colonialism, or poverty or anything else? Easy. It can ONLY be justified religiously. That's how we can tell with crystal clarity that religion had invaded the secular square. Without the religion that justifies murderous acts like this one, there would be no reasonable justification for them. Because of this there is every reason to condemn these murderous acts and the religion that endorses them.

Murdered Charlie Hebdo Editor: 'I Prefer to Die Standing Up Than Live on My Knees'

LINK.

New Book Titles. Decisions. Decisions:

In this new book I'm going to teach budding apologists what to avoid, using examples from the best of the best Christian apologists today. In the process they'll be challenged to do it better than others have done so far. However, I'll argue that defending the Christian faith cannot be done well at all. It's a tongue in cheek thingy.

How to Be a Good Christian Apologist
A Manual for Christian Apologists
A Manual for Christian Apologetics
A Manual for Being a Good Christian Apologist
A Christian Apologist’s Manual
A Christian Apologetics Manual
A Handbook for Christian Apologists
A Handbook for Christian Apologetics
A Handbook for Being a Good Christian Apologist
A Christian Apologist’s Handbook
A Christian Apologetics Handbook

Subtitles:
How to Defend the Christian Faith
Advice from an Atheist
A Former Apologist Turned Atheist Tells All
An Atheist Tells All
A Friendly Atheist Tells All
How to Do it Right

Professor Candida Moss: Oops! Pilgrims On the The Via Dolorosa Have Been Walking the Wrong Path

LINK. Now that archaeologists have found the exact place where Pilate condemned prisoners to die, and with them presumably Jesus as well, we know that pilgrims have walked the wrong path for centuries. Think they'll change? ;-) Dr. Moss is the author of the book, The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom, which reveals that the early Christians were the first liars for Jesus. Why then should we trust anything else they said?

26 charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better

LINK.

People, You Really Shouldn't Oughta Encourage Me Like This ;-)

I'm serious! Word on the street is that I just had another book proposal accepted for publication today (yes, "word"), and will be proposing another book within a month or so in hopes it will be published. I'm excited about this. Humor me, okay?

John Loftus to Debate David Marshall Soon

David Marshall sent me a copy of his new book at my request. Here I am smiling, because it's a funny book to me. At the same time it's painful to read, so I've been drinking more than usual to deaden the pain. I'm suffering through this pain because I'm supposed to debate Marshall on Justin Brierley's Unbelievable program in a week. Bottom's up folks!

Unbelievable? Animal Suffering and God Debate - Michael Murray vs Phil Harper

LINK. I've written a bit about this problem, called "The Darwinian Problem of Evil," in chapter 9 in my book, The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails.

Did The Historical Jesus Really Exist? By Raphael Lataster

LINK. Raphael Lataster wrote the book, There was no Jesus, There is no God: A Scholarly Examination of the Scientific, Historical, and Philosophical Evidence.

The Backfire Effect: The Psychology of Why We Have a Hard Time Changing Our Minds

Once something is added to your collection of beliefs, you protect it from harm. You do this instinctively and unconsciously when confronted with attitude-inconsistent information. Just as confirmation bias shields you when you actively seek information, the backfire effect defends you when the information seeks you, when it blindsides you. Coming or going, you stick to your beliefs instead of questioning them. When someone tries to correct you, tries to dilute your misconceptions, it backfires and strengthens those misconceptions instead. Over time, the backfire effect makes you less skeptical of those things that allow you to continue seeing your beliefs and attitudes as true and proper.

From the book You Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself, by David McRaney. I've added this book to the list of others describing the same phenomena. LINK.

Samson and Delilah, By DarkMatter2525

A Torturing Faith?

Dr. Hector Avalos has written a newspaper column about the role of religion in the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program.

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Doubting Jesus' Resurrection: A Naturalistic Explanation of Christian Origins - Free Kindle book

 

Doubting Jesus' Resurrection: What Happened in the Black Box?

This excellent book on the naturalistic origin for Christianity is available free today for Kindle. *edit, no longer free.  Current price $8.99*

Author Kris D. Komarnitsky's main thesis is that the early Christian movement was spurred by cognitive dissonance reduction in the disciples after the crucifixion.  Everything involved with the origin and growth of Christian beliefs can be explained via well known (and well documented) psychological phenomena. 

If you would like a brief overview of the author's case, see his article on the secular web here.
William Lane Craig has responded to this book.  And the author interacts with Craig's reply here.

Meet brmckay: A Religious Philosophical Bullshitter Trying to Reinvent God

“I can be quite foolish at times.”

Theists come in many forms and this blog has had some great examples in the classic sense of the word.  But in all honestly, I have never come across a man who could twist the semantics of the English language in such a way the after reading almost one-hundred of his comments on different blogs (mostly under those supporting atheism), neither I nor most anyone he engages with have yet to understand his philosophical bullshit.  If you need some examples, simply click on his Disqus Profile, then under Recent Activity, read a dozen or so of his ramblings for yourself or (better yet) read some of the responses from people he engages with who keep asking what he's trying to express.  

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Irish Comedian Dave Allen Tells a Series of Religious Jokes, Some LOL Funny

Quick Rebuttals to Common Christian Claims

Richard Carrier concisely rebuts six common claims apologists make. 

00:28 "Spacetime had a beginning" 

1:38 "The Universe is fine tuned for life" 

3:43 "Life requires a creator" 

5:20 "Consciousness requires a spirit/soul" 

7:34 "God is needed for objective moral values" 

9:07 "Jesus was resurrected" 

This is part of a "Case Against Christianity" playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf113iNh-64ba5FppqyEFnuJLf3UY5tDR

The full Richard Carrier vs Lenny Esposito debate can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2z3WCHJ5Y

Dear Christian: How Does Either a Believer or Atheist Get God to Function?

Facing Reality is Hard

“God is weak and powerless in the world.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1944

Let’s face it, the totality of a functioning Biblical God is anchored both the distance past and future that without any proof the Biblical mighty acts of God are true, leaves this record built on a mythical past and future; not reality.

Time and time again, I’ve challenged believers to tell me how to make their God (or Jesus Christ) function.  In other words, how can one provoke God into action just like God did in the Biblical past (Old Testament, Gospels and Acts) or the future (Revelation)?  (Oddly, St. Paul seems not to be able to make God function either.)

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Happy Holidays to One and to All

Happy Holidays to one and to all (except people killing in the name of god and other ne'er do well folks). Happy times to you! Be safe. Collect warm fuzzy memories. Have fun. Be good (and you know what I mean).

The John Loftus/Bill Cunningham Interview

The John W. Loftus/Bill Cunningham interview on Cunningham's National Premiere Radio Networks Show, on 700wlw

Have Yourself A Merry Little Mythmas

Quote of the Day, By Former Bishop John Shelby Spong

Christian churches in first world countries are facing problems in dealing with churches in third world countries, not unlike how modernized Muslims are facing problems in dealing with barbaric Muslims in the Middle East. In those churches homosexuality is "taboo" at best, and a crime requiring death at its worst. So what do first world churches say about this? Some of them are afraid to offend these churches out of fear of being patronizing and/or racist, even though this means not speaking out boldly on behalf of the LGBTI people.

When Walter Kasper, a catholic cardinal/theologian, said some patronizing things about churches in Africa he felt the heat of these accusations so much he even lied that he said such things. But what he said was caught on tape, sorry about your luck, Walt. LINK. Now that's some pressure, right? This is quite the contrast to what Spong said in response to some patronizing remarks he said in 1998. He had said of those churches: "They’ve moved out of animism into a very superstitious kind of Christianity. They’ve yet to face the intellectual revolution of Copernicus and Einstein that we’ve had to face in the developing world: that is just not on their radar screen." When asked if what he said was patronizing, Spong fired back, “If they feel patronized that’s too bad. I’m not going to cease to be a 20th-century person for fear of offending somebody in the Third World.” LINK.

An Excellent Atheist Ad Placed In the South Bend Tribune: "The Great Christian Deception"

From books to blogs to broadcasts to billboards and beyond, believers can no longer hide their heads in the sand. They are being confronted daily with the arguments and the presence of the godless. Here is an a advertisement recently placed not far from where I live, in The South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana, is home to Notre Dame University, Catholic territory. Imagine one day looking through the newspaper and coming across the following Ad. What do you do? I was told by the friend of mine who placed the Ad that some parishioners in local churches have asked their priests and pastors to answer it. One of them is struggling to do so.

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Books Won't Save School Children's Lives; Drones, Just Might

I have written before about my respect for Malala Yusufzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the face by the Taliban for simply wishing to have an education. I have also said that courage and vision, of which she has plenty, do not translate into infallibility, and Malala's campaign for education and against violence, which has won her a Nobel Peace Prize, is based on extremely shaky views. The sad news from her own country today only shows how misguided the pacifist mindset is when it comes to Islamist militants.

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Technically Speaking We Cannot Prove or Disprove the Existence of Trolls, Fairies or Elves

A Christmas Debate for You

A few years ago, around the time of the release of my book The Nativity: A Critical Examination, Reasonable Doubts hosted a radio podcast debate, pre-recorded, between myself and Randal Rauser. Here is the fruits of our labour, detailing the arguments for and against the historicity of the Nativity accounts. Let me know what you think:

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