There are probably few of us who have never heard the saying, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone"--the words attributed to Jesus in the story told in John 8:1-11 of the adulterous woman who was about to be stoned to death for her crime. This is often taken to show that Jesus possessed great measures of wisdom and kindness. Plugaru believes, however, that this story demonstrates nothing of the kind.
Some believe that if life must end, life is meaningless; that death means that from your perspective, ultimately, there is no perspective; that if your life is as if it never had been, then death erases the meaning of your life. The solution to this supposed dilemma is personal immortality after our physical death. Hart demonstrates that the concept of personal immortality creates its own dilemmas, dilemmas which actually deprive life of meaning.
Secularists may soon have to fight a two-front war against Bible-thumping Christians on the right and self-styled promoters of Eastern Religions on the left. Denver's "Peacefulness Ordinance," Initiative 101, would require the city to help ensure public safety by increasing "peacefulness" through the use of techniques typically associated with Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu religions.
One of the major reasons that I'm not a Christian is that I don't consider myself an evil and worthless wretch who has no ability to change himself or the world around him. I am not a Christian because I believe in hope and humanity.
The Atlantis worm suddenly appeared on the computers--some of which were not even connected to the Internet--of a carefully-selected group of individuals of interest to the agency, a pop-up window hawking an all-expense paid trip to the Atlantis Resort on Dead Man's Cay. The agency's top secret report describes the astonishing events which transpired for those who accepted the invitation. (Editor's note: Fiction. 11,000+ words.)
Rational people can "believe" in seemingly irrational propositions because they have made an economic decision--not one based upon the rationality of the proposition itself--and no amount of logical argument on your part will change the economics.
It was the year of our Lord 2069, and the early morning was peaceful and serene, with the sun rising and gently drifting in and out of the small fluffy clouds that dotted the turquoise sky. It was glorious to be alive. Rebecca thought of Genesis 1:3-5. She marveled at how true the scripture was for this day, for it was truly good. Yet night would bring terror that she had never known. The day which had begun so peacefully would end in a way so horrible that Rebecca could not have believed it possible. (Editor's note: Fiction. ~10,000 words.)
Capitalism has certainly been kind to fundamentalist Christianity in America. Profits from Christian product sales have run well into the billions of dollars, yet Jesus is said to have taught that one cannot serve both God and Mammon. Should Jesus take a cue from FOX News and their attempt to sue Al Franken? Perhaps he should.
President Bush's domestic agenda of promoting "faith" could be jeopardizing our strategy and chances of victory in the war on terror. By mindlessly backing "faith-based groups," Bush and his advisors might be playing right into the hands of Islamic fanatics and their sympathizers.
Could a materialist believe in a Heaven and a Hell? Greenblatt argues that an infinity of unspeakable torment and an infinity of amazing happiness can be deduced strictly from materialist cosmology.
The next century will not belong to those who lead the scientific progress, the next harbingers of human progress will not be those who lead scientific progress but the philosophers who dare to go where only religions have gone before.
Jennings argues that there is no real morality in the story of Christ as presented in the Gospels, that the God-Man described in the Bible--if he really existed--would be a liar, a fraud and a sadomasochist.
Most modern Christians will tell you that the holiness of Halloween has been co-opted over the years by "evil influences." It's actually the other way around. It was the Catholic Church that tried to change what they saw as an "evil" festival into a good and holy Christian celebration. It didn't work.
Both the Israelis and the Palestinians use religious arguments to justify their positions. What are the facts, and how should the secularist respond to this faith-driven conflict?
He does not believe in any of the supernatural events depicted in the Bible, yet John Shelby Spong will not be labeled "an atheist." He considers himself a Christian through and through, a Christian who sees a need for a new Reformation and whose church is leading the way into the future--even at the risk of alienating half its members. Spong believes that Christianity must change or die. Braverman believes that if the Christians are to be brought into the twenty-first century, it can only be done by an insider like Bishop Spong.
Can objective morality exist without a god? Would the existence of "God" necessarily lead to the existence of objective morality? Petersen contends that the connection between objective morality and a deity is based solely on a theistic paradigm which is fraught with problems.
The evolution vs. creationism debate has been one of the hot-button issues between liberals and conservatives for the last 150 years. Both sides want their viewpoint taught in the science classroom. Although he is an atheist, Strommen wants equal time for both--and more.
Does memetic selection favor fantastical explanations? Is there a connection between the acceptance of fantastical explanations for such phenomena as crop circles and the spread of religions such as Christianity? Milne conjectures that such might be the case, and tells us why.
The author presents the view that the Church of England--far from being a defender of faith--acts as a necessary and effective protective against the more virulent forms of faith.
Fine-tuning arguments in favor of the existence of creator-gods garner a certain amount of respect, even beyond the theological circles where you would expect them to be influential. In this essay I show how testing the assumptions of the fine-tuning argument can cause it to produce unsatisfying or bizarre conclusions, and how a reevaluation of the probabilities at its heart negates the argument entirely.
Since the absence of the Christian religion (or any religion) is mandated for public schools by virtue of the Establishment Clause, the Religious Right asserts that secularism or humanism is taught by default. Where is the secular humanism content? Is it in the books? Is it in the curriculum? Teaching methods? Administration? The answer is that it is nowhere to be found.
Most people, even many atheists and other otherwise nonbelievers, walk through life with some preconceptions that seem pretty "religious" or "supernatural." A majority of people admit to a feeling of superiority in relation to "mere animals." The notion that a human individual is somehow more precious than almost anything else in the world, seems to me to be utterly pretentious and, if considered objectively and scientifically, very close to what many religions try to teach us.
It is, in fact, the Political Right who have opened the door to Fundamentalism.--and not just opened it, but welcomed it and its campaign contributions with open arms.
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