Was Musonius Better than Jesus? (2006) Richard Carrier   In “Two Ancient Teachers, Two Bad Analogies” and “The Real Jesus: A Brief Portrait,” Amy Sayers responds to my essay “On Musonius Rufus: A Brief Essay” (1999), but she reads far too much into what I say there, and essentially argues against positions I never affirmed. […]

On Musonius Rufus: A Brief Essay (1999) Richard Carrier   Since this man deserves far more publicity than he has ever gotten in the modern age, I have written this short essay. He exemplifies the sort of man who should have been venerated and made the founder of a world religion, but was not, yet […]

The Carrier Theory of Value and the Ethical Adequacy of Metaphysical Naturalism(2001) Richard Carrier     In the May/June, 1996 issue of Promise, J.P. Moreland publisheda paper called “TheEthical Inadequacy of Naturalism” (pp. 36-39). In it he repeated anumber of fallacies and falsehoods about Secular Humanism that must berefuted, and in the process I will […]

Does the Christian Theism Advocated by J.P. Moreland Provide a Better Reason to be Moral than Secular Humanism? (1998) Richard Carrier   The following essay has been completely improved and superceded by a more accurate version and backed by more detailed analysis in Richard Carrier, Sense and Goodness without God (2005), pp. 291-348. Any critique […]

Defining Our Mission Richard C. Carrier From our inception in 1995 the mission of the Internet Infidels has always been to defend and promote Metaphysical Naturalism, a term coined by philosophers for any worldview that holds that nature is all there is. Philosophers call this a “closed” system because nothing more is needed to explain […]

Luke and Josephus (2000) Richard Carrier There has long been the observation that Luke-Acts contains numerous parallels with the works of Josephus, generating three different theories to account for this: that Josephus used Luke, that Luke used Josephus, or that they both used some common but now lost source. Steve Mason has reviewed the arguments […]

Connections Medieval to Modern (Bibliography of Skepticism in the Ancient World) (1998) Richard Carrier (copyright 1999)   Links Medieval to Modern David Hume, A. H. Basson Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1958. Blackwell, Constance, “Diogenes Laertius’s Life of Pyrrho and the Interpretation of Ancient Scepticism in the History of Philosophy: Stanley through Brucker to Tennemann,” in Scepticism […]

Severus Is Not Quoting Tacitus: A Rebuttal to Eric Laupot (2006) Richard Carrier   In “Tacitus’ Fragment 2: The Anti-Roman Movement of the Christiani and the Nazoreans,” a paper that was originally published in Vigiliae Christianae (54.3, 2000: pp. 233-47), Eric Laupot argues that a passage in Sulpicius Severus actually comes from the lost section […]

Kooks and Quacks of the Roman Empire: A Look into the World of the Gospels (1997)   Richard Carrier   We all have read the tales told of Jesus in the Gospels, but few people really have a good idea of their context. Yet it is quite enlightening to examine them against the background of […]

Jacoby and Müller on “Thallus” (1999) Richard Carrier   [This is a translation from the German, Latin, and Greek of Section 256 of F. Jacoby’s Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (Fragments of the Greek Historians, 1923–) and the corresponding section in Carolus Müller’s Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (Fragments of the Greek Historians, 1840–)]   The following is […]

Cosmology and the Koran: A Response to Muslim Fundamentalists (2001) Richard Carrier Muslim Fundamentalists are fond of claiming that the Koran miraculously predicted the findings of modern science, and that all of its factual scientific claims are flawless. There are two important objections to this claim that I will make, one pointing to a general […]

Introductions (Bibliography of Skepticism in the Ancient World) (1998) Richard Carrier (copyright 1999)   Introductions Barclay, William, “Hellenistic Thought in New Testament Times: the Sceptics,” in Expository Times, Vol. 71, July, 1960, pp. 297-301. The Greek Sceptics and Sextus Empiricus, John C. Berberelly, New York, Columbia University, 1974. Stoics and Sceptics, Edwyn Robert Bevan, New […]

Richard Carrier [The following article was originally published in the Fall 1996 issue of Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, published by the Institute for Critical Thinking at Montclair State University (Upper Montclair, NJ).] William Reinsmith’s paper “Religious Life and Critical Thought: Do They Need Each Other?” was well written and very communicative, but I […]

Review of In Defense of Miracles (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   The material previously contained at this location has been moved into the combined Summary.

Craig’s Empty Tomb & Habermas on Visions (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 4E of a larger Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   The Resurrection of Jesus Two chapters are devoted to the resurrection of Jesus. First, Craig argues that Jesus was miraculously resurrected and that we can know this from an analysis of […]

Clark’s Survey of Other Religions (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 4C of a larger Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   The Problem of Competing Claims David Clark aims to tackle a particular problem defined by Hume: as Clark puts it: “If Christian televangelists and New Age cultists both appeal to miracles in support […]

Geivett’s Exercise in Hyperbole (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 4B of a larger Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   Going Too Far Douglas Geivett’s basic conclusion that it is possible to use miracles as evidence for the existence of God is formally correct (as is his reversed version of the argument, which I […]

Beck’s Argument for God (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 3D of a larger Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   Here I will point out the errors in Becks’ argument for God. Because they are typical of those used by Christians everywhere, sophisticated or not, I think this survey will be of use on […]

Moreland’s “Christian Science” (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 3C of a larger Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   Christian Science, Moreland Style Moreland correctly identifies the fact that many scientists and atheists erroneously hold that miracles are beyond science because they are not natural, not repeatable, and not governed by law. And I […]

Nash on Naturalism vs. Christian Theism (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 3B of a larger Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   Claiming Victory After Only One Battle Ronald Nash’s basic argument is that naturalism, which excludes miracles, is unreasonable, but Christian theism, which includes miracles, isn’t. The chapter begins by explaining why worldviews […]

The Problem with Miracles and the Shaky Groundwork of Corduan and Purtill (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 3A of a larger Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   Defining “Miracle” Purtill defines a miracle as “an event brought about by the power of God that is a temporary exception to the ordinary course of nature […]

What’s Good and Bad in In Defense of Miracles (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 2 of a more comprehensive Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   Many of the chapters in the book In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God’s Action in History (1997) make arguments that need to be addressed, or at […]

Summary Review of In Defense of Miracles (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   [Part 1 of a more comprehensive Review of In Defense of Miracles.]   In 1997, InterVaristy Press published In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God’s Action in History (1997), edited by Gary Habermas and R. Douglas Geivett. This is a well-composed defense […]

Review of In Defense of Miracles (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier   1. Summary 2. What’s Good and Bad 3. The Philosophical Problem (a) The Shaky Groundwork of Corduan and Purtill (b) Nash on Naturalism vs. Christian Theism (c) Moreland’s “Christian Science” (d) Beck’s Argument for God 4. The Historical Problem (a) Beckwith on Historiography (b) Geivett’s […]

Was Christianity Too Improbable to be False? (2006) [See Introduction]   Richard Carrier   11. Did No One Trust Women? 11.1 No Evidence Women Were a Problem 11.2 Testimony of Women Was Trusted 11.3 Why Mark Places Women at the Empty Tomb 11.4 Conclusion   11.1. No Evidence Women Were a Problem James Holding argues that “if Christianity wanted […]

Was Christianity Too Improbable to be False? (2006) [See Introduction]   Richard Carrier   3. Was Resurrection Deemed Impossible? 3.1 The Popularity of Resurrection 3.2 How the Pagan Mission Changed Christianity 3.3 Jewish Background 3.4 Was There a Better Idea? 3.5 Conclusion   3.1. The Popularity of Resurrection James Holding’s next argument is that pagans would not buy a physical […]

Was Christianity Too Improbable to be False? (2006) [See Introduction]   Richard Carrier   Not the Impossible Faith: Why Christianity Didn’t Need a Miracle to Succeed Now available as a book, fully updated and reorganized. This is the definitive edition of “Was Christianity Too Improbable to Be False?” Even better than online, improved and revised […]

Was Christianity Too Improbable to be False? (2006) [See Introduction]   Richard Carrier   16. Were Christian Teachings Too Radical for Anyone to Buy? Holding then throws in a hodgepodge of miscellaneous difficulties we might categorize under the general argument that “Christian teachings were too radical to be popular.” That may be true—after all, Christianity […]

Was Christianity Too Improbable to be False? (2006) [See Introduction]   Richard Carrier   8. Who Would Want to be Persecuted? 8.1 Social Foundations of Martyrdom 8.2 Paul and Tertullian 8.3 Where Holding Gets It Wrong 8.4 Where Holding Gets It Right   8.1. Social Foundations of Martyrdom James Holding rightly downplays the issue of martyrdom, since legend and […]

Was Christianity Too Improbable to be False? (2006) [See Introduction]   Richard Carrier   4. Was the New Always Bad? James Holding argues next that for the Romans, “Old was good. Innovation was bad,” and “this was a big sticking point for Christianity, because it could only trace its roots back to a recent founder.” […]