Humanism, Reason, and the Arts (1992) Frederick Edwords [This is the text of a talk presented to various audiences in the 1990s. Its author was at the time executive director of the American Humanist Association.] We are the music-makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams; […]

What Is Humanism? Frederick Edwords What is humanism? The sort of answer you will get to that question depends on what sort of humanist you ask! The word “humanism” has a number of meanings, and because authors and speakers often don’t clarify which meaning they intend, those trying to explain humanism can easily become a […]

Freethought Challenges Of The ’90s (1992) Frederick Edwords We live in a period of rapid technological and social change unparalleled in the history of the world. A significant number of trends, developments, and scientific discoveries have converged to create a situation today that many find confusing, others find threatening, and some even find thrilling. Whether […]

Dealing With “Scientific” Creationists (1994) Frederick Edwords An effective response to the political, social, and educational aspirations of so-called “scientific” creationists requires first an understanding of the creation model and of creationist aims. Only with this knowledge can one have some chance of success. One should, in fact, go to great lengths to avoid misrepresenting […]

Is Creationism Science? Jim Bleikamp, host: I would suspect that a few fireworks may find their way into the skies over us in the next hour – if I might be permitted that prediction. We’re going to talk about one of those subjects that keeps coming up again and again and again, no matter how […]

APPENDIX A ICR EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY [Reprinted from pages 12-15 of the 1985-1987 Graduate School Catalog, Institute for Creation Research, 10946 Woodside Ave. N., Santee, CA 92021] The programs and curricula of the Graduate School, as well as the activities of other ICR divisions, while similar in factual content to those of other graduate colleges, are […]

The Ambiguity of Rabbinical Thought Frank S. Palmisano III [Editor’s note: The author wants to make known that he no longer holds the views and opinions expressed herein in any meaningful, personal context. He feels “the need to distance himself from these views as such, and to communicate that he no longer identifies with them […]

Justified Faith or Emotionalism: The Christian Prerogative on Authority, Conversion, and Spirituality (1998) Frank S. Palmisano III [Editor’s note: The author wants to make known that he no longer holds the views and opinions expressed herein in any meaningful, personal context. He feels “the need to distance himself from these views as such, and to […]

Review of Geoffrey Scarre’s Utilitarianism (1997) Finngeir Hiorth   Geoffrey Scarre: Utilitarianism Routledge, 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE and 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001, 1996, 225 pp., bibliography, index, paperb., ISBN 0-415-12197-3. This is an excellent introduction to and survey of utilitarianism, an important current in contemporary ethical theory. The […]

Review of Jenny Teichman Social Ethics: A Student’s Guide (1997) Finngeir Hiorth   Teichman, Jenny: Social Ethics, A Student’s Guide, Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford 0X4 1JF, UK, and 238 Main Street, Cambridge, Mass. 02142, USA, paperback, 193 pp., glossary, bibliography, index.   In the preface of this book Jenny Teichman, a philosopher and […]

Review of J.J.C. Smart & J.J. Haldane, Atheism and Theism (1997) Finngeir Hiorth   Smart, J.J.C. & J.J. Haldane: Atheism and Theism, Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford 0X4 1JF, UK, and 238 Main Street, Cambridge, Mass., 02142. USA, 232 PP., bibliography, index, paperback.   In a review dated 4 April 1997 and entitled “Introduction […]

Secularism in New Zealand (1998) Finngeir Hiorth   Cooke, Bill (1998) Heathen in Godzone. Seventy Years of Rationalism in New Zealand, New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists, 64 Symonds Street, Auckland 1001, New Zealand, 240 pp., appendices, bibliography, other sources, index. Price paperback $NZ 34.95 + postage. This book gives introduction to and survey […]

Church and State in Norway (1997) Finngeir Hiorth   The present Norwegian state church system goes back to 1536 when the Reformation in Europe led to the establishment of Lutheranism in Norway. The Norwegian Lutheran State Church, often simply called the Norwegian Church, is led by and largely financed by the state. In practice the […]

Review of Tony Davies’ Humanism (1997) Finngeir Hiorth   Davies, Tony (1997) Humanism, Routledge, 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE and 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001, 152 pp., bibliography, index, paperback GBP 6.99, hardback also available. Anybody who knows anything at all about humanism knows that there are many humanisms. So […]

Imaginative Atheism (1997) Finngeir Hiorth   Michael Martin: The Big Domino in the Sky and Other Atheistic Tales, Prometheus Books, 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, New York 14228-2197, U.S.A., 1996, paperback, 244 pp.   With his massive book Atheism, a Philosophical Justification (Temple Univ. Press, Philadelphia 1990, 541 pp.) Michael Martin established himself as a […]

Cosmology for Beginners Finngeir Hiorth   1) Felix Pirani and Christine Roche: The Universe for Beginners, Icon Books, 52 High Street, Trumpington, Cambridge CB2 2LS, UK, 1993, reprinted 1996, 174 pp., paperback, notes, references, glossary, biographical index, bibliography. 2) J. P. McEvoy and Oscar Zarate: Stephen Hawking for Beginners, Icon Books, 1995, 175 pp., paperback, […]

Review of Robin Le Poidevin’s Arguing for Atheism (1997) Finngeir Hiorth   Robin Le Poidevin: Arguing for Atheism, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion Routledge, 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE, UK and 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001, USA, 1996, 159 pp., glossary, bibliography, index, paperback.   As in so […]

A Fond Farewell to Jeffery Jay Lowder By James Still On January 15, after five years of building the Secular Web from the ground up, Internet Infidels President Jeffery Jay Lowder will retire. Jeff has decided it is time to move on and is interested in going back to school to study philosophy. He also […]

Disclaimer: Bill Schultz is Secretary of The Internet Infidels and a long-time activist in the third party movement. Since 1982, he has been looking for a viable third party to emerge which is compatible with his views. This year, he is supporting Ralph Nader for President, but not necessarily the whole agenda of the Green […]

If you are looking for an answer to the nagging question of why religion persists, you can find it hanging on the walls in the homes of countless believers. It is the sappy Christian anecdote, “Footprints,” about a troubled soul who fears that God has left him when he looks back after a trying journey […]

onday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in a Texas case that public schools cannot allow student-led prayer before high school football games. Reaction to this ruling among believers has been mixed.  While some believers (especially those who belong to minority faiths) welcomed the ruling as a reinforcement in the wall of separation of state […]

Scrutinizing Propaganda By J. E. Hill Many of us are familiar with fallacies in logic. Even if you are not an active debater, it is good to know some of the more popular fallacies so you can identify them when they come up in everyday conversations. Among the most common is the circular argument, which […]

FAQ The Supreme Court and Prayer at Football Games  The U.S. Supreme Court has heard a major case involving school prayer. The legal controversy, Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, was argued before the high court on March 29, 2000, and a decision is expected by early July. This is an important case that […]

Christian Coalition Grills Judicial Candidates The Idaho Christian Coalition’s religiously based survey of judicial candidates is an "outrageous stunt that smacks of the Inquisition," according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Coalition, the state affiliate of TV preacher Pat Robertson’s political group, has distributed a 31-question survey that asks candidates for […]

Wilson-Till Debate Presuppositional Apologetics [NOTE: The following article originally appeared in Credenda/Agenda, a Christian journal which emphasizes the presuppositional approach to apologetics. Reproduced with permission.]     Disputatio     Justifying Non-Christian Objections Douglas Wilson & Farrell Till     Whenever we object to something, we always assume some standard or rule that the thing […]

<<< Part 3 Part 4     TURKEL > rather than cite verses here we will call >upon the explication of Coogan [Coog.2K, 114], who >cites an example of an Akkadian concept of "friend of the >king" - a person who paid a tax for this designated >status and was able to pass it on […]

<<< Part 2 Part 3   Part 4 >>>   TURKEL > We will find that even then, Till's exegetical >construct is a highly substandard one. We will analyze, >in the following order (according to their length), >Till's responses to the remaining three items from >Miller: > >2. The killing of Ahaziah. > >7. The […]

<<< Part 1 Part 2   Part 3 >>>   TURKEL > 1) He asks how it is that this nuance I have >pointed out managed to "escape the hundreds of linguistic >scholars who were involved" in the translations he >quotes. We will give some reasons for this shortly; TILL Just out of curiosity, I […]

  Part 1   Part 2 >>>   Reply to Robert Turkel Farrell Till TILL James Patrick Holding is the pseudonym used by a would-be apologist whose real name is Robert Turkel. Perhaps I should say that Holding has SAID that his real name is Robert Turkel, but I have no way to confirm this. […]