Modern Library

(1999) In my opening statement I presented two arguments for the nonexistence of the Christian God. They were the Argument from Nonbelief (ANB) and the Argument from Confusion (AC). Pastor Wilson attacked them in his first rebuttal, I defended them in my second, and then he raised some further criticisms in his third. I shall […]

The Anthropic Coincidences, Evil and the Disconfirmation of Theism (1995) by Quentin Smith“The anthropic principle or the associated anthropic coincidences have been used by philosophers such as John Leslie (1989), William Lane Craig (1988) and Richard Swinburne (1990) to support the thesis that God exists. In this paper I shall examine Swinburne’s argument from the […]

(1999) In my first rebuttal, I took Pastor Wilson’s argument to be what I called “the Argument from Rational Thought” (ART). However, in his reply, Wilson indicated that I had misinterpreted his opening statement and that he was not actually putting forward an argument for the existence of God. What a bummer! It had certainly […]

(1999) In his second rebuttal Dr. Drange devotes himself to defending his two initial arguments against the existence of God, these being the Argument from Non-Belief (ANB) and Argument from Confusion (AC). Consequently, this seems as good a place as any to return once again to these arguments. What the ANB amounts to is the […]

(1999) Pastor Wilson divided his first rebuttal into two parts, one in which he attacked my opening statement and another part in which he supplemented his own opening statement by dealing further with his Transcendental Argument for God (TAG). I shall here address only the first part. The second part will be taken up when […]

(1999) Dr. Drange commented that I had not provided “any clear statement of the argument.” By this I suppose he means that I did not number my premises and end with a “therefore.” Nevertheless, despite the obstacles I placed in his way, Dr. Drange did quite a good job placing my argument in a form […]

(1999) My task here is to critique Pastor Wilson’s opening statement and in particular his formulation of the Transcendental Argument for God (TAG). He has made that difficult by not providing any clear statement of the argument. Nowhere does he identify any premises. Nowhere does he conclude “Therefore, God exists” (or anything equivalent). The reader […]

(1999) Dr. Drange began his Argument from Confusion (AC) by noting that Christians differ among themselves. This is certainly true, and I am afraid I shall have to begin by providing him with yet another example of it. Fortunately for my case, this particular disagreement among Christians provides an answer to his Argument from Nonbelief […]

I am very grateful for this opportunity to debate the existence of the living God. Of course I am grateful to those who arranged all of this, and to Dr. Drange who has graciously agreed to debate with me. But fundamentally all thanks must always go to the God and Father of the Lord Jesus […]

My aim here is to show that there are two bits of good objective evidence that the God of Christianity does not exist. I call them the Argument from Nonbelief and the Argument from Confusion.[1] The Argument from Nonbelief (ANB)[2] Consider, first, these two definitions: The gospel message = the following two propositions: (a) There […]

The topic for this debate is, "The Arguments from Nonbelief and Confusion for the Nonexistence of God vs. The Transcendental Argument for God's Existence."

Cosmology and Atheistic “Fundamentalism” (1999) by Bill Schultz I am a regular participant in various informal debates between atheists and Christians using the medium of Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Frequently in such debates, the Christian participant will cite the scientific evidence in favor of the so-called “Big Bang” as clear evidence of an “act of […]

Christian prelates say they can't understand why they lose so many of their own to Islam, and gain so few converts, from Islam,in return. Murphy asks, "Do you think they're thick, or are they having us on?"

Voltaire (1694-1778) was the most brilliant writer of all time. His influence in securing liberty for humanity is inestimable. He changed his world and ours. Many founding fathers spoke of his influence in securing separation of State from Church in America.

A Discussion of the Kalam Argument (1999) Greg Scorzo Abstract This paper is a critique of the kalam cosmological argument as defended by William Lane Craig in his books, internet publications, and transcribed debates. This thesis of this paper is that the existence of God cannot be deduced on the basis of the universe having […]

Ambrose Bierce chaffed at this world as long as he could, but after losing his wife to divorce and two sons to death, the asthmatic, superstitious, bilious atheist felt compelled to write his friends of his premonition of approaching death. Soon he would vanish with few clues. His thoughts, his humor, his wit, and his social criticism remain.

She spent her short life fending for her gender, and children and animals. She was a freethinker who championed the supremacy of reason over any tradition or dogma that was unjust.

The history of the world is the battle between intelligence and superstition. Take a look at the Scopes "Monkey Trial."

James Madison (1751-1836), the Father of our Constitution and our fourth president went to Princeton at 18 with the idea of becoming an Anglican minister, and came back to Virginia a freethinker. At age 22, he wrote, "Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded project." He then fought for religious liberty for all, believer and disbeliever, which was no easy task-then or now.

What makes a fellow who has title, wealth, and social standing want to ignore the mores of his time--to go around tossing dead cats through stained glass windows, saying "everyone is crazy, and here's why"? It is called the pursuit of happiness.

All that we know comes to us from our five senses. All that we know and all that we have found, from quarks to quasars, are part of the natural world. Freethinkers can only share their ignorance of the alleged supernatural for we have no knowledge of it.

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(1999) Eyewitness Evidence | Documentary Evidence | Corroborating Evidence | Scientific Evidence | Rebuttal Evidence | Identity Evidence | Psychological Evidence | Profile Evidence | Fingerprint Evidence | Medical Evidence | Evidence of the Missing Body | Evidence of the Appearances | Circumstantial Evidence | Concluding Thoughts | Addendum | Related Resources This review was […]

So where did we come from if not from Eden? Darwin said, "Man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits ... For my part I would as soon be descended from a baboon ... as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies ... treats his wives like slaves ... and is haunted by the grossest superstitions."

The Bible in the Book of Mormon (1999) Curt van den Heuvel Introduction To the ardent follower of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon is the surest proof of his prophetic office. It is the one undeniable sign of his divinely given gifts of translation. To the skeptic, the Book of Mormon is an interesting […]

Mark Twain (1835-1910) was a freethinker who brooked many hard blows in his roisterous life.

Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) was a compound of brilliance, wit, grit, gumption, and humor who became one of the great writers and social critics of this fading century.

In his chapter on "The Uniqueness of the Christian Experience" (a chapter that McDowell or his editorial staff chose to delete from the latest edition of Evidence That Demands a Verdict), he made a variety of sweeping claims about the "Christian Experience," and also argued for the uniqueness of the Christian experience in history, but McDowell did not investigate history very deeply, nor the lives and writings of the Christians whom he cited, some of whom came to hold different views on a wide variety of theological subjects. Lastly, McDowell seems to have only examined superficially his own youthful conversion experience (any reasonable analysis of which would seem to confirm how young and emotionally unstable he was when he converted).

Should we laugh or cry when we are confronted with the invincible ignorance of bigotry? We can't honor freedom of religion by dishonoring freedom from it. How little we have changed--while the ancient Cypress along the Guadalupe grew from plants to towers--freethought still seeks a home in Comfort.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a sad genius who tried to live a happy life. He mastered Latin and Greek, pondered the great philosophers, and, suddenly he was reborn--he became an amalgam of Lucretius, Pliny, Hume, Locke, d'Holbach, Bacon, Voltaire, Spinoza, Franklin, Paine, and a host of other giants whose thoughts were melded into his flashing mind.