[ Author Index | Subject Index ]
The Modern Library contains material written during or after 1970, which tends to be more scholarly than Kiosk material.
Richard Carrier Resurrection Introduction
Why I Don’t Buy the Resurrection Story (6th ed., 2006) Richard Carrier Introduction What is the purpose of this collection of essays? Many things could be said which cast doubt on the story of the Resurrection of Jesus by God, but there are three above all that are most decisive in leading me […]
Richard Gale Alston
Why Alston’s Mystical Doxastic Practice Is Subjective (1994) Richard Gale The following article was originally published in PHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Vol. LIV, No. 4, December 1994. Within each of the great religions there is a well established doxastic practice (DP) of taking experiential inputs consisting of apparent direct perceptions of God (M-experiences) […]
Robert Price Beyond Born Again Chap4
________________________________________ 53 Beyond Born Again Section I– The Born Again Experience: A Brave New World? Chapter 4: The Personal Savior “I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” If you are an Evangelical Christian you can remember saying these words probably more times than you can count. If on the other hand you are not […]
Robert Price Price
From Fundamentalist to Humanist (1997) Robert M. Price Everyone is on a spiritual journey. Most of the time we are glad enough to admit this, but other times we want stability more than anything else, and at those times we are liable to fear religious change lest we fall away from hard-won truth. But […]
Sally Morem Guthrie Review
Peering at Faces in the Clouds (1996) Sally Morem [This article was originally published in Secular Nation September/October 1996, pp. 2-5.] Review of Stewart Elliott Guthrie: Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) $30.00. What is religion and why does it pervade human thought and culture? […]
Testimonials Price
From Fundamentalist to Humanist (1997) Robert M. Price Everyone is on a spiritual journey. Most of the time we are glad enough to admit this, but other times we want stability more than anything else, and at those times we are liable to fear religious change lest we fall away from hard-won truth. But […]
Theism Christianity
Christianity Biblical Criticism Biblical Errancy Bible Codes Character of Jesus Christian Worldview Christian Apologetics & Apologists’ Web Sites Criticisms of Christian Apologetics & Apologists Ex-Christians Historicity of Jesus Jesus Seminar Prophecy Resurrection Shroud of Turin Why I Am Not a Christian General Argument from Insufficient Knowledge of the Bible for the Nonexistence of the God […]
Theism Christianity Shroud
Shroud of Turin Special thanks to Steven Schafersman, author of the Skeptical Shroud of Turin Website for inspiring this page. New “Shroud” Claims Challenged as Spurious (Off Site) (1996) (CSICOP) Replies of skeptical scientists and investigators to “The Authentication of the Turin Shroud” (Off Site) Shroud of Turin Exhibition Renews False Claims of Authenticity (Off […]
Theism Judaism
Judaism Elucidation of Genesis 1 (Off Site) by Shlomi Tal This article is a secular-minded elucidation of the first chapter of the book of Genesis based on the original Hebrew text, with translation and commentary. Genealogical Saga of Judaism (2001) by Shlomi Tal According to Orthodox Judaism, nothing has value unless it is for the sake […]
Theism Reviews
Theistic Arguments: Reviews/Critiques Formal debates between theists and nontheists on topics relating to the theistic arguments: Scripture Miracles Design Cosmological Moral Experience Other To purchase related reading, go to the Secular Web Book Store. Argument from Holy Scripture: Book Review: The Jesus Puzzle (2000) by James Still Still reviews the work by Earl Doherty, […]
Thomas Sheehan Firstcoming One
The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity (1986–electronic edition 2000) Thomas Sheehan I How Jesus Lived and Died In popular Christian teaching, Jesus often comes across as a divine visitor to our planet, a supernatural being who dropped into history disguised as a Jewish carpenter, performed some miracles, died on a cross […]
Tyler Wunder Davis 2
II. Supernaturalism’s Best Case: Core Facts This section will outline the argument that will represent the supernaturalist’s best case for the resurrection: Habermas’ Core Facts. I think some initial justificatory comments are required to defend using Habermas in this manner, specifically focussing on how Habermas and Davis differ to determine whether any differences between […]
Wesley Robbins Moreland
Secular Humanism, Christian Theism, and the Meaning of Life J. Wesley Robbins In chapter Four of his 1987 book Scaling the Secular City,[1] J. P. Moreland poses a question which he says is the one that most people have in mind when they ask whether life is worth living or has meaning. The question is: […]
Anachronist Why I Believe 89ab End
The Rest of the Book The remainder of this commentary will touch on a few issues in the remainder of the book. I had collected sufficient notes for a detailed review of each chapter, but these were lost when my computer died forever, before I finished with chapter 7 (though I have a few hand-scribbled […]
Bart Klink New Atheism
Review of God and the New Atheism (2009) Bart Klink Review: John F. Haught. 2007. God and the New Atheism: A Critical Response to Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. 156 pp. The term “the new atheism” is used quite often lately to denote the current revival of popular atheism, especially […]
At the Intersection of “Metaphysical Naturalism” and “Intelligent Design”
At the Intersection of “Metaphysical Naturalism” and “Intelligent Design” by Bill Schultz Table of Contents Introduction God Is What We Define God To Be Dimensions Beyond Our Senses TANSTAAFL A Brief Romp Through Flatland Our Universe As Art Into The Extra-Dimensional Reality “Metaphysical Naturalism” and “Intelligent Design” Some Conclusions Further Reading Acknowledgements Footnotes Introduction I […]
Brian Holtz Naturalism
The Compatibility of Naturalism and Scientific Realism (2003) Brian Holtz In “The Incompatibility of Naturalism and Scientific Realism” (1998), the U.T. Austin philosopher Robert Koons argues that “Nature is comprehensible scientifically only if nature is not a causally closed system–only if nature is shaped by supernatural forces.” Koons’ fundamental mistake in his paper is […]
Church State Decisions
U.S. Supreme Court Decisions (arranged by date) Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1879) Court finds that the federal antibigamy statute does not violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion. Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947) Court finds that a New Jersey law which included students of […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Additional Topics Flood
A2. Water and Vapor and Noah’s Flood Attempting to supply the water for Noah’s flood is a much greater problem than one might realize. True, one can simply say that God did it and leave it at that. However, that argument will support the cosmological views of any and every religion, and they all […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Geologic Column Calibrate
Dr. Hovind (G1): The assumption that the geologic column is a base from which to calibrate the C-14 dates is not wise. G1. With a halflife of only 5730 years, carbon-14 dating has nothing to do with dating the geological ages! Whether by sloppiness or gross ignorance, Dr. Hovind is confusing the carbon-14 "clock" with […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Specific Arguments Mineral
Young-earth "proof" #13: If we divide the amount of various minerals in the ocean by their influx rate we get only a few thousand years of accumulation. Therefore, the earth is young. 13. In the case of aluminum we "get" only 100 years! In the case of sodium we "get" 260 million years. Where Dr. […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Specific Arguments Star Clusters
Young-earth "proof" #8: At the rate many star clusters are expanding, they could not have been traveling for more than a few thousand years. Without more detail, I can only guess as to the nature of Dr. Hovind’s argument! As it is worded above, it remains something of a mystery. I believe that some creationists […]
Debates Secularist Abortion Debators
Meet the Debators The topic for this debate is: Is There a Secular Case Against Abortion? Arguing For A Secular Case Against Abortion is Jennifer Roth Jennifer Roth works as a system administrator for the Academic Outreach divisions of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She sits on the board of directors of the Seamless […]
Debates Secularist Euthanasia
On The Issue of Euthanasia: The debate over euthanasia or assisted suicide has been raging within the media. Public awareness and opinion on the variety of issues involved has reached unprecedented levels. Also called "mercy killing", euthanasia evokes a great deal of emotional reaction and moral indecision, often at the expense of a rational investigation […]
Debates Secularist Porn
On The Subject of Pornography: Pornography, once considered a taboo subject, is now readily available for all to enjoy or rail against. Porn includes a variety of forms from mild to obscene to extreme and it is available in diverse media. Pornography has been blamed for a decrease in the morality of society, for the […]
Doug Jesseph Jesseph Craig Jesseph3
Eight minutes. A lot of ground to cover in eight minutes. Let’s return just a minute to the question of whether one belief excludes another. My point was that if you have certain theistic belief, a well-fleshed out, alright, a detailed theistic belief, what you are saying is everyone who believes in something different than […]
Edwin Wilson Manifesto Ch11
CHAPTER 11 Distinctions Between Literary and Religious Humanism In retrospect, I think it was inevitable that some persons would be overlooked who should have been asked to sign the manifesto and others asked whose positions were not fully known. We were, after all, working under pressure, with no budget, and with very little clerical help. […]
Edwin Wilson Manifesto Preface
Preface About the Author Edwin Henry Wilson was born on August 23, 1898, in Woodhaven, New York. He was raised in Concord, Massachusetts, where he attended the First Parish Church, a Unitarian fellowship. Wilson’s father had no use for the church; it was his mother who introduced him to Unitarianism, albeit of the conservative variety. […]
Farrell Till Geisler Till Geisler2
For the purposes of contrast and comparison, I’ll frame my response to Till over against the evidence I presented for the resurrection. First, I argued that the basic evidence for the New Testament is found in the fact that the New Testament documents are reliable, having more evidence for them than for any other book […]
Farrell Till Horner Till Questions
Questioner #1: My first question is to Mr. Horner. Mr. Till says that Christianity is so much like a lot of other, I’ll call them pagan religions, that were developing around the same time. My question to you is, why would you think that if this is so, why did Christianity flourish so much and […]