[ Author Index | Subject Index ]
The Modern Library contains material written during or after 1970, which tends to be more scholarly than Kiosk material.
Richard Petraitis Spirit War
Joseph Kony’s Spirit War (2003) Richard Petraitis The year 2001 saw no cessation in the magic wars fought on the African Continent. The Twenty-First Century’s arrival witnessed yet another tribal revolt, fueled by magical belief, raging in Nigeria’s Oil Delta. In the Delta, members of the Egbesu Cult, (the war god of the Ijaw […]
Robert Price Beyond Born Again
Beyond Born Again: Towards Evangelical Maturity (1993) Robert M. Price Contents Introduction: Testimony Time Price provides a brief overview of his background in the Evangelical Christian scene, as well as an overview of his book’s contents. Introduction To The HTML Version (by Robby Berry) Robby Berry explains the history of the HTML version of Beyond […]
Robert Price Damnable
Damnable Syllogism (1997) Robert M. Price The Essence of Christianity What is Christianity all about? Or, as at least two important books (by Adolf von Harnack and Ludwig Feuerbach) from around the turn of the century put it, what is the "essence of Christianity"? For this is what we want to know, e.g., when we […]
Robert Price Reply To Craig
William Lane Craig’s Critique (2000) Robert M. Price In a public debate on the resurrection in the New Testament, apologist William Lane Craig offered several criticisms of the foregoing article, and it seems worthwhile answering the strongest of them here. I will leave aside a few minor points such as Craig’s refusal to countenance […]
Scott Oser Hojfaq
Historicity Of Jesus FAQ (1994) Scott Oser Disclaimer This "FAQ", often referred to as the "Historicity of Jesus" FAQ, is neither exhaustive, nor does it attempt to answer the question of whether Jesus of Nazareth really lived or not. In fact, in writing it I have purposely tried not to take sides on this issue. […]
Steven Conifer Ac
The Argument from Consciousness Refuted (2001) Steven J. Conifer I. PREFATORY REMARKS Many Christian philosophers (e.g., Richard Swinburne) advocate a theistic argument which has begun of late to garner considerable popularity in the literature. The argument is one from human consciousness, i.e., it appeals to the phenomenon of human consciousness as its main premise. […]
Testimonials Carr
My Post-Christian Testimony Ian J. Carr If I may paraphrase a famous Christian: Free at last, thank God I’m free at last! I am a former Christian, early 40’s, a previous true believer who worshipped mainly in Fundamentalist circles (though never able to tackle hard-line evangelist doctrine with any enthusiasm.) My journey to freethought has […]
Theism Bible Koran
Argument from Holy Scripture: Holy Qur’an Cosmology and the Koran (2001) by 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 […]
Theism Christianity Plantinga
Alvin Plantinga Alvin Plantinga Can’t Say That, Can He? A Review of Where the Conflict Really Lies (2016) by Richard M. Smith In Where the Conflict Really Lies, Alvin Plantinga maintains that any apparent conflict between science and classical Christian theism is superficial at best, and that the real conflict lies between science and the […]
Theism Divine
Divine Command Theory The divine command theory (DCT) of ethics holds that an act is either moral or immoral solely because God either commands us to do it or prohibits us from doing it, respectively. On DCT the only thing that makes an act morally wrong is that God prohibits doing it, and all that […]
Theism Mormonism Smith
Joseph Smith “Prophet Puzzle” Revisited by Dan Vogel (Off Site) Joseph Smith’s Civil War Prophecy (Off Site) Did Joseph Smith make an accurate prophecy or was his ‘prophecy’ just a product of his environment? Joseph Smith biography by C. Clark Julius (Off Site) Joseph Smith’s various First Vision accounts (Off Site) compiled by W. V. […]
Theodore Drange Drange Interview
Interview with Theodore Drange Atheism Definition of Atheism LOWDER: How do you define atheism? DRANGE: Atheism is the belief that God does not exist. I have put down some arguments in support of that usage in my essay “Atheism, Agnosticism, Noncognitivism.” LOWDER: Under your definition people who are pretty sure that God exists, people […]
Theodore Drange Drange Wilson About
About the Drange-Wilson Debate The topic for this debate is, “The Transcendental Argument for the Existence of the Christian God vs. the Arguments from Nonbelief and Confusion for the Nonexistence of that God.” The debaters have agreed to the following debate format: Opening statements, submitted independently of one another, due 1 February First rebuttals, […]
Thomas Clark Flanagan
Review of The Problem of the Soul (2005) Thomas Clark Review: Owen Flanagan. 2002. The Problem of the Soul: Two Visions of the Mind and How to Reconcile Them. New York: Basic Books. xvi+364 pp. This article was originally published in Human Nature Review, Vol. 2 (2002), pp. 356-358. This Secular Web version has […]
Tony Kuphaldt Word
The Word of the LORD (2002) Tony Kuphaldt The Word of the LORD Psalm 19:7-9 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening […]
Vic Stenger Polkrev
Seeking Purpose in a Universe of Chance (1998) Victor J. Stenger Review of Belief in God in the Age of Science by John Polkinghorne. New Haven and London: Yale University Press 1998. This book is taken from a series of lectures given at Yale by a well-known elementary particle physicist who took up the […]
A Hindu Woman Answer to Hindu
Answer to Why I Am Not a Hindu by A Hindu Woman I First, I wish to make clear that I have no quarrel with Mr. Ramendra Nath for declaring that he is not a Hindu. He has listed four reasons for declaring why he is not a Hindu: “I do not believe in the […]
Anachronist Why I Believe 3 Apndx
Chapter 3 Appendix Analysis of the Teleological Argument Eric Sotnak University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 15 March 1993 The motivations of creationists are often more philosophical than scientific. In particular, creationists are often motivated to claim that evolution cannot be true because it fails to provide a satisfactory account of how the universe can […]
Anthony Campbell Ghost Review
Review of The Ghost in the Universe (2005) Anthony Campbell [This review was originally published on Anthony Campbell’s book reviews page.] Review: Taner Edis. 2002. The Ghost in the Universe: God in Light of Modern Science. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. 326 pp. Taner Edis belongs to that company of skeptics about the existence of God […]
Religion And The U. S. Supreme Court – Cases (2 of 4)
Religion And The U. S. Supreme Court – Cases (2 of 4) by Bill Schultz From 1943 through 1960 Table of Contents Main Text The Law as Things Stand Now Links To Supreme Court Opinions, Etc., Founding-1942 Links To Supreme Court Opinions, Etc., 1943-1960 (this file) Links To Supreme Court Opinions, Etc., 1961-1980 Links To […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Carbon 14 Different Rates
Dr. Hovind (R3): The initial C-14 content cannot be known. Different parts of the same sample often yield different ratios of C-14/C-12. Various living samples give very different ratios. With at least one notable exception on the books, plants and animals get their carbon-14 from the atmosphere. Plants take it in directly, and animals […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Specific Arguments Helium
Young-earth "proof" #14: The amount of helium in the atmosphere divided by its formation rate on Earth gives only 175,000 years. 14. The age of 175,000 years is a little steep for creationist purposes, so Dr. Hovind informs us that "God must have started the earth with some." Heaven forbid that the earth should be […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Specific Arguments Sahara
Young-earth "proof" #23: The Sahara desert is expanding; it can only be a few thousand years old. 23. The present Sahara Desert really is only a few thousand years old. About 7 or 8 thousand years ago the area underwent a pronounced wet phase and portions of it were habitable parkland where cattle could be […]
Debates Secularist Abortion About
About the Abortion Debate The topic for this debate is: Is There a Secular Case Against Abortion? The debaters have agreed to the following debate format: Opening statements, submitted independently of one another, 18 April, 2000 First rebuttals, submitted independently of one another, due 1 May, 2000 Second rebuttals, submitted independently of one another, due […]
Debates Secularist Cannibal
On The Subject of Cannibalism as a Survival Strategy: Survival pushes humans to extreme measures. Cannibalism is one of the strategies taken that society has deemed extreme. Cannibalism is still practiced in many societies and was very common in civilizations of the past. Modern cases have surfaced showing that civilized people have resorted to cannibalism […]
Debates Secularist Immortal
On The Quest for Immortality: Today, many scientists are coming to the startling–some might say disturbing–conclusion that medical science will, in the foreseeable future, be able to extend the human lifespan indefinitely and thus put an end to physical death. Would the end of death be a net gain or loss? Here we present two […]
Debates Secularist Utility
On The Utility of Religion in Individual Lives: Religion has been touted as offering several useful benefits to humankind. Included in those benefits are its ability to provide hope and comfort to the believer, give the strength and motivation to live life and cope with the harsh moments. It is considered an elixir of sorts […]
Edwin Wilson Manifesto Ch4
CHAPTER 4 "A Humanist Manifesto" – The Beginning Raymond B. Bragg, as the associate editor of The New Humanist, initiated the project that resulted in the 1933 publication of "A Humanist Manifesto." In a letter dated February 17, 1970, reminiscing about the early stages, Bragg wrote: "The fact is that my job as Secretary of […]
Farrell Till Horner Till Horner1
Thank you very much. I would like to begin by thanking the local ASSP and, in particular, Jeff Lowder, and the Seattle Bible Science Association for sponsoring the debate and inviting me to participate. I consider it a real privilege to be here at Seattle Pacific University and to be debating Mr. Till on such […]
Farrell Till Prophecy
PROPHECIES: IMAGINARY AND UNFULFILLED Farrell Till Prophecy fulfillment is a popular argument that bibliolaters rely on in trying to prove the divine inspiration of the Bible. They claim that the Bible is filled with recorded events that prophets foretold years and even centuries before they happened. They argue that there is no way to explain […]