[ Author Index | Subject Index ]
The Modern Library contains material written during or after 1970, which tends to be more scholarly than Kiosk material.
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: […]
Adolf Grunbaum Theological
THEOLOGICAL MISINTERPRETATIONS OF CURRENT PHYSICAL COSMOLOGY* Adolf Grünbaum University of Pittsburgh [This article was originally published in PHILO, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 15-34, Spring-Summer 1998.] Abstract: In earlier writings, I argued that neither of the two major physical cosmologies of the twentieth century support divine creation, so that atheism has nothing to […]
Anachronist Why I Believe 99 Concl
Conclusion I do not consider myself a Christian, or an atheist. If one were to pigeonhole my own personal philosophy with a label, it might be "weak atheist" or "strong agnostic," because any belief concerning God is completely nonexistent from my mind. However, I don’t reject all religion or spirituality out of hand. Religion and […]
Bernard Katz Critic
McDowell in the Critic’s Den (1982) Bernard Katz [NOTE: The following article appeared in the July/August 1982 issue of The American Rationalist.] Christian fundamentalist Josh McDowell has become quite rash in one of his latest books Prophecy: Fact or Fiction. For he is pinning his whole faith in Christianity on the "historical evidence for the […]
Bill Schultz Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity Church v. U. S. (1892) The following text is taken from the Supreme Court Reporter, Volume 12, pages 511 through 517, which reprints from the United States Reports, Volume 143, pages 457 through 472. As these are each over 100 years old, no copyright subsists in these materials for any reason, other than […]
Turkel and the Trilemma
Turkel and the Trilemma by Brian Holtz [Editor’s note: This essay summarizes a long debate between these two authors, which is available at “Turkel Rebutted on Trilemma.” Robert Turkel does not include this link in either of his essays where he quotes Holtz’s edited responses. This is Turkel’s modus operandi: he avoids linking to or […]
Church State Discrimination
Religious Discrimination & Government Promotion of Religion The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of conscience of both believers and nonbelievers by mandating government neutrality between belief and nonbelief. The government may neither legally sponsor particular religious beliefs, nor favor religious belief over nonbelief. Under U.S. law, individuals are perfectly free to […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Additional Topics Mammoths
A4. Mammoths: Were They QuickFrozen? The claim that mammoths were quickfrozen goes back at least several decades as an old Reader’s Digest article will testify. It has no merit whatsoever. To begin with, mammoths were adapted for severely cold weather as their heavy fur, complete with a thick, insulating underwool, and a thick layer […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Geologic Column Fictitious
Dr. Hovind (G3): The fictitious geologic column (invented in the 1800’s to discredit the Bible) does not exist anywhere in the world except in textbooks. G3. Oh, sure, those early creationists invented the geologic column to discredit the Bible! That just makes loads of sense, doesn’t it? Is it possible that Dr. Hovind, who taught […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Specific Arguments Moon Dust
Young-earth "proof" #2: Given the rate at which cosmic dust accumulates, 4.5 billion years would have produced a layer on the moon much deeper than observed. By implication, the earth is also young. The most amazing thing about the cosmic dust argument is that it is still being used! It has coasted along on obsolete […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Specific Arguments Sun Shrinking
Youngearth "proof" #1: The sun is shrinking at 5 feet/hour which limits the earth-sun relationship to less than 5 million years. The shrinking-sun argument contains two errors. First, and by far the worst, is the assumption that if the sun is shrinking today, as might be detected over a period of years, then it has […]
Debates Secularist Abortion Carrier5
Abortion is not Immoral and Should not be Illegal Closing Statement by Richard C. Carrier Conclusions on the Main Issues The present debate is about two things: what the facts are and what the universally shared values are that relate to those facts. After all that has been said in this debate, there does not […]
Debates Secularist Cryonics
On The Subject of Cryonics: The technology of cryonics seeks to cheat death by freezing people in the hope that future medical technology will revive them. Since its beginning in the 1960s, cryonics has not garnered much support from the general public or medical community. Even secular non-religious people, which should be more inclined to […]
Debates Secularist Population
On The Subject of Overpopulation: Whether or not our global community is overpopulated is a subject of great controversy. Many supporters of continued growth in the human population refer to the Bible’s teachings and God’s Master Plan. Among secularists, however, there are some who believe that our world is underpopulated or simply not overpopulated. What […]
Denis Giron Multiple
Qur’an: A Work of Multiple Hands? Denis Giron [The Qur’an] is strikingly lacking in overall structure, frequently obscure and inconsequential in both language and content, perfunctory in its linking of disparate materials, and given to the repetition of whole passages in variant versions. On this basis it can plausibly be argued that the book is […]
Doug Jesseph Jesseph Craig Jesseph2
Let me run down some preliminary points first. The question whether agnosticism or atheism…I think what we have here is a word allergy, perhaps. I claim that there is no rational justification for the belief in the existence of God. I also claim that the evidence is strongly against it; that the rational conclusion to […]
Edwin Wilson Manifesto Ch10
CHAPTER 10 The Search for Signers – Round Two With the editorial process completed, "A Humanist Manifesto" was ready to submit to a wider group of signers as a finished document. The considerations that went into deciding who to invite and who not to invite to endorse it were many. After much discussion, a list […]
Edwin Wilson Manifesto Ch9
CHAPTER 9 Style and Semantics It is my contention that those who signed "A Humanist Manifesto" in 1933 sought verbal integrity and a semantic change from traditional religious terms in order to clarify their naturalistic approach. However, as is the case with most editorial matters, a great deal of the response to the written word […]
Farrell Till Geisler Till Geisler1
It is an honor to be here. On the topic under discussion, I affirm that Jesus of Nazareth died and rose bodily from the grave. I offer two points in support of this claim. First, the New Testament documents are historically reliable accounts. Second, these documents reveal that Jesus really died on the cross and […]
Farrell Till Horner Till Intro
Introductory Remarks (Jeff Lowder, Debate organizer) Our moderator for this evening is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of California at Davis, where he double-majored in both Greek and Latin. Although his journalism career started in broadcast news at KQED-TV in San Francisco, he quickly found his niche with newspaper journalism, and he […]
Reply to Robert Turkel
<<< 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 […]
Helping God Help Us Help Ourselves
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 […]
Finngeir Hiorth Smart
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 […]
Fred Edwords Humart
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; […]
Gerald Larue Otll Chap19
Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue Chapter 19 – From Manasseh to the Deuteronomic Reform Read II Kings 21-35; II Chron. 33-36 WHEN Hezekiah died (687), his son Manasseh, still a young boy, was enthroned.1 The folly of adhering to a policy of antagonism toward Assyria was apparent, and Manasseh pledged loyalty […]