Modern Library

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. […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

CHAPTER 2: THE STONES CRY OUT (Argumentum Ad Verecundiam) In Chapter 2 of Why I Believe, D. James Kennedy continues with his explanation of why he believes in the Bible, this time using evidence from archaeology rather than prophecy. He stands on more solid ground here. Until the 1970s, a strong alliance existed between the […]

Review of Darwin and Design (2005) Anthony Campbell [This review was originally published on Anthony Campbell’s book reviews page.] Review: Michael Ruse. 2003. Darwin and Design: Does Evolution Have a Purpose? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. x + 371 pp. Although there are still people today, particularly in the USA, who adhere to the biblical […]

Religion And The U. S. Supreme Court – Cases (1 of 4) by Bill Schultz From the nation’s founding through 1942 Table of Contents Main Text The Law as Things Stand Now Links To Supreme Court Opinions, Etc., Founding-1942 (this page) Links To Supreme Court Opinions, Etc., 1943-1960 Links To Supreme Court Opinions, Etc., 1961-1980 […]

David Chalmers’ Principle of Organizational Invariance and the Personal Soul (2014) Clifford Greenblatt David Chalmers argues that conscious experience is a real but nonphysical feature of nature. However, he also believes that all particular facts about any conscious experience supervene (naturally, but not logically) on physical facts, such that physical facts fully determine any conscious […]

Dr. Hovind (R6): The shape of the curve of the line is based on too few real measurements to be reliable. It’s not clear to me what Dr. Hovind is talking about. If he is referring to the carbon-14 decay curve then he has demonstrated, once again, his ignorance of radiometric dating. The decay curve […]

Young-earth "proof" #30: Many ancient cultures have stories of an original creation in the recent past. This is because the earth really is young. 30. The ultimate origin of things, according to many creation legends, traces back into the mists of time to which no specific date can be affixed. The Australian aborigine, for example, […]

Young-earth "proof" #20: The earth’s rotation is slowing down, meaning that the earth can’t be older than a few million years. 20. Presently, the earth’s rotation is slowing down 0.005 seconds per year per year (Thwaites and Awbrey, 1982, p.19). At least Dr. Hovind doesn’t use the horrendous rate of 1 second per year which […]

On The Issue of Abortion: Abortion remains one of the more divisive moral issues in America today. The controversy over its legal and moral status rages on. Several labels have been invented to define the variety of stances available on the issue. Pro-Life is often synonymous with Anti-Abortion, and related partially to Anti-Choice. Pro-Choice is […]

On The Subject of Artificial Intelligence: Advancements in the field of artificial intelligence continue to rage forward. Skeptics question how successful research in this field will be. Advocates believe the field offers valuable insight into human intelligence and consciousness and will provide useful knowledge. Critics disagree, believing that vary little comparison can be made and […]

On The Subject of Housewives: Housewives, also called domestic engineers, are decreasing in number as more women enter the workforce. Part of the feminist and women’s rights movements see this as evidence of their success in liberating women. Others think simply the choice now afforded women concerning the subject, is the criterion of success. Debate […]

On The Subject of Transhumanism: The philosophy of transhumanism tries to combine the principles of humanism and advanced technology in order to transcend the Human Condition. Many futurists and science fiction authors speculate that humanity is destined to evolve into something far greater then mere flesh and blood. Speculations about this transformation range from cyborgs […]

CHAPTER 3 The New Humanist – Sponsor of the Manifesto The New Humanist was started in 1927, while I was studying in Europe as a Cruft Fellow, an award for graduating seniors. The first issue-volume one, number one-appeared in 1928. Examination of the brief record of this periodical preceding the publication of "A Humanist Manifesto" […]

[Taken from the program handed out at the debate] I.) There are good reasons to affirm the Resurrection. A.) The writings about the Resurrection are too early for legend to prevail over the truth. B.) The tomb was empty. C.) Jesus appeared to many witnesses. D.) The origin of the Christian movement is inexplicable apart […]

Reply to Robert Turkel: Concluding Postscript Farrell Till I must say that I am flattered. After assuring his readers that I was not worth any further comment from him, Turkel has posted a 240K article in reply to my rebuttal of his attempt to reconcile the approval of Jehu’s massacre at Jezreel (2 Kings 10:30) […]

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 […]

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, […]

Earliest Christianity (1999) G.A. Wells   Professor G.A. Wells continues the debate about the origins of Jesus and the development of Christianity. Drawing on the writings of recent theologians and historians and alluding to his latest book, The Jesus Myth, he throws light on the early history of Christianity. [This article was originally published in […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 13 – J and the Law IT has been noted that Solomon’s time was marked by great literary activity and, if one can generalize from the Gezer Calendar, literacy may have been widespread.1 In addition to the material pertaining to the monarchy, the […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 28 – Wisdom Writings EARLIER we discussed possible relationships of Hebrew wisdom to the court of Solomon and to wisdom writing in the ancient Near East. We also considered some characteristics of wisdom literature, but we have not examined the words of the […]

Positive Humanism Gerald A. Larue, Ph.D. There is a certain aspect of Humanism that inspires a Humanist to debunk the superstitious and simplistic assumptions of pseudoscience and organized religion. Perhaps through overemphasis, Humanism may project a negative image and be seen as a joyless put-down of everything that does not represent cold, hard rationalism or […]

On “The Ontological Argument”: A Response To Makin (1991) Graham Oppy   [This article was originally published as “Makin On The Ontological Argument”, Philosophy, 66, 255, January 1991, pp.106-114] In “The Ontological Argument”, (Philosophy 63, 1988, pp.83-91) Stephen Makin offers a defence of what he calls “Anselm’s Ontological Argument”. I am not much interested in […]

Critical Notice: Frank J. Tipler (1995) The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead London: Macmillan pp.xxvi+528 Some people have wondered whether this book is an elaborate joke.[1] Others have suggested that it is merely a cynical attempt to cash in on the current craze for pop physics treatments of […]

Iki Sorumlu: “Din Adami” ve “Aydin” I. “Din adamlari sinifi” konusunda. A) Islam’da “Ruhbanlik” (Din adamlari sinifi) olup olmadigi konusunda. B) Islam’in geri kalmis olmasi sorumlulugu’nun Din adamlari sinifi’na ait bulunduguna inananlar: C) Insan beynini islemez hale getirmede din adam’larinin sorumlulugu. II. Din adamlarina Karsi Savasim Görevi. III. Din Adami’na Karsi Savasabilmek Için Her Seyden […]

Din adami’nin Seriat Verilerine Dayali Olarak Bellettigi “Korkutucu” ve “Keyfi” Tanri Anlayisinin, Insanlarimizin Karakterleri ve Yasantilari Üzerindeki Olumsuz Sonuçlari : I) Özgür ve haysiyetli insan olmanin tek yolu “Korku” ile savasimdir; Tanri’yi “Korkutucu” degil “Sevgi Kaynagi” olarak tanimlamaktir. II) Din Adamindan Kurtuldugumuz An Içimizdeki Korkuyu Yenecek, böylece Hosgörü’ye Yönelecek ve Tüm Insanligi Sevgi Denizi Olarak […]