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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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) 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 […]

  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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Scrutinizing Propaganda By J. E. Hill Many of us are familiar with fallacies in logic. Even if you are not an active debater, it is good to know some of the more popular fallacies so you can identify them when they come up in everyday conversations. Among the most common is the circular argument, which […]

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 […]