[ 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 Indef
Review of In Defense of Miracles (1999, 2005) Richard Carrier 1. Summary 2. What’s Good and Bad 3. The Philosophical Problem (a) The Shaky Groundwork of Corduan and Purtill (b) Nash on Naturalism vs. Christian Theism (c) Moreland’s “Christian Science” (d) Beck’s Argument for God 4. The Historical Problem (a) Beckwith on Historiography (b) Geivett’s […]
Richard Carrier Jacoby
Jacoby and Müller on “Thallus” (1999) Richard Carrier [This is a translation from the German, Latin, and Greek of Section 256 of F. Jacoby’s Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (Fragments of the Greek Historians, 1923–) and the corresponding section in Carolus Müller’s Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (Fragments of the Greek Historians, 1840–)] The following is […]
Richard Carrier Resurrection 2g
This file has been relocated: it is now Section VIII of Probability of Survival vs. Miracle: Assessing the Odds.
Richard Carrier Resurrection 3l
This file has been relocated: it is now Section XII of General Case for Spiritual Resurrection: Evidence Against Resurrection of the Flesh.
Richard Carrier Tai Solarin
Tai Solarin: His Life, Ideas, and Accomplishments (1995) Richard Carrier The most famous and controversial atheist and secular humanist in African history (if not the only one of any real renown) was the Nigerian nationalist Tai Solarin, who sadly passed away at the age of 72 in 1994. I wrote a paper on Tai […]
Richard Petraitis Simbas Ninjas
From Simbas to Ninjas: Congo’s Magic Warriors (2003) Richard Petraitis In 2002, a lightly-armed band of Congolese rebels attacked a capital city airport in a desperate bid to seize a vital military target. They wore magic charms across their bare chests to ward off government bullets. A firefight erupted with the Democratic Republic of […]
Robert Price Apocrypha
Note: This article was originally published in the Fall 1995 issue of The Journal of Higher Criticism (Vol. 2, No. 2) and is reproduced with the permission of Robert M. Price. Because HTML does not currently support the Greek alphabet, we have replaced the Greek letters in the original manuscript with the English transliteration. Any […]
Robert Price Beyond Born Again Notes
Beyond Born Again Notes [Editor’s Note: These notes are taken from the cover pages and the back cover of the printed version of Beyond Born Again.] About The Author: Robert M. Price is pastor of the First Baptist Church of Montclair, New Jersey, having previously served as Professor of Religion at Mount Olive College. He […]
Robert Price Psychics
Did “Top Psychics” Predict Jesus? (1999) Robert M. Price Messianic Prophecy | Messianic Fulfillments | Proof from Prophecy? | What About Jesus? | Bibliography | Related Resources For many centuries, indeed from the first century on, Christians have urged as proof of their faith that certain aspects of the life of Jesus corresponded to […]
Scott Oser Hidden
Review of The Hidden Face of God (2007) Scott Oser and Niall Shanks Review: Gerald L. Schroeder. 2001. The Hidden Face of God: How Science Reveals The Ultimate Truth. New York: The Free Press. 224 pp. Introduction (by Scott Oser) Schroeder’s Arguments from Physics and Cosmology (by Scott Oser) The Argument for a Metaphysical […]
Steven Carr Non Messianic
Critique of Josh McDowell’s Non-Messianic Prophecies Steven Carr Related documents: “Prophecy Subject Index in the Secular Web’s Modern Library [ Index ] Links to various essays which address the argument from prophecy. “Exhaust Fumes (or Carr Repairs)” (Off Site) by James Patrick Holding Holding’s rebuttal to this essay. (Strangely, Holding does not provide a link to […]
Theism Bible
Argument from Holy Scripture Divine inspiration is often claimed for features of religious texts, constituting evidence of God’s existence or the truth of a religious doctrine. In addition to the articles below, see also related Debates, Reviews, and Links. To purchase related reading, go to the Secular Web Book Store. The Bible: Bible Codes [ Index ] […]
Theism Christianity Historicity
Historicity of Jesus Order books on Christianity now Beckwith on Historiography (Review of In Defense of Miracles) (1999, 2005) by Richard Carrier Misunderstandings of historical method are rife in Francis Beckwith’s chapter in the book ‘In Defense of Miracles,’ and these are typical of all modern apologetics. Historian Richard Carrier gives a professional overview of why […]
Theism Design Reviews
Argument to Design: Reviews/Critiques Behe’s Empty Box [ Index ] (Off Site) An index of articles, both pro and con, on Michael Behe’s argument from irreducible complexity and his recent book, Darwin’s Black Box. Critiques of Michael Behe [ Index ] A collection of critical reviews of Behe’s Darwin’s Black Box. A Critique of Michael Denton’s Evolution: […]
Theism Mormonism Mormon
Book of Mormon The Bible in the Book of Mormon (1999) by Curt van den Heuvel “The Book of Mormon was written by someone who either had a KJV Bible in front of him, or was intimately familiar with its contents. When we add to this phenomenon other Book of Mormon problems, such as the […]
Vic Stenger Otherside
The Other Side of Time (2000) Victor J. Stenger University of Hawaii In The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God, physicist Hugh Ross gives the following “proof of creation”: “The universe and everything in it is confined to a single, finite dimension of time. […]
Anachronist Why I Believe 2 Stones
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 […]
Anthony Campbell Darwin And Design
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)
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 […]
Clifford Greenblatt Personal Soul
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 […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Carbon 14 Curve
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 […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Specific Arguments Culture
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, […]
Dave Matson Young Earth Specific Arguments Rotate
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 […]
Debates Secularist Abortion
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 […]
Debates Secularist Artificial
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 […]
Debates Secularist Housewives
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 […]
Debates Secularist Trans
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 […]
Edwin Wilson Manifesto Ch3
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" […]
Farrell Till Horner Till Horner Synopsis
[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 […]
Farrell Till Postscript
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) […]