Modern Library

Prophecy and Palimpsest (2002) Robert Price This article was originally published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Fall 2002). Reprinted with permission. Resurrected Texts In 2 Kings chapter 22 the priest Hilkiah sends word to Josiah the King, “I have found a book.” Hilkiah had been busy locating certain funds […]

Physics and Religion The Anthropic Coincidences: A Natural Explanation (1999) (Off Site) by Victor J. Stenger Stenger argues that the fine-tuning argument is flawed because it assumes that only one kind of life, ours, is possible in every configuration of universes. Stenger also provides a naturalistic explanation for the anthropic coincidences. The ‘Big Bang’ Argument […]

How I Became An Ex-Christian (n.d.) Robby Berry   I was raised in a Christian home for most of my life, but I never took it very seriously until 1986. I was fifteen, and I had joined a youth group called Campus Life (a high-school division of the infamous Campus Crusade for Christ) in February. […]

Arguments for the Existence of a God Apologists rely on a variety of arguments to substantiate the existence of a God, or to support the claims of divinity by a particular denomination’s founder(s) or for its sacred texts. This section contains material that confronts and rebuts these theistic arguments. Links below are to the most […]

Ex-Christians Books for Ex-Christians Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist and Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists by Dan Barker Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists by Edward Babinski Leaving the Fold by Marlene Winell Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell Farewell to God: […]

Argument to Design: Related Links Atheistic Teleological Arguments [Index] From the II Modern Library. Boston Review: Articles on Evolution [Index] (Off Site) Critiques, responses to critiques, and responses to responses, from Dennett to Behe to Orr. Design in God’s Creation (Off Site) This online creationist resource from the U.K. features ?? items such as “Creation […]

Transcendence, Moral Facts, and the God of Theism: Critiquing Vuletic (2002) Tom Wanchick Introduction In a recent Internet paper,[1] Mark I. Vuletic has set out to show that, contrary to the beliefs of many religious believers, it is not the case that God’s existence is implied by the existence of moral facts. In this essay, […]

Miscellaneous   The Celebrity Atheist List [Off Site] A collection of the names of notable individuals who have been public about their lack of belief in deities, as well as some who seem to be skeptical when it comes to religion but whose beliefs are nevertheless somewhat ambiguous. Famous Dead Nontheists [Off Site] A list […]

Creation As a Pseudo-Explanation in Current Physical Cosmology Adolf Grünbaum   University of Pittsburgh   [This article was originally published in Erkenntnis 35: 233-254, 1991.] Introduction In his posthumously published The Direction of Time (1956, p. 133), Hans Reichenbach wrote: “At the present state of cosmology, it is very difficult to come to a conclusion […]

CHAPTERS 5 & 6: WHY I BELIEVE IN HEAVEN / HELL (Non Sequitur) After that long analysis of the chapter on creationism, I need a rest! Fortunately, the next two chapters in Why I Believe can be reviewed relatively quickly. The chapter on Heaven begins by first trying to establish the immortality of the human […]

The Essence Of Agnosticism by Bill Schultz The word “agnostic” was coined by Thomas Henry Huxley, and so there can only be one single point of departure for any discussion of the essence of agnosticism. That point is the definition of agnosticism chosen by Huxley himself: Agnosticism is not a creed but a method, the […]

Religion And The U. S. Supreme Court – Cases (4 of 4) by Bill Schultz From 1981 through the Present 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 Links To Supreme Court Opinions, Etc., 1961-1980 Links To […]

How Good Are Those Young-Earth Arguments? Copyright Statement   Copyright © 1995 Dave E. Matson. Copies of this paper may be made and sold by Edward T. Babinski, the National Center for Science Education, and all other groups who are battling the attempts by "scientific" creationists to adversely affect the quality of science education. All […]

Young-earth "proof" #10: Jupiter and Saturn are cooling off rather rapidly. Since they still give off internal heat, they cannot be billions of years old. 10. Jupiter is not cooling off that rapidly! Based on the fact that Jupiter is radiating twice as much energy as it receives from the Sun, and given its mass […]

Young-earth "proof" #9: Saturn’s rings are unstable which indicates that they are less than millions of years old. If Saturn’s rings are less than millions of years old, then what of it? That doesn’t prove that the planet is less than billions of years old. Recent study suggests that the rings are not older than […]

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 […]