What's New Archive ● 2000 ● May
May 31, 2000
Added The Bible and the Gullible by William Edelen to the the Freethought section of the Modern Library.
Added "The Presumption of Atheism" [ 47K ] (Off Site) by Antony FlewAnyone who believes today in the year 2000 that the bible is 'reliable' and 'infallible,' without error or contradiction, is approaching insanity.
Flew argues for a presumption of 'atheism,' which he defines as the lack of theistic belief.Added "Atheism" (1998) [ 10K ] (Off Site) by Michael Martin
Martin's article on atheism for Microsoft® Encarta® 98.Added "Secular Ethics and Animal Rights" (1995) [ 52K ] by Peter Wilson to the Morality and Atheism section of the Modern Library
Wilson argues that secularists should be concerned with animal rights. According to Wilson, "Secular ethics cannot make a clear distinction between humans and nonhumans. Limiting the ethics to just the human species is arbitrary and inconsistent with the evolutionary history of life."Added a link to "More on Hitler's Religious Beliefs" (1997) [ 5K ] by Matthew to the Morality and Atheism section of the Modern Library
Argues that Hitler was a theist.Added a link to "More Research Concerning Atheist Morality" (1997) [ 7K ] by Michael Wang to the Morality and Atheism section of the Modern Library
A summary of a study which shows that religious belief and ethical behavior have little to no correlation.Added "The Meaning of Life" (1997) [ 4K ] (Off Site) by Adrian Barnett to the Morality and Atheism section of the Modern Library
"Atheists can, and often do, lead a full and enjoyable life. We know that this is all we get, and all that everybody else gets, so we do the best that we can for ourselves and others."Added "The Results of the Christians vs. Atheists in Prison Investigation" (1997) [ 3K ] (Off Site) by Rod Swift to the Morality and Atheism section of the Modern Library
Rod Swift contacted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons and asked for data on the religious beliefs of the federal prison population. This summary lists the number of inmates per religion category.Added "Praise the Lord, Pass the Ammo" (1999) (Off Site) by Steve Chapman to the Morality and Atheism section of the Modern Library
According to Chapman, not only is there no evidence indicating a positive correlation between religion and morality, there is evidence of a negative correlation.
May 29, 2000
Added new feature article "The Riddle of the Four Faces: Solving an Ancient Mystery" (2000) by Darek Barefoot
It seems problematic that there are four (and only four) gospels in the NT canon. Barefoot seeks to provide a more objective reason for thinking that Ezekiel's mysterious "four faces" -- the man, lion, ox, and eagle -- play a hand in the selection of the canonical four gospels in the early history of the Church.
Added Love and Truth in the New Millennium by Charlie Webb to the the Freethought section of the Modern Library.
Charlie is yet another writer sponsored by the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs in their weekly Freethought column in Colorado Springs Independent. Charlie joins the ranks of John Patrick Michael Murphy, William Edelen, Jan Brazill, and Jack Midling.
The insidious and seductive cliche that seems to saturate our society is "you should not be critical of another persons religious belief, they all deserve respect." No matter how ignorant, how bigoted, how ugly, how destructive, how false, how superstitious, how cruel...they all deserve "respect".
May 28, 2000
Added Redefining God (May 2000) by William Edelen to the Freethought section of the Modern Library.I have often asked - When are Jews and Christians going to grow up, evolve spiritually, and let go of the archaic and primitive biblical concepts of 'God'?Added Wrens and Steer Skulls (May 2000) by William Edelen to the Freethought section of the Modern Library.
As my wrens live the life that wrens were meant to live...listening to their "God within"....they remind me to continue living my life...following my highest enthusiasm, my bliss, the life that I was uniquely born to live.Added Myths and the Liars Club (May 2000) by Jack Midling to the Freethought section of the Modern Library.
Jack is another writer to join the increasingly prolific group of writers sponsored by the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs in their weekly Freethought column in Colorado Springs Independent. Jack joins the ranks of John Patrick Michael Murphy, William Edelen, and Jan Brazill.
May 24, 2000
Added "Independent Confirmation and the Historicity of Jesus" (1997) [ 27K ] by Jeffery Jay LowderLowder argues that there is nothing intrinsically improbable about the mere existence of a man named Jesus; the New Testament alone should constitute prima facie evidence for the historicity of Jesus.
May 21, 2000
Slightly revised "An Emotional Tirade Against Atheism" (1999) [ 55K ] by Jeffery Jay LowderAdded a statement that Zacharias refuses to link to this critique from his website. Added a brief footnote concerning usage of the word "antitheist" in atheist literature.
May 19, 2000
Added "Doing the Right Thing" (1998) [ 60K ] (Off Site) by Austin Cline to the Morality and Atheism section of the Modern LibraryWhy are so many people disconnected from morality today, and how do we reverse that? Can one be moral without a god or religion? Can you raise a child to be moral and mature without religion?Added The Triumph of Evolution...And the Failure of Creationism by Niles Eldredge to the Creationism/Evolution section of the II Bookstore
Niles Eldredge, a leading expert on evolution and the diversity of life, has studied creationism and debated creationists for over two decades. Now, in The Triumph of Evolution, he presents the most up-to-date examination of the creation-evolution confrontation available. In this incisive narrative, he reveals the creationists' basic argument and their strategies for advancing it--including the recent attack on "philosophical naturalism" and emphasis on models of "intelligent design" by creationist Phillip Johnson and his colleagues. He also counters the charges that the study of evolution cannot be scientific or that it leads to the demise of family, religion, and traditional values.Added Darwinism Defeated? by Phillip Johnson and Denis Lamoureux to the Creationism/Evolution section of the II Bookstore
Denis O. Lamourex, a Christian evolutionist, and Phillip E. Johnson, well-known critic of evolution, debate evolution and creationism in print. Includes responses by Michael Behe, Michael Denton, Stephen Meyer, and Howard Van Till.
May 18, 2000
Added "Morality, Ethical Behavior & Atheism" (1998) (Real Audio) (Off Site) to the Morality and Atheism section of the Modern LibraryTimothy Gorski, Margaret Downey, and David Silverman talk about ethical behavior and atheism.Added "Why Bother? In Defense of Activism" (2000) [ 26K ] (Off Site) by Amanda Chesworth to the Atheistic Outreach section of the Modern Library
Arguing that "apathy simply renders us mute," Chesworth encourages nontheists to adopt an activist stance.
May 17, 2000
Added February FeedbackExpect the feedback page to be caught up to speed by the end of Summer!Removed the link from "Josh McDowell's 'Evidence' for Jesus: Is It Reliable?" (2000) [ 124K ] by Jeffery Jay Lowder to J.P. Holding's childish parody of Lowder's essay
Within two days of publicizing Holding's childish parody of Lowder's essay, Holding removed the parody from his site. However, Holding still refuses to provide his readers with a link to Lowder's essay from his rebuttal. Indeed, Holding refuses to link to any of the chapters of The Jury Is In from his rebuttals to those chapters.
May 16, 2000
Added a page for the argument from physical minds to the arguments for atheism section of the Modern LibraryAccording to the argument from physical minds, the fact that minds are physically dependent upon the brain is some evidence for atheism. This page links to essays and book reviews related to this argument.
May 15, 2000
Posted a slightly revised version of "Josh McDowell's "Evidence" for Jesus: Is It Reliable?" (2000) [ 124K ] by Jeffery Jay LowderAdded a link to J.P. Holding's childish parody of a previous version of my essay. Added a statement that Holding refuses to link to my essay from his rebuttal. Added responses to Holding's latest objections to my essay, including some quotations from various Christian scholars who agree that Tacitus does not provide independent confirmation of the historicity of Jesus. Also added a response to Earl Doherty's objections to the authenticity of the infamous Testimonium Flavianum. Also, updated my discussion of the Talmud and Suetonius. Finally, added a new appendix on the letter quoted by Eusebius and attributed to Hadrian.
May 13, 2000
Added feature article "How to Educate an Atheist" (2000) by Michael Martin
What is a well-educated atheist? Martin distinguishes between educating someone about atheism and educating him or her to be an atheist. The question of atheistic education, he argues, is not so much how people come to be atheists, but rather what they should learn once they are atheists.
May 4, 2000
Updated our link to the Bank of Wisdom, a major contributor to the Secular Web's Historical Library, from our Secular Web Library Contributors pageIf you've enjoyed reading some of the files on the Secular Web, please consider giving the Bank of Wisdom your support!Posted Jennifer Roth's and Richard Carrier's First Rebuttals in the Is There A Secular Case Against Abortion? Debate.