What's New Archive ● 2002 ● May
May 31, 2002
Added "The God of Coincidences" by Mary Elizabeth Thompson to the Agora section of the Kiosk.Has the Old Testament God of fiery hail and miracles been reduced to a modern God of coincidences?Added "A Mixed Bag For Free Speech" by Bill Schultz to the Agora section of the Kiosk.
The United States Supreme Court upholds a non-key provision of the Children's On-Line Protection Act (COPA), but sends it back to lower courts for consideration of other challenges. Meanwhile, the latest censorship attempt by Congress, the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), was struck down by a special 3-judge trial court. Next stop: the Supreme Court. Still, free speech advocates must worry at this continuous stream of censorship laws, all merely awaiting a change in the current majority favoring continued free speech on the Internet.
May 30, 2002
Added "Turkel and the Trilemma" by Brian Holtz to the Modern section of the Secular Web Library.This essay summarizes a long debate between would-be apologist Robert Turkel, aka James Patrick (or. J. P.) Holding, and Brian Holtz regarding the Trilemma (that Jesus was either liar, lunatic, or lord). Holtz categories and enumerates Turkel/Holding's many polemical blunders, thus providing good material with which to rebut the Trilemma argument.
May 29, 2002
Richard Carrier added a footnote to section 4b., (Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?) of his article "Why I Don't Buy the Resurrection Story (2000)" clarifying his use of the word "messiah" in response to Robert Turkel's questioning of the use of the word in this context.May 28, 2002
Added "Osama bin Eternal" by David M. Payne to the Agora section of the Kiosk.Peshawar, Pakistan, there Â's no place like it anywhere else, that Â's for damned sure. (Short story)Added "Rationally Speaking (Jun 2002)" by Massimo Pigliucci to the Agora section of the Kiosk.
In this month's column, Professor Pigliucci argues that "lying for the greater good" by misusing science to protect the environment is a mistake.
May 26, 2002
Added a link (Off Site) to "Osiris and Pagan Resurrection Myths: Assessing the Till-McFall Exchange" (2002) by Richard Carrier to the author's page in the Library.As a degreed expert on ancient history, Carrier assesses the ongoing debate between Mark McFall and Farrell Till regarding the influence of the pagan resurrection myths on Christianity and finds that both are right--and wrong.Added The Fifth Column to the Columns page.
"Irreverent rationalism online" from the The Rationalist Press Association (UK) and its New Humanist Magazine.
May 23, 2002
Keith Augustine has updated his book review of "Whatever Happened to the Soul?" with a Further Reading section which consists of links to several other reviews of books related to this subject.May 22, 2002
Added "My Cup is Half Full--Why I am Optimistic about the Rights of Nonbelievers" by Clark Adams to the Features section of the Kiosk.Do demographic shifts and emerging views in the popular media signal better times ahead for nonbelievers? The author says they do.
May 20, 2002
Added "What if God Were One of Us?" by Jeff Conkin to the Agora section of the Kiosk.Tired of worshipping a distant God? Try creating God instead.
May 19, 2002
Added Penn Jillette to the list of Internet Infidels Supporters.May 11, 2002
Added "An Open Letter to the Boy Scouts of America: The Merit Badge of Bigotry" by Richard Bamford to the Agora section of the Kiosk.An open letter to the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) leadership concerning their recent official ban of gays and nonbelievers.
May 8, 2002
Added "Priestly Pedophilia Debunks Religion Myth" by -randau to the Agora section of the Kiosk.The recent expos ay of Priestly pedophiles debunks yet another of religion's myths, that myth being that religion discourages bad people from doing evil things.
See "What's New? " for past months