Advocatus Atheist

My friend Larry Tanner over on his Textuality blog had an interesting post up which replied to the Discovery Institute denizen Michael Egnor’s 8 questions to Atheists . I thought I’d give it the good old college try. 1) Why is there anything? 2) What caused the Universe? 3) Why is there regularity (Law) in nature? 4) Of the Four Causes in nature proposed by Aristotle (material, formal, efficient, and final), which of them are real? Do final causes exist? 5) Why do we have subjective experience, and not merely objective existence? 6) Why is the human mind intentional, in the technical philosophical sense of aboutness, which is the referral to something besides itself? How can mental states be about something? 7) Does Moral Law exist in itself, or is it an artifact of nature (natural selection, etc.) 8) Why is there evil? My Non-Answers to Egnor’s questions: 1)Why not? 2)   2)Something or nothing. Both equally valid choices—since we simply DON’T KNOW.  3) Because . 4)   4)

I haven't had much time to write this week, so I offer some random updates instead. The book is coming along well. I am finishing up the initial editing, tweaking things, and putting on the final touches. Soon I'll be drafting some proposals and try and get a publishing deal. Stay tuned for that. Now here are some film recommendations about religion or which have a religious theme. I recently watched Agora just for the historical value. It's basically Christians go wild and kill everyone. Virgin Territory is a delight if you're comfortable with brazen nudity. It's a light breezy, sexy, kinky film about star crossed lovers, randy nuns, and it has sword play... lots of sword play (I think there's a pun in there somewhere).  Of course, I've enjoy the Prophecy trilogy and Constantine for their dark fantasy. I think films based on the mythos of a spiritual war between Heaven and Hell with Earth caught in-between can be deeply engaging. Although I find film

I got over 600 page views this week alone sending me over the 10,000 hits mark in less than a year! I'm pleasantly surprised because I thought it would take a lot longer. Thanks for reading folks! Next goal: 100,000 page views.

This is a great video on probability and flawed thinking in how people use n statements of probability to give one's owbeliefs plausibility.

Most of what comes out of William Lane Craig's mouth is purely fantasy invented by William Lane Craig. When a person engages in serious discussions of heavy philosophical topics to boldly say whatever fantastically inspired puerile nonsense which he can conjure up without a moments thought, he is practicing  the Philosophy of Nonsense, which is just another way of saying: bullshit . William Lane Craig is the king of the bullshitters. He even has a degree in Theology Bullshit.  And that's why I don't care about anything Craig has to say. Half the time what he says is painfully incoherent, the other half it is simply mad ravings of a delusional bullshitter. But you don't have to take my word for it. Now that we know William Lane Craig is a compulsive liar, consider this following quote by Craig: “ Should a conflict arise between the witness of the Holy Spirit to the fundamental truth of the Christian faith and beliefs based on argument and evidence, then it is t

I've been writing a blog post once a week on average for a full year now. I have racked up over nine thousand page hits in little under a year of starting the Advocatus Atheist blog. So I felt a thank you was in order for all those who have subscribed and who continue to read my humble writing. So thank you everyone. Live well and be wise.

  How the Transcendental argument for God is Not Even an Argument Theologians like to bemoan the fact that most atheists aren’t aware of the really “good” theological arguments for God. They like to claim we’re theologically naïve. Well, if theologians could actually agree on a single coherent definition for God would help us in taking them seriously. No, I’m afraid Thomas Paine pegged theology for what it really is more than two centuries ago, the study of nothing . The philosopher of science Massimo Pigliucci, Steve Zara, and the biologist PZ Myers all seem to agree that there can be no scientifically meaningful “evidence” for God because the concept is so ill-defined. Other scientists and thinkers such as Jerry Coyne, Richard Dawkins, and Victor Stenger seem to think that the concept of a personal God is untenable not because most definitions fail or because they are so ill-defined (although that may be part of it), but because they are mainly rationally incoherent and have no

The Deconversion Factor Americans are becoming less and less religious. (Refer to the Gallup-poll: “Americans are Becoming Less Religious.” ) At the same time Christianity is under assault by the razor sharp criticism of the New Atheism movement. To anyone who has been paying attention to the religious debate, it seems more and more Christians are leaving the fold (I should know—I’m one of them). The question arises, what can account for this mass exodus of once faithful adherents joining the ranks of the nonbeliever, the skeptic, the free thinking everyday person? Some evangelical apologists have claimed that these apostates were all fake Christians and weren't true believers to begin with—but such an accusation is absurd. The numbers are simply too big to suggest ALL these people were insincere. What then could possibly be contributing to the advance of secularism and the dwindling of faith? Craig Blomberg, a Christian Evangelical scholar, has recently posited on his blog th