Ready for a laugh?

Then read on…

Continue reading Some Comedy Bits

I’m no theologian, so I only understand (and read) a bit of theology. What I see is that many theologians take as a premise the existence of not just a god, but the god of their birth or culture: prima facie belief.

Those theologians that have attempted to demonstrate the existence of the supernatural — of a god — of the god — have provided far more interesting questions than (and I hate to be so harsh about it), those that pontificate not just on how many angels may dance on the head of a pin, but those who try to discover if angels engage in bowel movementsAn aside: Of course, if ethics that stem from belief in the supernatural work for you, that’s wonderful. Perhaps, if you believed otherwise, you would maim, steal, rape and murder others; thus your belief is a necessary thing, albeit unjustified in my eyes.
But I don’t think that’s true. I hope you can be just as ethical without a system of ethics that relies on, what seems to many nonbelievers, as magic beans.. (Of course, I’m speaking of Aquinas’ Summa Theologica.)

If you’d like to work through, as one would with a scientific hypothesis, several of the classic ‘proofs’ of the existence of (1) the supernatural, (2) a deistic god, (3) a theistic god, let’s talk it outAnother aside: Of course, if any of these proofs should fail, that does not mean that the god you believe in does not exist. And if your proof should succeed some serious scrutiny from doubters, then it is a powerful argument. Either way, believers in this situation will not be put on the spot. If an argument doesn’t work, it doesn’t work; nothing more.
But if an argument works….

This post has nothing to do with atheism, theism, belief, dialogue, &c; it’s about programming code. If you’re interested, then read on. Otherwise, it’s for those that are willing and able to solve a goofy problem I’ve been having.

For everyone else, if you think the site could use an overhaul, then now’s the time for some suggestions. Just comment about the color scheme; font size/style; format… now’s your time to gripe!

Continue reading Anyone Know CSS?

We’ve been tagged — not once, but twice — for a Thinking Blogger Award. I know… I like to think. I try to do so at least three times a day; sometimes more, if I’m in the mood and work isn’t in the way. Since we’ve been tagged by both Richard Leyton (’[Philaletheia is] an interesting, constructive and interesting dialogue between an atheist and a christian that is always considered, responsive, and challenging to all parties.’) and Five Public Opinions (’[Philaletheia is] the benchmark for atheist-Christian dialogue on the internet.’), I think it’s fair that soulster and I each have a crack at nominating five of our favorite blogs, thus making a total of ten. After all, the rules say,

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote…

I think it’s reasonable for us to squeeze on by with this.

And so I nominate:

(1) Meme Processing

(2) Confusion of Ideas

(3) Stardust Musings and Thoughts for the Freethinker

(4) Kill the Afterlife

(5) Atheist Ethicist

From The Real Perspective on the Solar System - With Music

Paper Napkin points out it’s National De-lurking Week! There’s only a few days left! Act now!

As Chairman Mao said before he killed every last dissenting voice, ‘Let the hundred flowers bloom!’

We know you’re out there… tell us about yourself.

I was thinking what sets Christianity, Islam, Scientology, and other proselytizing religions apart from religions such as Judaism, Taoism, Baha’i and Jainism. It isn’t that one religious style of conversion is correct, merely that there are two systems: introverted and extroverted. To someone that doesn’t believe, an occurrence this morning brought this to light in a humorous fashion: advertisements and street-evangelizing. Down the block from where I work, on my way to lunch, I ran into a team of Jews for Jesus. These past two years, Jews for Jesus have pamphleted street corners, outdoor festivals, and other events that have a high traffic of potential converts.

I passed them by as quickly as possible, as I have done numerous times before, and ate my lunch in peace. After work, a good friend (Greg) and I began talking, and his eyes lit up: ‘drunkentune, you won’t believe what I found today!’ he exclaimed. He pulled out this advertisement and handed it over…

Continue reading Buy Now!

I am a secularist, an atheist, a skeptic, and… a Jew. Surprise you? I guess not. I suppose I do fit the stereotype, but there’s always a kernel of truth in a generalization somewhere.
For example, take this joke, if you will:
Q: What do you call a Jew that doesn’t believe in God?

[Just drag your mouse after the “A:” to see the answer]

A: A Jew.

I made it up myself (a small pat on the back), and if you personally know a Jew, it demonstrates that a ‘Jew’ isn’t necessarily Jewish.

There are many intellectual atheists who proudly call themselves Jews and observe Jewish rites, perhaps out of loyalty to an ancient tradition or to murdered relatives, but also because of a confused and confusing willingness to label as 'religion' the pantheistic reverence which many of us share with its most distinguished exponent, Albert Einstein. (Richard Dawkins)

I find each of my labels to be in the minority wherever I go. I’d like for a minute to tie all four of these positions together, and give you a general overview.

Continue reading The Loyal Opposition

Sorry I haven't posted or been available for comments in a while.  I've had a couple of intense days….

I though with the holidays approaching (if you so choose to celebrate), we might take a short break at critiquing each other's deepest held values and claims and aim our intellectual cannons at Jolly Ole' St. Nick.

We've talked a lot in our dialogue so far about fictional beings and the irrationality of belief in them, how they may be used as proofs this way and that, etc.  It seems to me that it would be interesting for believers and atheists alike to talk about what you do with a popularly (near universally) promoted fictional character like Santa.  Many people know he's fictional (don't tell the kids), but our culture moves in mass as if he is real.  Many people tell their kids stories about him and give him credit for acts that they do.  There is currently a great market in selling myths about the man, and he seems to be pretty good for the economy.

Continue reading What to do with Santa?