http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com [love of truth] Wed, 14 May 2008 22:14:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Is 'Freethinker' Synonymous with Nontheist? Well, no. It isn 't. Atheists need to drop the sham; I am a freethinker by definition, and am positive that there have been numerous deists, theists, supernaturalists, pantheists and polytheists that have come to their conclusions on metaphysics as freethinkers. There ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/08/10/something-for-believers/ Ready for a laugh? Then read on... I. Why I've never trusted large crowds... (From Leprechaun Sighting.) II. E-Z Answer Squirrel (From wondercafe.ca) III. A funny webcomic... 'Only the Good Die Jung' (Click to read high-res version.) (From here.) IV. Naturalism vs. Theism debate Fernandes vs. Lowder V. On Justice Scalia With respect to public acknowledgment of religious belief, it is ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/08/02/some-comedy-bits/ After speaking with believers for some time, I'm often asked So where does morality come from? Why be compelled to be good without belief in God? Some times the questioner is genuinely naïve and cannot understand how I can function without belief in a god; other times the questioner believes ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/07/13/evolutionary-ethics/ I. It's not just angel books, astrology, and acupuncture. A front-page article in the New York Times of October 22, 1996 (subscription required), delved into the 'conflict' between two views of where Native American populations originated—the scientific archaeological account and the account offered by some Native American creation-myths. According to ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/07/04/postmodernism-in-theocracy/ 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 ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/06/20/chew-the-fat/ ... or, Why Some Atheist are Wrong about what Matters Most. Christianity makes broad claims about its power to change people and situations. The single largest disproof of our faith lives in its failure to do so, especially in the West. If our faith is proven by experience, then ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/06/05/erring-on-the-side-of-truth-a-mistake/ Frank Walton of Atheism Sucks! briefly stopped by to link to his views on The Rational Response Squad’s Gift of Life Day. After reading a few posts at Walton's blog, I saw his reaction to the 'debate' between Richard Dawkins and Bill 'falafel' O'Reilly (you can read my more visceral ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/04/26/dawkins-oreilly/ We want to make a public statement about how nonreligious people can observe the so-called National Day of Prayer, which we have renamed Gift of Life Day... So on that day, we atheists will be engaging in action that we can prove scientifically has real-life impact on our fellow citizens. ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/04/16/the-3rd-of-may/ 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, ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/04/14/anyone-know-css/ Lately I've been encountering something that is disturbing to me. There is a popular version of postmodernism -- an on-the-street version -- far from the literary deconstruction where it was born. It seems to over-simplify a great deal of information, leaving behind a great deal of the nuance ... http://philaletheia.thetruthtree.com/2007/04/12/on-pluralism/