Brer Rabbit pleaded, “Please don’t throw me in the briar patch,” when in fact that’s exactly what he wanted. It was a cheap psychological ploy to trick Brer Fox into releasing him into the briar patch. With similar motives, theists…
Atheists for sobriety
James Randi, the magician and pseudoscience debunker, advocated legalizing recreational drugs and allowing natural selection to weed out those who misuse the drugs.[1] Smart man. Dumb idea. Life expectancy among Americans has recently undergone the longest sustained drop since…
Full Religious Liberty
There are two kinds of religious liberty: basic and full. Basic religious liberty is granted by the First Amendment, which establishes the principle that each person has the legal right to choose his or her own beliefs. Full religious liberty…
The Shipwreck of Faith
William K. Clifford, a mathematician, philosopher, and fellow of the Royal Society, was praised as “a brilliant, witty, charming man, who was also an excellent teacher.”[1] Clifford proposed the development of a geometric theory of…
Lift that rock, punk
Is God omnipotent? A flat-out contradiction occurs if an omnipotent god reacts to humans with anger, pleasure, or love (Exodus 4:14, Deuteronomy 26:18, and John 3:16), which he seemingly must do if he has…
Demarcation Problem
Before we speculate that the natural was designed by the supernatural, we must distinguish the natural from the supernatural. That has proven to be a promethean challenge. Our seeming inability to distinguish the…