A new regulation on the body art industry in Washington D.C. would require a 24 hour waiting period before getting tattooed. (Washington Post) -- A mandatory 24-hour waiting period is among the provisions included in a 66-page package of draft regulations governing the “body art” industry released … [Read more...]
Breaking Bad: A Philosophical Point
September 7, 2013 by 6 Comments
The AMC original series Breaking Bad is one of the most popular shows in television history. Beginning in 2008, it tells the story of Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. In an effort to leave his family financially secure, Walter partners with a … [Read more...]
The irony of abortion rights
August 29, 2013 by 12 Comments
This says it all when it comes to pro-abortion logic: The political left is obsessed with rights. But what are rights? What rights do we actually have, and what makes them rights in the first place? Many people blur the lines between what they believe ought to be rights and real inalienable … [Read more...]
Does evolution explain biodiversity?
August 20, 2013 by 26 Comments
One mistake I think people make when discussing and debating whether evolutionary theory adequately explains the degree of biodiversity we see in the animal kingdom is they don't recognize everyone is using the same facts. What I mean is we all see the fossil record, the geological record, the … [Read more...]
What ‘works’ is not morality
August 15, 2013 by 28 Comments
Discussing ethics and morality with Atheists can prove to be frustrating, for everyone involved. Theists will argue that an atheistic worldview cannot properly ground morality given naturalism. And from that Atheists often hear 'Atheists cannot behave morally unless they believe in God'. But I … [Read more...]
Why I’m not a…
August 12, 2013 by 2 Comments
I'm often asked by skeptics why I'm not a member of some other religious belief system. Is it because of where I was raised? How do I reject other religions without rejecting my own for the same reasons? Simple. There is some deeply-rooted central premise within competing religions which renders … [Read more...]
An Atheist walks into a bar…
August 9, 2013 by 9 Comments
I met up with my father at a local bar last night. He plays darts in a league and asked me to join him there. One of the other players came over to my table to introduce himself and we got talking politics. My father introduced the topic knowing my political bent and this guy's, and knowing my … [Read more...]
What happens to a person when they die?
August 7, 2013 by 14 Comments
It's the age old question, everyone has considered it at some point or another. What happens to a person after the die? I'd like everyone regardless of their theological (or atheological) bent to answer if they would. Secondly, and as importantly as the first, why do you believe your view is true? … [Read more...]
40 “Difficult Questions to ask a Christian, Part 2
August 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This is part 2 of a response to this post I found via Twitter which offers these "difficult" questions to ask Christians. See Part 1 for previous answers to these "difficult"Questions. An all-knowing God can read your mind, so why does he require you to demonstrate your faith by worshiping … [Read more...]
More Atheist thinking fail
July 29, 2013 by 7 Comments
https://twitter.com/religulous/status/360587992395546625 That there may have been 18,000 invented gods, their being invented has no bearing on whether the 18,001st is also invented. Let's say I've been commissioned to pick up a friend of a friend, named Dana Smith from the airport whom I've never … [Read more...]
Atheist thinking fail
July 25, 2013 by 29 Comments
Let me begin by saying up front that I get the point: if you hold exclusive religious beliefs you, in essence, condemn those outside your group to hell. But the atheist world view doesn't hold that non-Atheists receive any eternal punishment, so why not hold to atheism so you don't have to believe … [Read more...]
…not in the name of atheism
July 16, 2013 by 12 Comments
Religion is responsible for more deaths and wars in the world than any other cause, but not really. Many Atheists will make this claim and add to it that countries which embrace atheism to greater degrees are more peaceful and bestow more rights upon their citizens than countries thick with … [Read more...]
What do Atheists really believe about Theists?
July 10, 2013 by 2 Comments
Specifically, what do you, who are Atheists, believe about why Theists are theists? For example, I hear quite often and see just as often statements like "you only believe in God/your God because of your parents/upbringing/where you were born. Break free!" Sure I suppose some, maybe even many … [Read more...]
What do we do about the out of control warming?
July 6, 2013 by 24 Comments
A regular commenter to Sifting Reality offered the chart below to show how undeniable global warming is. Apparently they are taken in by what looks to be catastrophic rising temperatures. That they failed to notice the increase over the past 130 years is only about 1 degree Fahrenheit is a little … [Read more...]
The danger of scientific consensus
July 2, 2013 by 27 Comments
One of the most un-scientific mantras bandied about in the debates over climate change and Darwinian evolution is that the science is settled; there's a consensus in the scientific community. This notion that there is a consensus among scientists is dangerous to the philosophy of science. Why is … [Read more...]
Memorial built to nothing
July 1, 2013 by 7 Comments
If you ask the Atheists you encounter, many of them will tell you their atheism is a non-belief; that it's not a view. Well, the American Atheists have had a monument approved and erected at a courthouse in Florida. I hope those Atheists who claim atheism is not a view or belief set see the … [Read more...]
Atheists do believe God exists
June 21, 2013 by 79 Comments
Ordinarily I'd side with Atheists who would object to the Theist (Christians mostly) who would assert that the Atheist does in fact know God exists. Not because I think the accusation is wrong, but because telling someone what they believe is generally not a good starting point. Why would a … [Read more...]
Why is Bill Gates going to hell?
June 20, 2013 by 25 Comments
Why is Bill Gates going to hell? I have no idea and I don't even know that he is. But every once in a while you run across a graphic created by a critic of Christianity (and religion) which attempts to show why its soteriology doesn't make sense... or something. So whats the problem? Simple, no … [Read more...]
What are moral issues?
June 19, 2013 by 7 Comments
Regardless of one's worldview there needs to be a structure in place to identify and navigate through moral issues. I think most of us do this automatically -- our moral filters are already in place by the time we need them. After reflecting on this for the past day or so, I'm finding it … [Read more...]
Is the Christian doctrine of inerrancy derived from circular reasoning?
June 18, 2013 by 11 Comments
I pondered this quite some time ago and have no shame is presenting my own uncertainties to an audience. Inerrancy as I understand it can be summed up as: everything the Bible asserts to be true, is true. Of course this gets to the heart of the post. Inerrancy, at least on the surface, appears to … [Read more...]
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