I’m not always comfortable being publicly identified as an atheist. The label is accurate enough; I don’t think that any God or other supernatural entities exist. But the word “atheist” has other connotations as well, and I don’t always want to take them on board or fight against them. For example, in a piece in … Being identified as an atheist

A student I ran into recently told me that I, along with his roommate, was the reason he became an atheist. Apparently when in a questioning period, he went to a panel discussion on campus where I represented a godless infidel perspective, and this helped tip the balance. Now, I don’t want to exaggerate my … Changing minds

One consistent theme in my writing about science and religion is that there is an awful lot of randomness in the world, and that supernatural beliefs typically deny this randomness. Here’s a discussion of some recent psychological research that connects nicely. Religiosity is often associated with an inability to accept randomness. I should probably add … Religion as an inability to handle randomness

It’s not exactly new, but I just ran into Gogol Bordello’s song “Supertheory of Supereverything.” Enjoy it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOWx5G76pkU Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)

Well, I’m still here. It also occurs to me that I would have very little opportunity for direct evidence of the Rapture a day after the promised date. I don’t have many friends or colleagues who would be good candidates for being taken up in the air. Maybe if I were to go down to … Unraptured

I want to pull something Keith Parsons just said from out of the comments, since it ties in nicely with some questions prompted by one of the books I’m currently reading. Keith said: . . . collapsing the fact/value distinction does not need neuroscience; it goes back to Aristotle. Really, the idea that there is … It worked for Aquinas, but would it work for us?

All too often, I succumb to the temptation to think that America’s Founding Fathers (peace be upon them) were merely human. I entertain heretical thoughts, such as our Holy Constitution being a superannuated eighteenth century relic. In my darkness of unbelief, I imagine that important parts of the Holy Constitution are structurally antidemocratic, and I … America’s Clairvoyant Founders

I regularly gripe about Sam Harris here. When I’ve had more lengthy pieces to write, I’ve written against his ignorant approach to Islam, and expressed ambivalence about those aspects of the “New Atheism” associated with Harris. But if I’m going to keep griping, it might not be a bad idea to rehash specifically why I … What is wrong with Sam Harris

Historian Jackson Lears has a damning review of all Sam Harris’s books in The Nation magazine: “Same Old New Atheism: On Sam Harris.” It’s not a perfect takedown. Lears can’t resist reaching into the liberal religious apologetic bag of tricks (oh, he’s not addressing real religion, which is the more sophisticated and more experiential stuff), … Lears reviews Harris