society & culture

Patheos Evangelical Blogger Rebecca Florence Miller Stands Up for Atheist Civil Rights

Rebecca Florence Miller, an Evangelical Christian and a fellow Patheos blogger, recently stood up for atheists in a big way on her blog. Here are some notable excerpts: I came away from this conversation challenged that I need to do more to stand up for the rights of atheists (and those of other religions) here Patheos Evangelical Blogger Rebecca Florence Miller Stands Up for Atheist Civil Rights

GOP Creationist Believes in Evolution Within Phyla

Check this out: rawstory.com/rs/2014/11/gop-lawmaker-claims-evolution-doesnt-square-with-facts-big-or-little-dogs-are-still-dogs/#.VFqEGyIxkoU.email In addition to the usual nonsense, there is something interesting here. This guy says he believes in evolution up to a point, that is, within a phylum. Creationists all along have endorsed evolution within “kinds,” whatever those are. Supposing that this guy knows what a phylum is, he seems to extend GOP Creationist Believes in Evolution Within Phyla

Why be Skeptical? Reason #1

In a previous post I put forward seven reasons why we should be skeptical (Reason For Skepticism #7 is in the comments section).  In this post I’m going to provide some facts and data in support of Reason For Skepticism #1: (RFS1) People are often dishonest, deceptive, or have been deceived by others. Here is Why be Skeptical? Reason #1

The End of PoR – Part 1

“The End of PoR” is intentionally ambiguous. It could mean the death or cessation of philosophy of religion, or it could mean the purpose of philosophy of religion. But I will not discuss the purpose of PoR in this particular post. I just have one brief point to make. The death of PoR as a The End of PoR – Part 1

Arrogant Atheists?

This is more than two months old, but I still think this is interesting. What’s interesting to me is that, according to these survey results, there is a certain symmetry between, on the one hand, theistic stereotypes about atheists, and, on the other hand, atheistic stereotypes about theists.   Dominant Theistic View Dominant Atheistic View Arrogant Atheists?

An Astonishingly Bad Argument against Gay Marriage

Over at The Christian Post, General Jerry Ralph Curry gives an astonishingly bad argument against gay marriage. Should SCOTUS actually declare homosexuality a civil right, it logically follows that polygamy, pedophilia and bestiality would one day also be declared a civil right by the Court. In spite of society’s thirst for more modernism, inclusiveness and diversity, who An Astonishingly Bad Argument against Gay Marriage

If Theistic Belief Caused Gay Sex, Would There Be More Atheists?

I’ve been reading the reactions to the pair of SCOTUS rulings on gay marriage by religious conservatives. If you agree with these authors, the SCOTUS rulings mean “the end of marriage” and a number of other doomsday predictions for this modern jurisprudence apocalypse. This got me wondering. In light of how gay marriage (and homosexuality If Theistic Belief Caused Gay Sex, Would There Be More Atheists?