society & culture

If You Think Atheists Should Ridicule Theistic Beliefs, Read This

This is a paper I started writing almost ten years ago, but never finished. Atheistic Advocacy as a Risk Communication Problem Jeffery Jay Lowder Abstract. In this paper, I introduce a new way of thinking about atheistic advocacy. In an important sense, atheism is a risk. Therefore, attempts to argue either for the truth of … If You Think Atheists Should Ridicule Theistic Beliefs, Read This

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