There’s a possibly interesting academic book coming out, I don’t know when, called Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal. Since I’m rather ambivalent about the New Atheists, and have some serious misgivings about Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens especially, I contributed a chapter. It’s called “The Return of Faith”; if you want to … Critics of the New Atheists

Enough about Jesus. Let’s get back to God and Mr. Dawkins. Since Part 5 was posted about eight months ago, I will review some key points from previous installments to get back into the Dawkins groove. In Chapter 2 of The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins gives an argument for atheism. The argument is a chain … An Argument for Atheism – Part 6

Most devout Muslims today are in favor of science, and often even philosophy. If you press further, you may run into qualifications: it isn’t supposed to be “materialist science,” certain sciences such as evolutionary biology might be tainted, etc. etc. But at least rhetorically, most affirm science. And then there are the Wahhabis and other … Wahhabi madness

A common theme in conservative apologetics is that atheists fundamentally disbelieve as an act of rebellion. Infidels don’t have any real reason to doubt, god forbid, so there must be some psychological pathology or moral depravity behind it all. There is some point to this accusation, I suppose. The conservative Christian or Muslim God often … Rebellious spirits

I worry that there are people in this world who actually believe stuff like this.

Examiner.com has an interview with Russell Blackford and Udo Schuklenk, editors of the forthcoming 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists. It’s an interesting interview, particularly where Blackford and Schuklenk, bioethicists, express frustration at religious influence on their domain. The book (coming in October) should be very interesting as well. (Disclaimer: I contributed one … Blackford and Schuklenk interview

So far I’ve spent about half of my life in the US, half in Turkey. The populations of both countries are insane. That is, the vast majority in both countries are too fond of religious and nationalist forms of enthusiasm for my taste. Sometimes, though, I really don’t know how to respond to a particular … A reality TV show someone should watch (not me)

Here, as a public service, is a summary of every single book on the state of Islam ever written by a devout Muslim in modern times: The Muslim world is in crisis. But none of this indicates any fault with my version of Islam, which in its core precepts is divine and perfect. Muslims, however, … Summary of every book on the state of Islam written by a Muslim

I was in Europe earlier this month, adding to the list of Gothic cathedrals I’ve visited. I like the stained glass windows the best. Here is a small sample: a window from Chartres, a detail from Bourges, and a single pane from Bern: You’ll notice I especially like the hell or judgment themed ones. Most … Stained glass

Freedom is to act as one’s real and true nature demands and so only the true exercise of that choice which is of what is good can properly be called ‘free choice’. A choice for the better is therefore an act of freedom . . . Whereas a choice for the worse is not a … Freedom