Continued from part two… 11. Guilt by Association Ad Hominem In his BICS essay Nahm repeatedly characterizes criticisms of reincarnation research found among both skeptics and proponents of psychical research as the objections of (no doubt inherently untrustworthy) skeptics (which, therefore, evidently discredit themselves). For example, there’s no question that Paul Edwards‘ 1996 Reincarnation: A … Survival Researcher or Christian Apologist? Could You Tell the Difference? (Part 3 of 3)

Generally speaking, we distinguish the God of the philosophers from the particular Gods, say Hindu vs Christian, in that philosophers are interested in God or Gods insofar as they are knowable or can be demonstrated.  In this way God is usually understood in terms of abstract concept like omniscience and omnipresence rather that as having … The God Of The Philosophers And The Via Negativa

Continued from last time… 6. It’s Depressing, Therefore It’s False In my opening critique I quoted Dean Radin and co. stating: “Materialism tells us that there is no purpose to anything. When we die, we are forever extinguished, and our atoms are recycled into other purposeless creatures. Eventually, all the suns will burn out, the … Survival Researcher or Christian Apologist? Could You Tell the Difference? (Part 2 of 3)

One general rule of thumb of inquiry is that we don’t want arguments that depend on imputing emotional states on people,  because we have no real access to those.  As I said, this is a general rule, although the ancients viewed things differently.  One important background piece of philosophical information is that the ancients didn’t … Psychologizing Jesus

The origins of Christianity are inseparably linked to the Jewishness of Jesus and his relationship to the Jews of his time. Unless the picture is framed in this way, Christian origins are opaque. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine rightly points out Jesus was a lifelong observant Jew who didn’t want to abolish the law, but make it … Christian Origins: Afterword

Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.     — Bertrand Russell, “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish” (1943) In my critique of the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies (BICS) essay competition on the “best” evidence for life after death and my … Survival Researcher or Christian Apologist? Could You Tell the Difference? (Part 1 of 3)

The Harrowing of Hell, Petites Heures, 14th-century illuminated manuscript commissioned by John, Duke of Berry. So what did Jesus do between Good Friday and Easter? One old tradition is the Harrowing of Hell where Jesus descended to Hell and liberated the captives there. Christ’s descent into the world of the dead is referred to in … It’s Holy Saturday, So What Happened To Jesus Between Good Friday And Easter?

Regarding Good Friday, I’ve talked before of the well known point in academic New Testament studies that Jesus’ passion is basically a creative re-write of Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, so it’s questionable that there is any historical material in there. Our earliest detail of the crucifixion is from Paul that Christ died according to … Happy Easter: My Favorite Easter Joke

“Free the Springfield 2 Marge, free the Springfield 2!” In the previous 3 posts in this series I talked about brainwashing and indoctrination in (1) Religion: (a) Religion as Undue Influence (kiosk article) (b) Religion And Brainwashing (2) Sexuality: (2/2) Brainwashing and Indoctrination in Culture and Sexuality But if we are ethically compelled, as Foucault … Unhooking The Bra Of Mystery

For more on Jesus and satire (lampooning, exaggerating for effect, etc), please see my three Modern Library articles: The Justified Lie By Jesus In The Gospel Of John A Critique Of The Penal Substitution Interpretation Of The Cross Of Christ Jesus Mythicism And Penal Substitution ps: Also check out my other Christian Origins posts on … Jesus and Satire (2/2)