K-Dog said…How many premises are there in your argument, jeesh? Are you aware that even if there are only 5 premises in your argument, and we grant them an .8 likelihood, that your conclusion is only .33 likely to be true! I am guessing that your argument is even longer though which makes it all … Skepticism and the Multiplication of Probabilities – Part 1

If I believed in a god, and one with a sense of humor, I would think she had a big chuckle over timing the South Carolina Republican primary for the same week the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Day. On May 2, 2000, South Carolina became the last state to make King’s birthday an official … Martin Luther King and the Republican Race For Righteousness

Christianity and many other religions are sometimes described by category, rather than by denomination, as conservative, liberal or cultural. To that, I would add a fourth category: political Christian, i.e. a candidate for public office who feels the need to profess deeply held Christian beliefs. In my home state of South Carolina, Governor Nikki Haley … How Would Jesus Vote? Christian Politics in the State Of Lost Causes

No. Christmas officially became a secular holiday on June 28, 1870. That’s when President Ulysses S. Grant declared December 25 a legal holiday, along with January 1, July 4, and a day to be determined for Thanksgiving. We were founded as a secular country under a godless Constitution (no mention of God or Jesus), where … Has Christmas become too secular?

Should non-believers celebrate a secular version of Christmas as a sort of winter holiday? According to Tom Flynn, the answer is “no.” If you haven’t heard of Flynn, he is the Executive Director of the Council for Secular Humanism, editor of Free Inquiry, and the author of The Trouble with Christmas. (As Flynn points out, his … Tom Flynn, the Anti-Claus

I once believed in miracles because my parents told me they were true, but even then I recognized that all miracles were not created equal. The Hanukkah miracle of a light burning for eight days instead of just one paled in comparison to the Pesach miracle, when a God decided to “pass-over” the houses of … Finding Reason in the Season

This is an interesting article that I find largely congenial: I do wonder what the authors mean by “humility,” which is an attitude they recommend for both believers and non-believers. Humility is a Christian virtue, and it has its positives and negatives. On the positive side, a dose of humility can be a fine corrective … Religious Minimalism

As the end-of-the-year approaches, now is a great time to consider making a charitable donation to support the Internet Infidels and The Secular Web. Hundreds of scholarly authors and other writers have donated time and effort to make their insights freely available and easily accessible to all by publishing on the Secular Web. Behind the … Please Support the Internet Infidels and the Secular Web

Five years ago I wrote two satirical pieces: “How to Be a Christian Apologist” and “How to Be an Atheist Apologist.” I’m now inspired to write part 2. 11. Corollary to #2: Assume that all atheist biblical scholars are credible because they have no agenda, but zero Christian biblical scholars are credible because they do have … How to Be an Atheist Apologist, Part 2