The Secular Frontier

Justice Samuel Alito spoke candidly about the ideological battle between the left and the right — discussing the difficulty of living “peacefully” with ideological opponents in the face of “fundamental” differences that “can’t be compromised.” He endorsed what his interlocutor described as a necessary fight to “return our country to a place of godliness.” And Alito offered a blunt assessment of how America’s polarization will ultimately be resolved: “One side or the other is going to win.” See RS article here. ... Read Article

If you haven't checked them out yet, do take a look at Freethinker Podcast and the Internet Infidels Discussion Board Here is a great sample podcast where our Vice President Edouard Tahmizian Interviews renowned Biblical Studies scholars Prof Dennis R MacDonald and Prof Robyn Faith Walsh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avol8ce6L9g ... Read Article

Many people believe that religion makes people morally good, happy, and mentally healthy, but I'm not so sure. Obviously, there are some very good, very happy, and mentally healthy atheists and non-religious people, and there are also some very bad, very miserable, and seriously mentally ill religious people. The same can be said of Christians in particular: there are some very bad, very miserable, and seriously mentally ill Christians. Religion does NOT guarantee moral goodness, happiness, and mental health, and Christianity does NOT guarantee them either. Nevertheless, many would claim that religion in general, or Christianity in particular, makes a significant difference in the lives of many people, helping them to be morally good, happy, and mentally healthy. I don't think so. I doubt this common belief. In any case, there is quite a bit of evidence that points in a different direction. I think it is helpful to look at religion and Christianity in terms of both TIME and SPACE, to dete ... Read Article

Saint John the Baptist, a 1540 painting by Titian Prof James McGrath's new books in John the Baptist are coming out soon and he has done 3 guest posts about them on Bart Ehrman's blog. But did Jesus know John the Baptist? Certainly, John baptizing Jesus and Jesus claiming John was greater than he was hardly seems to be something the early Christians would have invented out of whole cloth. Or is there more to be said here? I will be addressing this issue and many others in my second Robyn Faith Walsh reader response - coming soon! ... Read Article

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4e2Ot46SJM&t ... Read Article

So, I have a new essay out - part 1 of three on Robyn Faith Walsh. Check it out: Gospels, Classics, and the Erasure of the Community: A Critical Review Testing the Hypothesis of Robyn Faith Walsh’s The Origins of Early Christian Literature, Part A Part A: Jesus in the Light of Greco-Roman Philosophy and Highly Sophisticated Engagement with the Old Testament ... Read Article

A DILEMMA IMPLIES THERE ARE ONLY TWO KINDS OF SKEPTICAL THEORIES When Christian apologists discuss skeptical theories about the alleged resurrection of Jesus, they often think in terms of an old dilemma between the disciples of Jesus being either DECEIVED or DECEIVERS. According to Christian apologists, Jesus' eleven remaining disciples (the twelve minus Judas Iscariot) all proclaimed that Jesus had physically risen from the dead after he had died on the cross. So, if Jesus had NOT physically risen from the dead, then either the eleven disciples had been DECEIVED into sincerely but mistakenly believing that Jesus had risen from the dead OR the eleven disciples were DECEIVERS who did not believe that Jesus had actually risen from the dead but who lied to others and falsely claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. This dilemma between being DECEIVED or being DECEIVERS indicates that skeptical theories about the alleged resurrection of Jesus can all be divided into these two categories. One common ske ... Read Article

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12bU6BFsStU Sufficiently advanced aliens would be able to capture vast quantities of energy from their star using a massive structure called a Dyson sphere. Such a device would give off an infrared heat signature - and astronomers have just spotted 60 stars that seem to match. See the article HERE. ... Read Article

The argument seems to be they should be allowed to have the jets because they really enjoy using them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWt5PJhCmmg ... Read Article

One of the slam dunks scholars as diverse as Bart Ehrman and John Loftus name against the existence of the Christian God is the problem of horrendous suffering, for surely the world is not reflective of a powerful, loving God. If there is such a God, why are 3 year-olds dying of cancer? In reality though, this is not the trump card many think it is. Apologist Michael Coren suggests that Christians are perfectly aware of this issue and that the real trump card is that Justice is promised in the next life, not this one. We see this, for instance, with the parable of the non repentant (while he was alive) rich man and his family and Lazarus in Luke's gospel. We read, for instance, The Rich Man and Lazarus 19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick ... Read Article

The "not religiously affiliated" group is now a large societal group, although strict atheism is not yet surging. See article HERE. ... Read Article

Hypatia was an ancient female philosopher who taught neoplatonism. Though she saw rationality in the universe that was in some sense divine, she did not ascribe to any particular god and welcomed students of all backgrounds to her school. See the 5 minute video here to learn about Hypatia and how she was brutally murdered by Christians. via Aeon ... Read Article

Check out this week's Misquoting Jesus podcast to see why Bart thinks Jesus was left on the cross to be food for the birds! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BXmyB6OT30 ... Read Article

I come from the Continental Philosophy tradition and this professor's sentiments are mine as well: ... Read Article