On Scepticism

It is not uncommon for discussions (or shouting matches, whichever the case may be) between creationists and scientists (yes, the two are mutually exclusive) to be characterized by both parties having a substantial amount of skepticism of the other party's position. That said, the character or degree of the skepticism of these parties is very much different, and I think that degree of difference merits being discussed.

Where is the Graveyard of Dead Gods?

"Memorial Service" by H. L. Mencken. Published 1922.

Where is the grave-yard of dead gods? What lingering mourner waters their mounds? There was a day when Jupiter was the king of the gods, and any man who doubted his puissance was ipso facto a barbarian and an ignoramus. But where in all the world is there a man who worships Jupiter to-day? And what of Huitzilopochtli? In one year - and it is no more than five hundred years ago - 50,000 youths and maidens were slain in sacrifice to him. Today, if he is remembered at all, it is only by some vagrant savage in the depths of the Mexican forest. Huitzilopochtli, like many other gods, had no human father; his mother was a virtuous widow; he was born of an apparently innocent flirtation that she carried on with the sun. When he frowned, his father, the sun, stood still. When he roared with rage, earthquakes engulfed whole cities. When he thirsted he was watered with 10,000 gallons of human blood. But today [in 1922] Huitzilopochtli is as magnificently forgotten as Allen G. Thurman. Once the peer of Allah, Buddha, and Wotan, he is now the peer of General Coxey, Richmond P. Hobson, Nan Petterson, Alton B. Parker, Adelina Patti, General Weyler, and Tom Sharkey.

Sunday Sermon: Christianity - An Abusive Relationship

It is quite common for Christians to maintain that Yhwh is a benevolent deity, who loves humans to such an extent that he wants a special, personal relationship with each one of them. While I'll admit that - at first glance - the idea of being held in such high regard by an omnipotent being seems absolutely wonderful, I would argue that this relationship is not all that it's cracked up to be, and is actually outright harmful. To illustrate, let's take a moment to consider the following scenario:

Sunday Sermon: Faith Even Smaller Than Mustard Seeds

As an Anti-theist (technically I'm an Ignostic, but I can scarily imagine a deity - as the term is commonly understood - or religious faith that I would not be strongly opposed to people believing) it is very easy to pick on the Old Testament when dealing with Christianity. Even many Christians deny the Old Testament, choosing instead to claim that "Jesus changed all that". Frankly, as Yhwh is the supreme being in both testaments, I doubt that a Christian could reasonably deny the Old Testament without committing blasphemy.

That said, for this Sunday Sermon, I will set aside my objections to the rejection of the Old Testament, and assume that Jesus really did change many of the Old Testament teachings. Instead I will focus solely on the New Testament. What's more - to sidestep some Christians' objections to the writings of Paul - I will focus solely on the words of Jesus, as reported in the Gospels.

David Hume on "Intelligent Design"

I am currently reading David Hume's (1711-1776) book, "An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. In Chapter 11 (pages 135-139) of his book, he makes an argument (put into the mouth of a friend of his) regarding just how much a rational argument could support, regarding the existence and character of a deity. Because the argument sounds very much like a counter to today's "Intelligent Design" crowd who want the creation of the universe by a deity to be taught as a valid scientific theory, I would like to relate the argument for you.

Sunday Sermon: "Just an Animal".

I encountered a fellow recently who - in the course of conversation - routinely said "If man is just an animal... [we would have no reason to be moral... we would be purely driven by instinct... etc etc]." If you've heard a claim that starts with "If man is just an animal..." that claim was probably made in this conversation. He built on this argument by claiming that - since humans are not as he claimed we would be if we were "just an animal" - we must therefore have a god-given, immortal soul that makes us unlike everything else in the universe. I'd like to take a moment to take issue with that claim.

Christopher Hitchens on Miracles

Christopher Hitchens destroys the claims of biblical miracles in less than 3 1/2 minutes.