In the shadow of a terrible loss, when knowledge was more painful than consoling, Thomas Huxley wrote a testament to intellectual integrity.
agnosticism
Posted inMeaning & Purpose
21 reasons why God is unconvincing to atheists
Reading Time: 9 minutes 1. God as an old white man in the sky is unconvincing. Depictions of God as a human-like (called ‘anthropo-morphism’ = in human form), both in physical shape and in emotional dispositions, have been considered incredible since ancient times. Rendering God as a male humanoid replete with human emotions, even the bad emotions like anger and envy and […]
Posted inThe Secular
The challenge of being an agnostic chaplain in the US government
Reading Time: 5 minutes I remember the first time I saw the enemy. They weren’t anything like what I expected. I think I was picturing an Al-Qaeda version of a Navy SEAL, bulging muscles, armed to the teeth, all-around intimidating warfighters. But what I saw were young men hardly old enough to grow a beard, with a skinny physique and wearing […]
Posted inResearch
Maybe religion isn’t dying, but it’s definitely not well
Reading Time: 6 minutes In their recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Byron R. Johnson and Jeff Levin, referring to a paper they recently published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion (IJRR), argue that religiosity is not declining in the US but rather, “Americans are becoming more religious, and religious institutions are thriving.” This claim is incredible in […]
Posted inThe Secular
Go ahead, ask any schoolkid to name just one historical heretic
Reading Time: 4 minutes Quick! When in your American schooling up to higher education did you ever learn about the rich, global history of religious skepticism? “Never” is the correct answer. You might have been taught a thin sprinkling of heresy, perhaps, glancing for a moment on the lurid burnings of medieval Christian skeptics by the feared Inquisition, or […]
Posted inPolitics
Welcome to my world. Our world.
Reading Time: 5 minutes So you’ve heard? We’ve moved. Some of us have set up residency for the first time. And we haven’t just moved, we’ve upgraded. Built up. Built down. Spread sideways. Reached inwards. Stretched outwards. Invested. Predicted and future-proofed. Designed. Tested. Improved. Fortified. And now we’re shouting about it. All of this and more we will continue […]
Posted inHistory, The Secular
From Committed Pastor to Academia to Atheism to Agnosticism
Reading Time: 3 minutes Dr Joshua Bowen is a fascinating guy. He’s awesome for a bunch of reasons. First, he has agreed to write the foreword to my forthcoming book (with archaeologist Rebecca Bradley) on the Exodus. Second, he is just a really nice guy. Third, with his wife Megan Lewis, he has a brilliant YouTube channel, Digital Hammurabi. Fourth, […]
Posted inThe Secular
Indiana council’s policy infers only religion can ‘solemnize’ government
Reading Time: 4 minutes Yet another local American government body disallows nontheist invocations at public meetings. It’s a prejudice with a long pedigree in Western history from the Christian era.
Posted inCartoons, General
Todd in the House
Reading Time: < 1 minute Todd’s a peculiar deity. Perhaps he is capricious narcissist or perhaps he is merely a trick of the light. Books! Support on Patreon! […]
Posted inBooks, Cartoons, Comedy
Freedom from religion doesn’t mean freedom from mirth
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Freedom from Religion Foundation has just published a book of cartoons by a celebrated cartoonist. It promises to be seriously funny.