Category Archives: Religion

Georges Lemaître & Naturalism as History

Throughout the history of science, the naturalistic turn of mind has been to look for a history for physical stuff. And the supernaturalistic turn of mind has been the opposite. Plato famously excluded a history for the world by postulating … Continue reading

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Fallacies of the Naive Observer

Today I’m going to discuss a fallacy common to observers of the physical world (people like us), one which has significant practical importance. I call it the naive observer fallacy, and it goes something like this. (1) Observers bring biases … Continue reading

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Naturalism and Knowledge

We are living at the crossroads between supernaturalism and naturalism: the world is gradually abandoning the first for the second. Conservative Christians like to say there is a culture war going on, and there is. But it has more than … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Naturalism, State & Church, Supernaturalism | 2 Comments

Secular Solemnizing Statement

Atheists don’t do invocations or prayers. We recite no magic words, beseech no deities, invoke no figments of imagination for public worship. But this doesn’t mean that atheists are incapable of language of the sort appropriate (according to SCOTUS) to … Continue reading

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An Aura of Ownership

The purpose of solemnizing prayer before a legislative session is to create an aura of ownership over the proceedings which follow. Five Catholics on the Supreme Court find that permissible. Although bringing church to work feels wholly comfortable to the … Continue reading

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Absurd Conversation

Two self-styled atheists and a Christian engaged in conversation. Their names were A, J and T. It went something like this. J – Life is absurd. T – No. It follows God’s plan. J – Then it’s an absurd plan. … Continue reading

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Disembodied intelligence and the natural worldview

Roughly speaking, there are two ways of looking at the “big picture” of life, two basic worldviews—which we commonly call the natural and the supernatural. At first glance the difference seems clear. One says everything that exists is natural, the other … Continue reading

Posted in Atheology, Naturalism, Supernaturalism | 3 Comments

Death of the Caliphate

His life ended with the kind of brief episode of terror he had schemed for thousands of others. To call up a Biblical phrase he might have appreciated, you reap what you sow. He sowed terrorism, but what Osama bin … Continue reading

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Women and Patriarchy

Dear Atheology Readers, I am honored to have been invited by Dwight to write a post on atheology.com. Raised by Fundamentalist parents in the Bible Belt, I am excited to share some of my thoughts on why women join—and leave—fundamentalist … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Feminism, Patriarchy | 4 Comments

Hector Avalos – Six Anti-Secularist Themes

There’s a great article by Hector Avalos over at debunkingchristianity which I heartily recommend. Dr. Avalos is a professor of Biblical Studies at Iowa State University and the targets of his post are six rhetorical devices commonly used by “religionist” … Continue reading

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