Author Archives: Dwight

Thoughts & Trees

Posted on April 14, 2007 by Dwight

In God & Rocks I wrote, Even if we concede the doubtful proposition that God can think thoughts, those thoughts can’t get anything done. And we all know this. A thought of a tree can’t bring an actual tree into … Continue reading →

Posted in Naturalism, Non-Existence Arguments | 1 Comment

God & Rocks

Posted on April 13, 2007 by Dwight

Given that He is all-powerful, can God create a rock so heavy even He can’t lift it? Theologians have puzzled over this particular nugget for centuries. The general consensus has been that God can’t do anything which involves logical contradiction, … Continue reading →

Posted in Non-Existence Arguments | 3 Comments

Bad Faith

Posted on April 6, 2007 by Dwight

Reliance on faith demonstrates bad faith on the part of the faithful. What makes reliance on faith “bad”? It’s bad, I would say, because it is intellectually dishonest. But what makes reliance on faith dishonest? If the way we determine … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles Highlighted, Faith & Reason | 1 Comment

CS Lewis’ Moral Argument

Posted on March 29, 2007 by Dwight

In Mere Christianity, C S Lewis wrote: If a good God made the world why has it gone wrong? And for many years I simply refused to listen to the Christian answers to this question, because I kept on feeling … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics & Morality, Moral | 41 Comments

Five Revelations

Posted on March 26, 2007 by Dwight

I became an atheist through the back door, as explained elsewhere. It wasn’t until after I had been godless for several years that I began to discover the usual arguments that, for most non-believers, led to atheism. It was only … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Faith & Reason, Prayer, Religion, Unsacred Texts | 3 Comments

The Key to Happiness

Posted on March 16, 2007 by Dwight

The key to happiness is discovering—and reconciling with—the fact that we are not minds. If you grow up in a Christian culture this is the most important mental health lesson you must learn, and if you haven’t yet than you … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles Highlighted, Atheist Culture, Naturalism | 2 Comments

Seeing Red – Understanding Consciousness

Posted on February 25, 2007 by Dwight

An article by John Searle (“Minding the Brain”) in the Nov 2, 2006 edition of The New York Review of Books shows how confused most of us (including philosophers & scientists) are about something as everyday as vision. Searle reviewed … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheology, Naturalism, Simulacrum | Comments Off on Seeing Red – Understanding Consciousness

Atheism as the Defense of Naturalism

Posted on October 19, 2006 by Dwight

In general, types of atheism match types of gods. For example we often hear about “weak” versus “strong” atheism. While the strong atheist asserts that there is no God, the weak atheist claims only that there is insufficient evidence to … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles Highlighted, Atheist Culture | 1 Comment

Zeno & Infinity

Posted on September 19, 2006 by Dwight

Pivotal moments in one’s intellectual development come unexpectedly. For me the key moment arrived in 9th grade English class when Miss Blumenstock gave a brief run-down of Zeno’s “theory of motion” [see footnote] and asked us to write a paper … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmological, Existence Arguments, Naturalism | Comments Off on Zeno & Infinity

Theism’s Rose-Colored Glasses

Posted on August 13, 2006 by Dwight

Atheists often find it difficult to understand why theists continue to believe in God despite lack of evidence and the nearly insurmountable problem of evil. But the theist position isn’t difficult to understand once we recognize that the divide between … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmological, Existence Arguments, Non-Existence Arguments | Comments Off on Theism’s Rose-Colored Glasses