Author Archives: Dwight

Ingersoll’s Birthday

Robert Green Ingersoll, one of the most famous progressives of the 19th century, was born August 11, 1833. Following in the tradition of Paine & Jefferson, Ingersoll spent his life as an advocate for progressive causes, becoming arguably America’s greatest … Continue reading

Posted in Atheist Culture, Freethinkers, Ingersoll | Comments Off on Ingersoll’s Birthday

Intro to Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274) sought to find a workable fusion of Aristotle and the Church; nonetheless he strongly objected to Plato’s formulation of man as strictly a thinker and the Platonic abandonment of matter. In particular, Plato’s program consisted … Continue reading

Posted in Existence Arguments, Naturalism, Non-Existence Arguments, Theologians | Comments Off on Intro to Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas and the 2nd Way

I was first exposed to Aquinas’ 5 proofs of God’s existence as a college freshman — a strongly religious theistic freshman, at that — yet immediately I saw that his proofs were flawed. They didn’t work to prove God at … Continue reading

Posted in Cosmological, Existence Arguments, Non-Existence Arguments | 4 Comments

God’s Physical Problem

In the Warren-Flew Debate* on God’s existence, which took place in the North Texas State University Coliseum from Sept 20 to 23, 1976, Anthony Flew identified 4 ways in which the existence of a postulated being might be challenged. The … Continue reading

Posted in Articles Highlighted, Debates, Naturalism, Non-Existence Arguments | 8 Comments

Atheism & Morals

In 1966 the Christian philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre gave a lecture at Columbia University called “Atheism and Morals” (later published in a book titled, The Religious Significance of Atheism, Columbia University Press, 1969) which is remarkable for laying out in clear … Continue reading

Posted in Articles Highlighted, Ethics & Morality | 6 Comments

Beyond Atheism

Atheism is only the glitter on the surface of the sea of naturalism. Has the time come for atheists to dive below the surface and explore the depths? Let’s face it, denying God’s existence draws the attention — negatively, of … Continue reading

Posted in Articles Highlighted, Atheist Culture, Naturalism | 6 Comments

Two Types of Knowing

If the world outside of our thoughts was of the same essence as the world of our thoughts, there would be only one kind of knowing. Yet philosophers have long recognized that knowing comes in two distinct varieties. There is … Continue reading

Posted in Articles Highlighted, Meaning & Value, Naturalism, Non-Existence Arguments | 1 Comment

Mind, Matter & Divine Creation

Perhaps the greatest challenge to a naturalistic worldview is explaining consciousness. This difficulty has several aspects. How did experiencing and consciousness evolve? For that matter why would it have evolved? But more troublesome than the evolutionary question is the basic … Continue reading

Posted in Articles Highlighted, Naturalism, Non-Existence Arguments | 2 Comments

esli Boga net — znachit, vsio pozvoleno

While attempting to track down exact wording and attribution for Dostoevsky’s famous phrase, “If God does not exist, everything is permitted” — which supposedly was uttered by Ivan Karamazov in Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov, I discovered David Cortesi’s assertion … Continue reading

Posted in Ethics & Morality | Comments Off on esli Boga net — znachit, vsio pozvoleno

Christian ‘BattleCry’ to save America’s Soul

Sunsara Taylor reports on a recent BattleCry rally of 17,000 young people in Philadelphia. BattleCry is Ron Luce’s effort to engage young Christians in order to return the United States to “Christian” values. Taylor reports, ‘A featured speaker, Franklin Graham, … Continue reading

Posted in Bush Wars, Christinsanity, State & Church | 2 Comments