Heretical musings on religion and culture from a literary scholar
"Impact Apologetics" sells info products online on how to argue with Atheists. On the product description of one of their main products, "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist" (which comes in book, CD and MP3 formats) they have the following quote, which they claim is a Five Star review on Amazon.com from an Atheist: Having read quite a few Christian apologetics books, I feel I can say that this one is by far the ...
I went to Skepticon 5 expecting a group of heretics that would get a kick out of my inversed reading of Milton's Paradise Lost, which claims that Satan is the hero of the story (which was actually the mainstream reading before it became the "mistaken reading", and is now coming into vogue again by top Milton scholars). I was surprised to find that Satan makes atheists uncomfortable. Atheists already have a huge image/perception problem, with the ...
Oops, it's 2:56AM here in Taiwan and I was just reminded that September 30th is International Blasphemy Day. Luckily, since most of the world is half a day behind, I still have time. I decided to celebrate by dusting off this post about Emily Dickinson I've been meaning to publish for about a year. It vexes me to see Christians and other religious people quote Emily Dickinson's Poetry in support of their faith, when she spent ...
An online review posted about Disney's 2012 John Carter of Earth movie runs thus: "John Carter evokes pretty much every sci-fi classic from the past 50 years without having any real personality of its own." The essential thing to keep in mind, however, is that Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars was first published almost a century ago in 1917! Science fiction and fantasy novels and stories since then are deeply indebted to John Carter. Others ...
Scenario ONE: A technologically advanced alien race attacks the earth. It wants to brand and kidnap humans to be used as slaves on their home planet. Anyone who refuses is destroyed. The aliens are very powerful and ruthless. Rather than simply kill those who rebel, they punish them by inflicting torturous pain, loss and suffering. However for those that agree to become slaves, the aliens' technology can extend your life for a very long time. Your ...
There was an interesting article awhile ago by Stephanie Pappas at LiveScience.com about a study done at Harvard university on how/why people believe. They concluded that more religious people - those more likely to go to Church - are more intuitive thinkers, and more likely to trust their "gut" rather than stop and think about the questions. ResearcherAmitai Shenhav said in a statement, "Some say we believe in God because our intuitions about how and why things ...
"Penn Jillette is a twenty-first-century Lord of Misrule: big, boisterously anarchic, funny, Rabelaisian, impossible and unique. There isn't--couldn't be--better not be--anybody like him." --RICHARD DAWKINS, bestselling author of The Greatest Show on Earth and The God Delusion So begins the hype over Penn Jillette's new book "God, no! Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales." I just saw Penn on a TV interview and the kindle version of his book will be delivered ...
Because I am anti-religious and speak out against the fallacy of Christendom, many people accuse me of being many things that I am not. Generally, Christians usurp everything positive as being under the umbrella of Christianity. So when I say I am "Anti-Christian", they hear, "anti-morality, anti-kindness and goodness, anti-wanting to be a better person, anti-inspiration, anti-joy, anti-love, and anti-hope". And actually, I'm not against any of those. In fact I'm a passionate believer in and ...
I've come across this fascinating list on The Divining Blog: "25 myths about religions around the world." A list like this, debunking common misconceptions about religions, is much needed - but the list from the Divining Blog mixes some blatantly obvious truths with some much more subtle. It should really be called "25 silly things Christians believe about religion that aren't true." I would go so far, in some cases, as to argue in favor of ...
When I first heard about Richard Dawkins’ “out” campaign I thought it was a joke. Dawkins and others secular leaders are encouraging atheists to “reveal” themselves and “come out” to their families and neighbors. “Atheism is the new gay” I thought, without fully understanding all that this implied. More recently I had the opportunity to experience anti-ungodly prejudice first hand when I was applying for an English teaching position at a private university in Taiwan. It ...
I'm up late, procrastinating, Greek class tomorrow morning. Enjoy.
This is a combination of a few posts, which seeks unsuccessfully to grapple with my non-religious-identifier. I know many of you probably have strong opinions on the subject, so please leave your comments. What does it mean to be an Atheist? I don't know. Although I'm aware of the contemporary movement known as "New Atheism", I'm also aware that there is some discussion about what the word itself actually means. Some stick to a straight dictionary ...
If you're interested in religious mythology, astrological symbolism, or supernatural folklore, grab my book Gods of Myth and Man. You can go buy it on Amazon.
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