Jesus' death was not only foretold, but depicted as a necessary step in God's plan for humanity. There was never any choice in the matter - Jesus didn't choose to take on this task and didn't choose to die. It was God's will, not his own, that all of this happen. This is the essence of the 'good news' of Christianity: if God wants you to suffer horribly and die for the sake of some greater cause that you'll never be able to understand, then that's exactly what you are going to do.

Read Article: Death of Jesus (Mark 15:33-41)

Perhaps the most basic reason for not believing in any gods is the absence of good reasons for doing so. Since the burden of support lies first and foremost with those making the positive the claim — the theistic, religious believers who say their god exists — non-believers don't need reasons not to believe. They may help, but they aren't particularly necessary. Instead, what is required are reasons to believe.

 

Read Article: No Reason to Believe in Gods: Without Good Reasons, Belief is Impossible

One of the complaints which many liberal and moderate religious theists make about so-called "new" atheists is that they engage in too much blunt confrontation. Even some atheists argue that atheists should be working more towards polite accommodation with religious believers rather than directly challenging, denying, and arguing against beliefs, practices, and traditions we disagree with.

What tends to get missed in all this is the fact that, traditionally at least, religious believers themselves have never actually held this as a value for themselves. Religious believers -- and Christians in particular -- have throughout history not shied away from direct confrontation and arguments with other believers, whether they be other Christians or adherents of other religions. This is just how things work in politics, science, philosophy, economics, and pretty much every other sphere of human endeavor, so it's not the least bit surprising or problematic.

So what changed? How and why did some believers suddenly get the idea that atheists have an obligation to avoid blunt confrontation in favor of polite accommodation? Read more...

It can be difficult for extremists on the Christian Right to convince everyone else that their desire to discriminate against gays, women, atheists, and sundry non-Christians is justified or appropriate in America. The "American Way" is supposed to be freedom and equality, not privilege and discrimination. This means that the best tactic for convincing others that discrimination and oppression are necessary is to convince them that it's somehow to preserve freedom. It's an Orwellian tactic to get people to believe that War is Peace in this manner, but it can be amazingly persuasive if framed correctly.

Read Article: Godless Sodomites are Enemies of Christianity & the Bible: Christians' Religious Liberty Threatened by Godless Sodomites

Politics in America is a very religious affair: religion infuses politics to a degree not found in most other industrialized nations of the West. The label godless, and especially godless liberal, are epithets to be avoided. The truth is that there is nothing about being a godless liberal or having a secular democracy which is incompatible with the basic political values of America: individual rights, religious liberty, and personal autonomy.

 

Read Article: Godless Liberalism, Godless Liberals, and Godless Politics

Can you get a good education without being Christian? Can you be a moral person without being a Christian? These should be ridiculous questions that couldn't possibly be answered in the negative, but apparently some Christians sincerely believe that only their religion will make morality and good education possible. The quality of their arguments, though, only helps demonstrate that they are the ones in need of some education -- specifically, education about basic logic, fallacies, and how to construct an argument. Read more...

A number of governments in the United States have had religious mottoes. The motto of the state of Ohio, for example, is 'With God All Things Are Possible.' The National Motto is itself religious: 'In God We Trust.' Should governments be allowed to adopt theological declarations as secular mottoes? The problem with religious mottoes is that they given an official stamp of approval and even endorsement to religious ideas or beliefs. This sends the message that people who hold those beliefs are insiders, favored, and privileged while those who don't are diminished in the eyes of the state.

It's true that adopting a motto and putting it on money is a legitimate legislative activity, but that can't possibly mean that any chosen motto is completely legitimate. What if Congress chose "In Jesus We Trust" for the national motto and put it on the money? Would that be a secular national motto? Would that be a legitimate legislative activity? If not, why not -- and why don't the same arguments work when it comes to "In God We Trust"?

Anti-religious and anti-theistic mottoes would never be accepted. If a government agency put up a sign saying "In No God We Trust," we all know that the Christian Right would start crying about the separation of church and state and argue that the government can't legitimately send a message that is hostile to their beliefs. They'd be right, too -- but the same argument exists against mottoes like "In God We Trust."

Christians seem to love to quote the above verse from Psalms. Sometimes, I think this verse is popular because it allows them to call atheists "fools" and imagine that they can avoid taking responsibility for doing so - after all, they are just quoting the Bible so it's not really them saying it, right? Even worse is the part they don't quote - but not because they don't agree with it. They often do, but I don't think they want to be caught saying it directly because that's harder to defend.

 

Read Article: Myth: Atheists are Fools who Say in their Heart 'There is no God'

It's surprising how often I'll be approached by religious believers who act as though the popularity of a belief is somehow relevant to its truth. They insist that, for example, that the popularity and longevity of Christianity constitutes a reason to seriously consider as true and worth adopting. We can contrast such attitudes with science where popularity isn't supposed to be considered relevant.

Unfortunately the reality in science isn't always as good as the ideal, but because it's science it's possible to demonstrate the existence of these problems and overcome them. Recent research has revealed that there is a correlation between how "trendy" a field is and how many errors appear in that field's research papers. It's one more demonstration that even though science isn't perfect, scientists can use science's methods to reveal and overcome those problems. Read more...

There are a number of circumstances in which you might be asked to tell others your religious affiliations -- typically in the context of an official encounter. The easiest example is when registering in a hospital, but it can also be a difficult example because it's so often a time when people are hurting and desperate. If you aren't religious and are concerned with backlash against atheists, having to answer "atheist" to questions about your religion or a loved one's religion may not be easy. Read more...

To what extent, and even if, tax exemptions should be given to religious organizations and churches depends on why tax exemptions exist at all. If you think tax exemptions exist because charities provide public benefits, you may be suspicious of giving exemptions to churches. If you think tax exemptions exist because charitable organizations have no net income, then churches will should qualify.

 

Read Article: What are Religious Tax Exemptions for Churches?

Almost every atheist has had the experience of Christians proclaiming that they would pray for them, and almost every atheist in this situation has faced the conundrum of not knowing exactly how to respond. On the one hand, many such statements of Christians are sincere expressions of well-wishes and kindness (though there are plenty which are just passive-aggressive attacks). On the other hand, atheists recognize that prayers do no good, that the time could be much better spent in other ways, and so being prayed for is worthless at best. So what should atheists do? Should atheists say anything at all?

Perhaps we should just forgive them? Even that's pretty difficult, when you stop to think about it. Read more...

Christians frequently proclaim that theirs is a religion of love, peace, and justice, but in practice it's all to common to see incredibly un-loving statements and behavior from some of those same Christians. At best, Christians are no more loving and peaceful than their non-Christian neighbors, but even in the best case scenario they can manage to find ways to use their religion as a justification for their behavior and that only makes things worse. It's bad enough to hate some group, but when you imagine that your religion and your god sanction or require such hatred, the possibilities for moderation, compromise, and even improvement become extremely restricted. Read more...

Epistemology involves questions about the nature and definition of truth. Epistemology is the study of human knowledge - the grounds and conditions under which we can know anything. Knowledge, in turn, is normally defined in terms of truth - only true things can be known so no false ideas qualify as knowledge. Therefore, any discussion about knowledge must implicitly also be a discussion about the nature of truth - but what do we mean by 'true'? And what does it mean to say something isn’t true?

 

Read Article: Epistemology Introduction: Understanding Truth, Knowledge, Belief

Generally speaking, I see little hesitation among religious theists when it comes to expressing anti-atheist bigotry (assuming they are bigots, of course). Nevertheless, there are differences of degree: some people only seem to be possessed by mild bigotry while others' bigotry is far more extreme. One curious factor that seems to be common to both is being in denial about this bigotry. Why is that? Read more...

Among both believers and nonbelievers, there are people who tend to assume that there must exist some essential tension between religion and atheism. For whatever reason, it is simply taken for granted that the two do not and cannot mix. But what if this assumption is wrong? What is atheism is readily compatible with religion?

Book of the Week: Religion Without God

In most religions, gods are supposed to be the source of all morality. For most believers, their religion represents an institution for promoting an ideal model of morality. In reality, though, religions are responsible for widespread immorality and gods have characteristics or histories which make them worse than the most vile human serial killer. No one would tolerate such behavior on the part of a person, but when with a god it all becomes laudable — even an example to follow.

 

Read Article: Gods & Theists Behave Immorally: How Can Moral Gods Behave Immorally?

Defenders of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance offer the legal argument that it has civil and historical value, but do they really believe this? It's hard to see how. It's certainly not what supporters out in the street believe or feel. Those who use the aforementioned legal argument either aren't paying attention or aren't being entirely honest. Read more...

From: Lin
Subject: Atheism: not a religion

If atheism is not a religion (as one section of your area asserts) - why is there such a large amount of space devoted to atheism in the Religions & Spirituality section of About.com? ... Allowing the atheism and agnosticism sections to remain in Religion & Spirituality appears to be the height of hypocrisy.

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C.S. Lewis is often described as an "apostle" to the skeptics - that he somehow has a special affinity for the arguments, sensibilities, and perspectives of religious doubters and can therefore more easily reach them than other apologists. Lewis was himself an atheist for many years, after all, so it's understandable why this would make sense.

 

Read Article: C.S. Lewis vs. Atheism and Atheists: Why Does Lewis Ridicule Atheists?

Homosexuality is having a significant impact on the course of Christianity in America. Even those who object to homosexuality are being affected because, more and more, Christianity is almost being defined by one's stance on gay rights. Especially interesting is the manner in which anti-gay Christians defend themselves because it reveals how little of Christianity is in their position. Read more...

Crucifixion may be one of the most horrible methods of execution ever invented. A person is nailed to a cross or stake and hangs there until their own weight suffocates them. The horrors of crucifixion are, however, glossed over by Mark in favor of the deeper theological meanings behind these events.

Read Article: Crucifixion of Jesus (Mark 15:21-32)

There are many things which can cause atheists to be angry. Some were raised in very religious homes and, over time, they came to discover the things they were taught by family and clergy were all wrong. Some atheists come to view religion or even just theism as being deceptive - and, hence, harmful to society. Still other atheists experience ongoing discrimination because of their disbelief in gods. They have to hide their atheism from family, friends and coworkers.

 

Read Article: Angry Atheists: Why Are Atheists So Angry All the Time?

A popular argument offered by a lot of anti-choice activists is that abortion clinics and pro-choice organizations like Planned Parenthood are only in it for the money -- that they are "big business" making money off of death. To what extent is this just projection, though? Although it may seem hard to believe that there would be any money in anti-choice activism, there is a business: finding babies for adoption. There used to be a lot of babies available for adoption before abortion was widely legalized and now anti-choice groups are trying to make up for that. Read more...

The slothful, people who are guilty of committing the deadly sin of sloth, are punished in hell by being thrown into snake pits. As with the other punishments for deadly sins, I really don't see a connection between sloth and snakes. Why not put the slothful in freezing water or boiling oil? Why not make them get out of bed and go to work for a change?

Read Article: Punishment in Hell for the Deadly Sin of Sloth is to be Thrown into a Snake Pit