An old favorite: Peter Boghossian, Jesus, The Easter Bunny, and Other Delusions.
Steven Spielberg and an interesting bit of “Star Wars” history…
The Staten Island clown might be a publicity stunt.
Someone said recently, “the concept of FW [free will] may be too loaded with anti-naturalist connotations that it may not be worth preserving for those naturalistically inclined philosophers and scientists.” On the other side of the coin, the notion that “we do not have free will” may be too loaded with implications that there’s no reason for punishment, reward, or moral behavior. I find that in a naturalistic universe it is true that I am the root cause of my actions, but I also find the old folk concept of free will is a poor model for what’s really going on.
Via Livescience: Noah’s flood is a legend. Excellent article summarizing why.
Robert M. Price, the bible geek, needs home repairs desperately. If you’ve got a few dollars to spare, please donate. Or, if you want to support him the painless way, go to his homepage and purchase one of his many books. I especially enjoyed Evolving out of Eden and The Christ Myth Theory and Its Problems.
Posted on Get Richard Carrier on the Colbert Report:
Rick’s top 4 debates, in no particular order:
Vs. Lenny Esposita. Rick destroys a bunch of common arguments for the existence of a God.
http://youtu.be/QS2z3WCHJ5Y
Vs. Douglas Jacoby. Jacoby was a graceful and interesting speaker, but Rick still came out ahead in his argument that Jesus was “just a regular guy.”
http://youtu.be/DJmKxTB7Twg
Vs. Mike Licona. Excellent debate on the non-occurrence of the resurrection.
http://youtu.be/Q43HzpzY04o
Vs. William Lane Craig. This is Carrier’s most famous debate. Craig bested Carrier rhetorically, but if you scratch the surface there are a number of points that Craig cartooned or did not give a sufficient answer to.
http://youtu.be/BaUd234Q3GU
