Thursday Religion and Atheism Report (03/12)

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america, ancient, apostate, bible, christian, church, codex, conservative, debunking, deconversion, end times, faith healers, fundamentalists, george washington, god, ISIS, james randi, ken ham, khabouris, luke, mark, matthew, new jersey, paul, pseudoskepticism, psychics, religion, russell brand, science, scientific, stephen fry, tax exemption, theology, university, worldview

A Plea for a Scientific Worldview from An Honest Liar, on Debunker James Randi

James “The Amazing” Randi, the renowned illusionist, escape artist and debunker of psychics, spoon benders, faith healers and other charlatans willing to prey on others.

Why People Think They’ve Spoken to God

In Ancient Greece and Rome, people believed that dreams were direct messages from deities. While the precise mechanism for dreams remains unknown.

The Underground Railroad: Gissel’s Story

I thought once Racquel and Ashley and the others that we’d moved out were free that excitement would dissipate, that everything would start to go back to normal.

What Can Be Done about Pseudoskepticism?

Manufacturing doubt is not difficult, because in science all conclusions are provisional, and skepticism is intrinsic to the process.

The Khabouris Codex: Cool Name, But Proof of God?

The Khabouris or Khaboris Codex is a manuscript of the New Testament (except for five books) dating back to the 12th century.

The Handbook: Science- and History-Based Apologetics

There are a few basic routes that apologists go, and many will mix tactics depending on what seems effective at the time.

If Science Doesn’t Make a Case for God, What Does?

Over at PuffHo Religion, we see a smart rabbi go wrong. The rabbi is Geoffey A. Mitelman, founder of an organization called “Sinai and Synapses.”

Did St. Paul Write All 13 Letters That the Bible Credits to Him?

The New Testament includes 13 letters (“epistles”) from Christianity’s first decades that name the apostle Paul as the author, or Paul with colleagues Silvanus, Sosthenes, or Timothy.

How Editorial Fatigue Shows That Matthew and Luke Copied Mark

Church taught me to read the Gospels separately while assuming they all told the same story. Higher criticism, however, has taught me to read the Gospels together while letting them speak for themselves.

The Christopher Hitchens Prize For Un-Hitch-Like Behavior

The Hitchens Prize, along with $50,000, will go to journalists and writers who best embody the qualities that Hitchens’ friends think Hitchens was known for: “a commitment to free expression and inquiry, a range and depth of intellect, and a willingness to pursue the truth without regard to personal or professional consequence.”

White Christian America in Decline: Why Young People Are Sick of Conservative Religion

There’s been a lot of media attention recently to the changing demographics of the United States, where, at current rates, people who identify as “white” are expected to become a minority by the year 2050.

PCB Church Loses Tax Exemption After Opening Club

A local church that has been hosting naked paint parties and slumber-party Sundays with the “sexiest ladies on the beach” will now have to pay taxes on the property as officers investigate the church’s practices, authorities said Tuesday.

Ken Ham and George Washington

Washington is probably the least likely person to be paired with Ken Ham (ol’ Hambo), the Australian entrepreneur who has become the ayatollah of Appalachia.

Christian School Causes Student to Abandon Creationism

How can parents make sure their children don’t lose their faiths? Enrolling them in religious school is not enough.

Fundamentalist University Can’t Stay Afloat

Chattanooga’s Tennessee Temple University will be closing its doors, merging with nearby Piedmont International University.

ISIS and the Theology of End-Times

When discussing the motivations for ISIS’s brutal regime, we find Western commentators quick to deflect from religious dogma, by narrowing the context to the Iraq war, or Blair, or Bush, or more recently … MI5.

I Wouldn’t Read the Bible So Car Dealer Fired Me, Man Alleges in Suit, Report Says

Two New Jersey businesses face lawsuits claiming managers ignored and eventually fired employees after they complained about aggressive on-the-job religious outreach from co-workers, reports say.