By Dr. Zachary Moore

In Cobb County, Georgia, the same mecca of rationality that declared all biology books must be labeled to protect the dear, innocent children from the dangerous message of evolutionary theory, a couple faces a murder charge stemming from the deadly discipline used on their son, inspired by the teachings of their unique Christian church.

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By Dave, the WM

Smoking in public areas has been outlawed in several States in the US and in many countries around the world. This past November, the citizens of my home state — Ohio — voted to ban all public indoor smoking throughout the state. Smoking is not allowed in stores, restaurants, bars, places of business, clubs or within shouting distance of doorways to any public establishment, private or otherwise.

So it is written, so let it be done.

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Jesus had a son named Judah and was buried alongside Mary Magdalene, according to a new documentary by Hollywood film director James Cameron. The film examines a tomb found near Jerusalem in 1980 which producers say belonged to Jesus and his family.

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By D. R. Khashaba

Greek thought and Hebrew thought do not make a good mix. Christianity of course is such a mix and that is one source, perhaps the major source, of its difficulties. You can either think in Greek terms or in Hebrew terms without experiencing internal discord, but when you try to weld the two together you cannot be true to yourself all the way through; at some point you have either to forget about the rationality of Greek thought or throw overboard the sanctified presuppositions of Hebrew thought. Kierkegaard, like many old and present-day theologians and Christian thinkers, was trapped between the horns of this dilemma, but unlike many who found themselves in that predicament, Kierkegaard was willing to save his skin by sacrificing the rationality.

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A few weeks back, CNN's Paula Zahn put together a panel of so-called experts to discuss whether or not atheists are discriminated against in the US. Apparently CNN was flooded with emails about the panel not including an atheist, so Richard Dawkins was invited to speak on the topic. Enjoy! To view the short articles leading up to this interview with Dawkins, click here: Discrimination against atheists.. T

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Sent in by Trudy H

I am beginning a journey to find truth.

The problem with religion, all religions, including Christianity, is the belief theat they have all the answers. The truth is, no one can ever have all the answers.

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By Sailorfraud

The Bible says God is almighty who answers your prayers. So how do you know if God is real other than that faith crap? Try the power of prayer when an earthly situation occurs which is beyond your control and only an almighty God who created the universe and all life can control.

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Sent in by Lance K

So I'm done with Christianity ... I find atheists can have more integrity, tolerance and love than Bible believing Christians, that the search for truth has shown me that Christianity does not have it, that the god of the Old Testament is quite an A-hole, the ugly history of the church - especially the support of slavery in the US, the Christian right-wing and their hatred of gays, and of course that listening to the creation/evolution debate made me realize these people are simply not honest with themselves.

But I have a question that I need your help with...

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Sent in by AJ

Names changed for anonymity

This moment of decision was triggered by my conversation with Ryan at Erica's wedding. He was trying to pull me back into the "fold." But, the more I look, think, read, and talk, the more I am pushed away from faith. I even finally admitted to my parents last night that I don't have a clue. Their answers weren't very satisfying. They've closed their minds to make themselves happy. Their opinions and rationalizations seem senseless and misguided. They are robots, controlled and blinded by their faith. Which is sad, because they will not open their minds and really listen to what I say, instead they reply with the pre-packaged Christianese answers I rejected many months ago.

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By Justin Baragona

Religion is a very important element in the lives of the majority of people in this world, whether it is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism. The level of belief that one person feels to his or her religion varies, from casual recognition of your religion on major religious holidays all the way towards full blown extremism. However, it would be safe to say that the majority of people, at least in this nation, believe in a god and feel that there is a deeper meaning to their existence, that there is a heaven or some form of an afterlife, and that through worship of the god that they can attain everlasting happiness in the afterlife.

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Neighbors and friends of Camden pastor Kevin Ogle, who is charged with sending pornographic messages and pictures via the Internet to a police officer posing as a teenage girl, said they were shocked by the arrest of a “very loving, kind, caring individual.”

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Sent in by Mike

Hello everyone,

It seems that I am finding that I too am leaving Christianity. It is hard, but my experience seems to indicate that there is no God. If he does exist, I find that He is uncaring and selfish. I will share my testimony shortly in another post.

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Ted Haggard’s “dark side” apparently spread farther than anybody thought.

“Numerous individuals” — some of them later described as young male staffers — have outlined what church leaders call a pattern of improper and even “sordid” behavior by the founder and former chief pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.

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A former Herndon pastor convicted of sodomy and statutory rape has made the list of the "America's Most Wanted" television show.

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By John W. Loftus

In a recent email from a Christian student at Fuller Seminary named Tim Bowers he tells me that a classmate and him are doing a project called Letters from Leavers and that "it is essentially a webspace for people who have left the Church to write a “Dear John” letter to the Church."

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The latest success in an "atheist literary wave" is GOD: THE FAILED HYPOTHESIS ($19.32, Amazon Books) in which Victor Stenger--a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a research fellow of the Center for Inquiry--argues that science has advanced sufficiently to make a definitive statement on the existence or nonexistence of the traditional Judeo-Christian-Islamic God.

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Thursday night, the faithful continued to come, sometimes in droves, lining the short residential street with vehicles.

Many came with their camera-equipped cell phones in hand, ready to snap a picture.

"If you have faith, you see it..."

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By DagoodS

You are in a building. The building contains a bomb which you must find. You do not know the size of the bomb, the make-up of the bomb, nor any markings on the bomb. It could be in any shape, and anywhere within the building. It could be a painting on the wall, the wallboard itself, or behind the wall.

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The first part of my life was a blur with only a few memories that stood out. I do remember going to church with my grandmother and wondering why people were kneeling in front of the bench with their heads down and looking very grim. As I grew older, my mother and step-dad didn't go to church and neither did me and my brother. I don't think we (my brother and I) cared about going to church, except to make my grandmother happy. She would say, "Are you boys going to church with me today? I sure would be glad to have somebody come along. I think you boys need to go, wanna come with me?" Something like that.

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Sent in by Troy W.

My backstory as a Christian is probably not too unique or interesting. Although when I was 'walking away' I felt very isolated and thought I was the only one who had ever gone through it. I later found out how wrong that was.

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A great text by Douglas Adams, read by Simon Jones (who played Arthur Dent in the original HHGTTG radio and TV series), where he explains his positions about the existence of god(s), opinions and the scientific method.

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The following is a small portion of the book that I have been working on about Christianity. Even this small portion is not what I want it to be nor is it "cleaned and polished" as some of my book already is. I share this unfinished portion now because of the need to have people think and understand the foundations of the major world religions and WHY they are harmful to the mind and consciousness of humanity.

Any feedback on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

John Blatt

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See if you can list all the Christian fallacious arguments used in this video. (Hint: Many of the same arguments have been presented by Christians right here on ExC.)

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The Deep South in the United States is frequently called the "Bible Belt." Strongly Christian, with churches literally on nearly every street corner, the powerful influence of Christian values on the life of average people is perhaps more concentrated in the southern U.S. than in any other location in the country, and maybe the world. So, what happens when the hosts of the BBC's Top Gear program take a trip to Alabama to make some friends?

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From Natasha

I would like the chance to say something, although I am quite aware that this is not a forum for Christians. I hope to echo the letter I read called "In Defense of Dave," but from the Christian perspective. If you are a Christian, and you are visiting this site, then please please please, think about what you are posting.

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The polls repeatedly show that the United States is a religious country, with 90 percent of Americans saying they believe in God or a supreme being and more than 40 percent saying they attend religious services each week.

But there is another group, much smaller and less-often heard from: unbelievers. In recent months, in books and on a sold-out off-Broadway stage, these religious skeptics have been raising their voices.

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From Michelle

I was raised in a Christian home, and would still consider myself Christian. However, we never believed the Bible as the 'literal' Word of God (inspired doesn't mean literally true) or that millions of people would go to hell simply for not accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

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A short video segment of a lecture given by
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Tyson (b. October 5, 1958 in New York City) is an American astrophysicist and, since 1996, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

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Sent in by Daniel P

We all define our gods through our own beliefs. Usually we are given our spiritual identity by our parents based upon there belief system or religion. This is how I received mine, and for a long time, I defined my god with these teachings. My view of life and the supernatural were shaped by an early indoctrination into my parent’s system of religion. As time passed and my experiences with the world grew, I began to question some of those teachings.

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Sent in by Larry M.

My goodness - am I ever glad to have found this site! I cannot say how much the comfort in reading others feelings/stories has helped me in my journey .. but first - some context:

I am from Canada - the Fraser Valley in B.C. to be exact. I was born in 1968 into a Christian family - Mennonite to be exact:

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Todd Friel debates Dan Barker over the existence of God. Watch this 4 min segment and get a taste of the debate that took place. A full debate is available in audio below the video.

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The battle for the hearts and minds of American school children took another turn this week. The infamous Kansas school board that voted to banish Darwin from the science curriculum has welcomed him back with open arms, spurning instead the language of intelligent design.

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I would like to respond to Matt Cowan's bizarre and insulting letter "Christianity doesn't need column to incite reaction," in which he relates Christianity and atheism to two bars of metal.

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By John W. Loftus

Chris Hallquist and Brian Flemming have both weighed in on the recent debate about the Blasphemy Challenge. I've already commented on it here. But several atheists are calling it "pointless, juvenile and stupid," including Ed Brayton and Jim Lazarus.

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From Michael R.

I have a question that I would love to hear some comments about.

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Libelous and threatening postings to a website can be prosecuted.

Slander, libel, and defamation of character are punishable by a fine of up to $100,000.

Definition of defamation:

1) The comment must be a false statement
2) The comment is understood to be intended against another person, business, or product
3) The comment is verbalized or written to at least one other person
4) The comment is understood to damage another person’s reputation

It is Defamation of Character if the statements are meant with the intention of injuring the reputation of someone else.

Libel is a written defamatory statement, while slander is a spoken defamatory statement.

A youth group coordinator for a Mill Creek church was charged Tuesday with having repeated sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl on church grounds.

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By DagoodS

It is amazing what power a few words can have.

“This means war!”
“Will you marry me?”
“You’re Fired!”

Each sentence can be stated with less than a breath, yet those syllables will have far-reaching implications.

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By Nathan Bupp

"What if the most influential man in human history never existed?" Without any assumptions or conclusions in view, that is the daunting task of the new Jesus Project, announced on January 28th at the University of California at Davis before an audience of Biblical and Koranic experts.

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From Randy M.

I was raised in the Catholic Church and I went through the motions as a child. In college, I studied science/engineering, and rejected Christianity & religion. Now, as 28 yr. old, my life was nearly destroyed by alcoholism and other addictions. I was led back to a belief in a Higher Power in recovery.

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From Jamie

I think that I am in the process of de-conversion, though I'm not sure. What I'd really like more information on is the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Growing up Seventh-day Adventist, prophecy was a big 'selling point'. While I don't remember all of what I was taught, it seemed to make sense at the time. Only now am I realizing that I've never checked out the "facts".

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A pastor of a Stanton church accused of having sex with a 16-year-old female parishioner appeared in court this week during his arraignment, which was continued until Feb. 23.

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By D. R. Khashaba

Socrates’ Prison Journal (2006) was my first venture into fiction. My two earlier books, Let Us Philosophize (1998, out of print but freely downloadable in full from my website: http://www.Back-to-Socrates.com ) and Plato: An Interpretation (2005) as well as all of my published articles, were all theoretical.

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By John Blatt

The word "Hell" is a very popular word in English. Actually it is not an English word, it is a German word. As a matter of fact, about 90 percent of the King James English is actually borrowed from the Anglo-Saxon language, that is, German. The word "Hell" appears in many common phrases. There are even well known funny poems about Hell. A couple of them are in this article. Here are some of the phrases found on the internet with the word Hell being a part if it:

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The premise of this program is that there is a war going on against science and reason.

Video approximately 49 minutes in length.

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Is Sex wrong? This video explores the idea that sex is considered a sin because religious cult leaders use that idea to brainwash their followers.

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Bestselling author Jack Huberman has collected a veritable treasure trove of quotes by philosophers, scientists, poets, writers, artists, entertainers, and political figures. His colorful cast of atheists includes Karen Armstrong, Lance Armstrong, Jules Feiffer, Federico Fellini, H. L. Mencken, Ian McKellen, Isaac Singer, Jonathan Swift, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Virginia Woolf and the Marquis de Sade.

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Youth pastor Aaron Rediger stood in Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas Wednesday morning and offered an acknowledgment of his guilt. Flanked by his lawyers and choking back tears, he admitted, "I know that after all this, I've been wrong."

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Sent in by Keith P.

I grew up in fundamentalist Christian circles in the 1970s and 1980s. Raised in Lynchburg, Virginia, my parents had been friends with the Rev. Jerry Falwell early in his career, when he was still just an ambitious local minister, but they eventually left the Independent Baptist denomination Falwell was associated with and converted to Orthodox Presbyterianism (Calvinism). As a kid, I attended the Calvinist church with my family every week, while attending private Christian schools run by the Baptists. Early on, I noticed the doctrinal discrepancies...

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A letter from ex-ex Christian

Hello All,

I understand that many of you, if not all of you have had bad experiences in Church or with Church people. Its nothing earth shattering, even devout Christians will tell you that often times they have been fed up with both. The thing that you all need to understand is that churches have had problems since the beginning, (READ THE BIBLE)...

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Sent in by Kevin T

absolute origin what is it? of life that is,the universe is another story

put a frog in a blender turn it on puree......what what do you get?

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CNN's recent report on allegations of discrimination against a family of atheists. The members of the "objective" panel in the second segment is interesting.

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By John Fraysse

The Biblical God appears Evil to me and millions of others. I am NOT necessarily critiquing "God" per se, but more assuredly, the Biblical accounts of his dealings with individuals, groups and nations. By-in-large, I believe that God, if he/she/it exists, has been misrepresented in at least some of the Bible's many chapters. The reason I think this is because God’s actions appear inconsistent with his own teachings, so the Bible must have some of the aspects of "God's Principles and Nature" wrong. In a sense, while not certain of God's existence, I may, nevertheless, be perceived as "Defending God’s Honor". I will leave this matter to you and God.

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Ted Haggard, founder and former senior pastor of New Life Church, plans to leave Colorado Springs and move to Iowa or Missouri to return to college, according to a message he e-mailed Sunday to some church members.

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Sent in by G_D

I've always had a great interest in psychology, biopsychology and the mind and so it was with great interest when I saw the latest special issue from Time magazine: The Brain - A User's Guide

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Nearly a year after preacher Matthew Winkler was murdered inside his home in Selmer, the wife accused of shooting him in the back is still front-page fodder.

Now, cell phone pictures first obtained by Action News Five, are the talk of this quiet town.

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By Hannah Naiditch

Because I believe that the idea of a supreme being has its roots in prehistoric times, and it is outdated in an age of enlightenment and an age where science has made unprecedented progress in helping us understand the world we live in.

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By DagoodS

Well, I saw the inevitable. I was about to become a heathen. A "them." An unsaved, hell-going, apostate, infidel non-Christian. I was curious what was to unfold next.

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A Bexar County, Texas, jury this morning convicted a former youth minister of capital murder in the deaths of his 17-year-old pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child.

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Sent in by Mandy

First, let me say I hope there is no word limit to this. Secondly, that my testimony is a bit different from others I have read on this website. I don’t come from a fundamentalist or evangelical background and no life shattering tragedy tested my faith and found it wanting.

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By Brian B

A father is standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. A few feet away, his son is peddling around on his bicycle. Everything is tranquil and serene. Then, the son peddles his bike into the middle of the road. "Son," says the father. "I want you to come back here because I love you and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"No!!" answers the child in defiance.

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You see the face on the TV screen
Coming at you every Sunday
See that face on the billboard
That man is me

On the cover of the magazine
Theres no question why I'm smiling
You buy a piece of paradise
You buy a piece of me

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Sent in by Philospher D. R. Khashaba

It is not my intention to give an exposition of Bruno’s thought. That is a task that I willingly leave to those who are better equipped to perform it. Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) was a lover of myth, allegory, and symbol, and knew fully well the power of those magical wands to reveal and illumine where discursive thought hid and obscured. In this short note I treat of Bruno himself as an emblem of the mystic paths that lead to the inner reality of our being.

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By DagoodS

We have all seen various arguments for/against theism. Many have fun, fancy names such as ontological, or teleological, or start with "Problem of" as in "Problem of Evil" or "Problem of Coherence." One I have not seen much action on, though, is the "Problem of Love."

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By Dave, the WM

What should anyone think when confronted with reported claims of miraculous healings? From time to time a commentator on this blog emphatically claims to have witnessed miraculous healings. Naturally, credit for these magical interventions of divine health is attributed to a moving of the Holy Spirit in some religious meeting, or perhaps by some special "anointing" that spontaneously falls on someone. One believer in supernatural healing commented on a letter posted here: You have a little mind.

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By John Fraysse

The Jewish/Christian Sacrificial system and the concept of "Original Sin" seem to go hand-in-hand and are threaded throughout the Bible and most Christian doctrines. Yet, they have never made any sense to me. The more I thought about these two cardinal precepts, the more it appeared that there was something "Rotten in Jerusalem!" In fact, I think it is extremely likely that the entire Sacrificial System of the Bible was corrupt from the very beginning. I don't think that the "God of Evolution," or the "Creator God," if any god exists, would ever require sacrifice, simply because it doesn't make sense.

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Brian "Sapient" is an average-looking 30-year-old guy who works out of his basement in Philadelphia. His job? Well, Brian is taking on God.

"Wow, that's a dramatic way of putting it," says Brian, who asked that "Nightline" not use his real last name for safety reasons. But however he defines his challenge, Brian is on the cutting edge of a new and emboldened wave of atheism.

"There isn't any good reason to believe in God," asserts Brian. "It's that simple."

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By Brian B

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and behold one of the strangest creatures in the world! He is sometimes thought of as paradoxical, almost oxymoronic, and yet he is far more common than most of you think! That's right folks, presenting to you tonight is that fascinating individual we call...the Thinking Christian!

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