The Warfare Is Mental

I Get Email

March 25, 2011

A few days I go I received an email from bossmanham:

I took Luke’s blog off of my Google reader feed a while back because he was getting boring and predictable, but moseyed on over yesterday. I probably shouldn’t have been, but I was a little surprised that he’s focusing so much time on machine ethics. I guess that’s what you get when inventing your own ethics, but I was wondering what your thoughts were since you’ve followed his blog longer than I have?

Where to begin?

False Claims: Why You Should Be Skeptical Of John W. Loftus, IV

February 17, 2011

I want to preface this installment of the series by focusing on a comrade of Loftus’ named articulett–one of the people who literally trolled every thread I commented on–and now claims the following:

That wasn’t the first “creepy” thing that he wrote, clamat. He has made some “threatening” odd non sequiturs in a few posts and I haven’t read all his posts so there may be more.I started to skip over his posts when he started getting to scarily “irrational” from my perspective. I’m afraid of the irrational. If he believes in devils and demons and that atheists are such or in league with such, then he’s not someone I feel safe conversing with. And a couple time he referenced right wing sorts of rhetoric and it made me wonder if he might be a gun enthusiast. I don’t trust irrational people with guns– even if they are just on the internet. I may be over reacting, but I think the majority of theists posting here regularly are much “saner” sounding. [articulett]

I originally laughed at the irony of using the handle “articulett” while making basic spelling and grammar errors, but, this seems nothing less than blatant character assassination. It could be possible that articulett genuinely believes this heap of garbage, but I remain skeptical because—as usual—this “skeptic’s” claim is not accompanied by any positive evidence whatsoever, despite the fact that John’s out there telling everyone on his blog they should ask for positive evidence for that which they accept as true! Can the inanity really know no boundaries at DC?

Inconsistency & Personal Attacks: Why You Should Be Skeptical Of John W. Loftus, II

February 15, 2011

In his post, Listing of Cognitive Biases, Loftus states, unequivocally, the following:

We should all ask for positive evidence for that which we accept as true.

Okay, if there’s one thing I admire in (a)theist discussion, it’s a firmly cemented goalpost, and I think the above certainly qualifies. How about you? If you agree with me, perhaps it won’t be much of a stretch to gain some empathy for my consternation at the transactions that follow.

Debunking Christianity: Index

February 13, 2011

I’ve been commenting at Debunking Christianity since the beginning of this year. As I did with Common Sense Atheism, here is the index of my substantial conversations there [substantial meaning more than just a passing comment or two]. As was the case with the CSA index, this list is not exhaustive, and I’ll be updating as the discussions proceed. I provide these lists for a few reasons: 1) They help me keep track of my arguments and meta-debate; 2) They provide an easy reference for anyone who wants to investigate my arguments; 3) They indicate good faith and confidence in my own arguments. I want to be held accountable, and a list such as this is an invaluable aid to anyone interested. So, I encourage people to make the most of it. Let me know where I do well. Let me know where I do bad. Let me know whether you think comments like this and this respect the art of critical thinking. Get involved, that we might all learn!

1. What Positive Evidence is There for God’s Existence? 1-13-2011

2. Quote of the Day, by Desertbarry 1-15-2011

3. The Mind/Brain Problem 1-15-2011

4. The Debunking Christianity Challenge, Part 2 1-17-2011

5. CFI Extraordinary Claims Panel: Christ 1-22-2011

6. A Listing of Cognitive Biases 1-25-2011

7. Why Religion is Persuasive by Adam Lewis 1-25-2011

8. Science Based Explanations vs. Faith Based Explanations 1-26-2011

9. The Gloves are Off Now! Slavery? NO, A Thousand Times NO! 2-08-2011

10. Deceptive Apologetic Strategies 2-09-2011

11. Quote of the Day 2-12-2011

12. Another Failed Attempt to Disabuse Me of the Outsider Test for Faith 2-12-2011

Suggestions Anyone?

January 3, 2011

2011 is here, in full swing. I had a great year in 2010. If you didn’t, I hope this year will be better for you.

As is customary at year’s end around these parts, I’ve been questioning which direction to head in this new year. I’ve been blogging since May of 2007, and each year, I’ve striven for a different focus. In 2008 I spent most of my posts in rebuttal to arguments made on Daylight Atheism, before Ebonmuse banned me. In 2009, I wrote and debated almost exclusively about epistemology. In 2010, I decided to tackle morality since it was at that time my most underdeveloped area of argumentation, not to mention a topic of serious concern for many atheists. I spent almost the entire year of 2010 debating and writing about morality, desirism in particular. Frankly, I’m over it.

Response To Larry Moran’s Challenge To Theists

October 25, 2010

It’s always tough when somebody one admires makes a move that one can’t approve of. That was exactly the feeling I had when I heard of Larry Moran’s Challenge to Theists and Their Accommodationist Supporters, but, before we get to that, a brief note about why I admire Larry Moran, an atheist and Professor of biochemistry with whom I would seem to share little in common [ideologically, that is].

Common Sense Atheism: Index

June 12, 2010

I’ve decided to compose an index of posts I’ve made substantial contributions to at Common Sense Atheism from January 1st, 2010 to the date of this post, 6-11-2010. (NOTE: the index is now current through November 16th, 2010) It is not necessarily meant to be exhaustive, e.g. I omitted threads where I only made a single comment or two. I’ll be updating this list, as well as expanding on key posts where I think certain arguments deserve a closer look, and eventually distilling the best arguments into the homepage.

Open Thread For Hermes

June 10, 2010

The stage is yours. Feel free to ask any question you'd like.

UPDATE: Though he's trying to force this discussion to take place at Luke's, Hermes has kicked it off with,

…to get things going, you might say your god is ‘all knowing, all powerful, and all good’ (an omnimax deity). If that is the case, I will provide details on why that is a self-refuting set of concepts, and thus not a real entity.

You want to debate some aspect about an "all knowing, all powerful, and all good" God? No problem. I'm ready whenever you are.

News, Announcements

March 14, 2010

In case anybody actually missed them, I apologize for the absence of posts, but the month-long break felt great! I don't know about you, but I prefer feeling refreshed and full of new ideas to write about (as opposed to feeling burnt out and writing about the same old things).

I imagine the new addition to our family – a cute, sweet and healthy baby girl – has certainly contributed her share to my enhanced interest in all things human. So far, many of the clichés I'd heard about parenthood have proven true, while others, not as much so. Either way, I definitely foresee some posts and arguments referencing the parent-child relationship in TWIM's immediate future. I've always felt the parent-child relationship has significant import to (a)theist debate, and it's not an angle you hear argued often.

RVA Dialog: Proof Of God’s Existence

February 15, 2010

Jim of Reason vs. Apologetics offers a series of thought experiments titled Proof of God’s Existence to explore the epistemic parameters of what he calls “common sense inquiry.” He identifies they ways people assess evidence and probability in everyday affairs and suggests that common sense inquiry is grounds for skepticism.

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