Tag: Atheism

The future of western civilisation – no less!

I came across some interesting comments today – about the history and future of western civilisation. I thought they were worth sharing.

What is faith?

I was asked recently how I defined faith, and I thought it worth sharing here.

Is truth the first casualty in the atheist-christian wars?

Christians and atheists are often at “war”, especially on the internet. Most people are not all that interested, but things sometimes get a little contentious online. Claims and counter claims are made, often with insufficient or no justification. Is truth a casualty? Unfortunately it seems that, often, it is.

Why does the world exist?

“Why does the world exist?” is one of the most fundamental questions about life. It may be a clue to deep truths about life and perhaps about God. And it can make all but the most ardent theist squirm for lack of a satisfactory answer. “Why does the world exist?” is also a book which […]

Believers vs unbelievers – who are more generous?

Atheists and christians alike often feel that not only is their belief true, but it is “nicer”. One argument, which has been made to me several times by atheists recently, is over who is more generous in giving to charity. It has little to do with the truth of belief, but are there any facts […]

The making of a minimalist christian

Phil Hemsley has a blog, Thoughts from a Minimalist Christian. Since I have discovered it, I have enjoyed reading Phil’s thoughts, but I wondered how a 40 year old atheist (as he once was) came to convert to christian belief. So I asked him.

Atheism and freewill – the elephant in the room?

I have had an interest in the question of free will ever since a long and friendly email discussion with an atheist and determinist almost a decade ago. He was a researcher in artificial intelligence, and strongly believed that human beings had no free will, and that the only way we could have it was […]

Moving naturalism forwards?

In October 2012, 14 eminent scientists, philosophers and other thinkers met for 3 days in a workshop entitled Moving Naturalism Forwards. Why did they meet and what were the outcomes?

The loneliness of the long distance atheist?

The rise of a more assertive and public brand of atheism is a phenomenon of the last couple of decades. One feature of the so-called “new atheism” is its strong anti-religion stance. Not content to live and let live, many high profile atheists, and their internet followers, vehemently oppose religion, believing it is responsible for […]

I’m a guest blogger (again)

Readers will know that courtesy in discussions between believers and unbelievers is something dear to my heart (see, for example, Atheists vs christians: does it have to be war? So when Matt, who has a blog titled Confessions Of A (former) Young Earth Creationist, asked me to write a post on Conversing with atheists and […]