Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Morality’ Category

To Christians: What is morality to an atheist?

Posted in Apologetics, Atheism, Morality, Skeptical Thought, Supernatural on August 8, 2009 | 1 Comment »

By far, the most common argument I see made against atheists is that while they have moral standards, they do not have a defense of morality and therefore are “borrowing” from a Theistic (e.g. Christian) worldview every time they make a moral statement. This is presented as evidence that atheists have an internal contradiction in their worldview whereby they are not allowed to make any moral statements because they cannot account for the origin – or source – of morality.

Read Full Post »

Leaving Faith: It’s not About Arguments

Posted in Apologetics, Christianity, Leaving the Faith, Morality, Psychology, Skeptical Thought, Spirituality, Supernatural on July 7, 2009 | 235 Comments »

It is not about the arguments.

In order for a person to leave a faith, the perceived value of leaving the faith must exceed the perceived value of staying.

Evangelism, then, is the art of marketing an idea’s value. Good evangelists dance the dance of making God’s wrath hotter and God’s salvation sweeter. The greater the perception of God’s wrath, the greater one’s perception of God’s salvation. Conversion is ones entrance into a social structure whose entire end-goal is to fine tune and balance this perception of God’s wrath and God’s salvation so that the greatest number of people convert and stay. Those faiths that achieve this balance between threats and rewards most effectively will survive and reproduce.

Read Full Post »

Aikido

Posted in Aikido, Communication, Morality, Peace, Spirituality on June 7, 2009 | 8 Comments »

Tonight at Aikido our sensei mentioned something that hit home pretty hard. He mentioned that the difference between aikido and other martial arts is its focus on effecting change in the world – without causing pain. The idea is to alleviate conflict without causing harm to your aggressor.
And this got me to thinking a little [...]

Read Full Post »

An open letter to my family

Posted in Atheism, Family, Happiness, Leaving the Faith, Meaning, Morality on March 25, 2009 | 25 Comments »

Dear family,

It has been almost one year since I realized fully that I could no longer believe the tenets of Christianity in just about any form. I searched high and low, studied the Bible diligently, studied the apologetic arguments deeply, and talked to probably hundreds of individuals from family members to professors to pastors to other students at Moody Bible Institute. Many of you may remember my initial notes on Facebook. At that time I was simply trying desperately for any individual who could provide sufficient Christian answers to questions which already had excellent answers outside the faith. The responses I received from Christians pushed me further away from the faith. The occassional hatred, predictability, and clear lack of critical thinking in so many responses convinced me that the Holy Spirit could not be indwelling those who were posting on my notes.

I simply could no longer believe…

Read Full Post »

Happiness

Posted in Happiness, Meaning, Morality on March 21, 2009 | 4 Comments »

So last night I was talking to a friend and it got me thinking about happiness and having a fulfilled life: what it is and what it is not.
First I want to start with a presupposition: a fulfilled and happy life is possible. We all know people who claim to have fulfilled and happy lives. [...]

Read Full Post »

Moral repercussions of leaving the faith

Posted in Leaving the Faith, Morality on March 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

One thing I did not anticipate upon leaving the faith was just how much my curiosity about “sin” and the “world” had been suppressed by the structure of rules and “thought regulations” I had imposed upon myself via the Bible or had been imposed upon me via the sect of the Christian faith I was raised within.

Read Full Post »