Benson Shays

Free thought blogger and atheist activist JT Eberhard has given a talk several times this year about why the arguments for the existence of God fail. During the talk, Eberhard discusses his year-long experiment of attending church and asking Christians why they believe in God. The lecture is designed to give atheists an outline of how to dialogue with believers and deconvert them. I have to admit, it was very interesting to watch; Eberhard is a talented speaker, and it's good that he's trying to

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Atheist blogger and author John Loftus has some advice for Christian college students: don't go to an evangelical school. Instead,

...believing students [should] attend a secular college...one that does not require professors to sign a creedal statement of belief, one where professors are free to pursue the truth based on the available evidence. Otherwise, you will just reinforce what you were led to believe in your youth..."

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Tags: apologetics, college, john loftus

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Reason Magazine recently interviewed famed magician and author Penn Jillette, probably best known for his hit program on Showtime. The man is an incredible entertainer and writer. He's funny, thoughtful, and vocal about his libertarian politics. Naturally, I'm a fan.

But I've never liked what he has to say about religion. And based on the Reason interview, it seems his views haven't changed much since the Penn and Teller episode about the Bible. Jillette is impressed by the shallow

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Tags: atheism, penn jillette

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If you aren't aware, a study published in the journal Science this week suggested that critical thinking slightly decreases religious belief, a suggestion I didn't take kindly to in my last post.

But if you didn't read that post, the gist is that analytical thinking, according to this study anyway, actually causes religious disbelief because it suppresses the intuitive processes that are at least partially responsible for religious belief. According to Neurobiologist Douglas Fields,

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Being an informed Christian takes a lot of work. It can be a rather annoying endeavor, in fact. But since deciding to look critically at my faith several years ago, I realize that deeper study of the Bible, history, and theology has proven to be very rewarding. Struggling with difficult questions about Christianity and trying to learn Greek has given me an entirely new perspective on religious belief. In sum, I'd say this long critical thinking experiment has made my faith stronger.

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