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Interjection, With Tears

I’ve shied away from gushing at length about my Dad’s death here. Mainly I think of my own “guy” reaction to other people’s family-death turmoils. It’s a personal thing, or should be, and you shouldn’t go flashing it around in public too much.

But I also feel that I owe all of you something. Periodic updates, I guess. Those of you who donated to make possible my visit to his side at the hospital, I want you to know … well, that a very human thing happened, and continues to happen, and it’s all thanks to you. I didn’t want anybody to think I had just shrugged it all off, and that posts months back were the last you’d hear. I still think a book is a real possibility.

Meanwhile, I thought I might give you a little window into what’s going on by posting a brief note from my tape journal from a couple of days ago. Continue reading “Interjection, With Tears”

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Free Will … Maybe – Part 1

Despite the fact that Daniel Fincke and I once, a long time back, mutually challenged each other to debate it, I’ve been putting off this post, or any post on the subject, for some time. And I’ll tell you why:

Mainly, I’ve just realized, it’s because I’m afraid of it.

For someone like Sam Harris to say explicitly that free will is an illusion, or for Daniel Fincke, whom I respect, to assert the same thing, disturbs me greatly.

Because … no free will? That’s like saying “You’re not real, you’re not there, you’re not YOU.” Continue reading “Free Will … Maybe – Part 1”

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Never Too Late for a Good Review!

Adam Lee of Daylight Atheism reviewed my book!

His review post is from Feb. 1, but I only just found it.

In this book, he definitively puts to rest the oft-heard stereotype that atheism is a worldview solely for egghead ivory-tower intellectuals, not for heartland salt-of-the-earth folks. As he writes in the intro, “I’ve been a ranch hand, mule packer, wilderness guide, carpenter, truck driver, meat cutter, roofer, and a lot of other stuff besides… This is how I see the world.”

[ … ]

There are sections on the origins of religion, on non-supernatural morality, on the importance of forming true beliefs, on the importance of speaking out, on atheist views of death… and for all the author’s humble origins, it seems suspiciously erudite and clearly argued to me.

The selections were well-chosen, especially in that the author chose to begin and end with his strongest material. The first few introductory essays, in which Fox explains his own life’s journey, tells a wrenching story about the death of his dog, and describes the experience of deconversion – “a moment of brilliant light” – were excellent. And one of the last essays, “The Village”, is an atheist parable that’s one of the best essays in the book, starting slowly but building to unexpected intensity near the end. Check out Hank Fox’s blog; if you like it, you’ll definitely enjoy this book.

Thanks, Adam.

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Titty Baby: Gratuitously Insulting Political Poster

Forgive me if you don’t agree with the content or tone of the following. It’s in response to some things on Facebook this morning, a cutting reminder that — to me, at least — there’s a bigger picture in this election cycle.

(Of course, as is usual for me, it’s probably too long to be really effective. So if you hate it, content yourself that it will probably make no noticeable splash in the current political pool.)

Click here: TittyBaby

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Okay, So It’s Not Flying Cars …

But still.

Google’s self-driving car has been demoed a number of times over the past few years — “Good Morning America” even took it for a spin in 2010. But the pedal’s about to  be really put to the metal in Nevada.

Nevada’s Legislative Commission has approved regulations that would allow self-driving vehicles on the state’s roadways.

Sweet, huh? Near as I can tell from the story, it’s a bit of bracing open-mindedness on the part of Nevada state legislators. They’re willing, basically, to serve as the proving grounds for the concept of a self-driving car. Continue reading “Okay, So It’s Not Flying Cars …”

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Camels With Hammers, Booyah!

Stop reading this.

Go read this:

Is It Just A Mystery Whether God Exists?

Daniel Fincke details an argument between a godder and a skeptic.

Robin: Okay, first of all—I don’t claim to know there is a god, I admit I have faith. I am honest about that, unlike you making knowledge claims where you really only have faith too.

Jaime: Hold it—you cannot have this both ways. You worship this god, you live your life around your beliefs about this god and what you think it wants you to do, and you try to get me to believe in and obey this god. You claim all the time to know this god intimately, to have a personal relationship with it, and to know its will. To claim that you don’t act like a person who thinks they know is disingenuous. You’re not living in a humble middle ground like the kind of agnostic who refrains from believing, consistent with their belief they cannot know enough either way to commit to belief or disbelief. You constantly talk and act just as someone would only if they truly thought that they knew there was a god. I mean, how can you say you have a deep and intimate personal relationship with someone one minute and then turn around and the next minute say you’re not claiming to know that person even exists! What kind of an intimate personal relationship is that?

Dang it, I have to meet this guy someday. I’ve never even met an actual philosopher before, but now I want to be one. I want to be him.

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For Christian Teens: Getting Beyond the Unthinkable

I’m thinking of some tri-fold fliers to be handed out to Christian teens. Here’s a first approximation of one of them. Tell me what you think of it, what you’d add, take away, change.

_______________________________

What If … ?

When you think about it, it’s the nuances that have helped we humans advance. The search for all that stuff obscured by the standard wisdom, the common knowledge, the things every sane person knows. Continue reading “For Christian Teens: Getting Beyond the Unthinkable”