Posts Tagged ‘ atheism ’

You don’t have to go down in my basement (lecture by Dan Barker)

March 9, 2013
By

Dan Barker, ex-evangelical priest and now outspoken atheist and secularization-activist begins his lecture for the 4th Skepticon, the annual skeptics convention set in Springfield, Missouri, with the following words: If I wasn’t a true Christian, nobody is. I felt it, I believed it, I prayed, I read the Bible, I dedicated my life, I lived by faith, I was preaching for 19 years, and also when I prayed I got these feelings, all these amazing goosebumps, and I knew God was real. It’s a real thing that is happening in the brain, in fact I can still do it now.…

Read more »

The illusion of free will (lecture by Sam Harris)

March 29, 2012
By

Sam Harris gave this talk at  the California Institute of Technology in March 2012. In it Harris discusses the illusion of free will (the topic of his most recent book) and its implications for religious belief. The talk was organized by the Skeptics Society.

Read more »

A Universe from Nothing (Lecture by Lawrence Krauss)

March 1, 2012
By

In this lecture “A Universe from Nothing”, Lawrence Krauss, a good friend of Richard Dawkins and  author of many best-selling books on physics and cosmology, discusses the question of “How the universe could have formed from nothing.” Krauss explains the latest scientific knowledge about the origins and future of our universe in a manner that anyone can understand, and he provides powerful answers to the questions theists usually raise in cosmological discussions.   

Read more »

The Fireplace Delusion

February 19, 2012
By

In a recent post on his blog, Sam Harris presents an interesting example of the refusal to adjust one’s beliefs in the face of solid scientific evidence. He calls it “The Fireplace Delusion.”  Unlike the other cases of intransigence that he has made a career of criticizing, this one has nothing to do with religion. It’s about the refusal to believe (despite clear scientific evidence) that burning wood in campfires or fireplaces is a serious health hazard. The issue is not that the fires might spread (though that too is always a concern) but that the smoke from the fires contains…

Read more »

Tags

Democracy Now