The Dismantling of Church and State in America
Since the first English Christian fundamentalists arrived in the 1600s on the shores of what would become the United States, Christianity has become increasingly embedded in the nation's social and cultural fabric. This is completely contrary to the Founding Fathers' original vision of America; it was designed by them to be a secular democratic republic built on evidence-based Enlightenment values, emphatically not religious faith. Indeed, the Founders purposefully intended that a high, strong 'wall of separation' keep church and state apart in the new nation, while allowing individual religious freedom untrammeled by government-and vice versa. But Christians with theocratic dreams keep trying to breach the wall. Through their efforts, God is now in evidence everywhere in the country-on our money, in our schools, even in high-level-government officials' speeches. Freedom of-and from-religion is the American promise to all its people whatever their belief-or disbelief. This is how the Founding Fathers wanted it to be, not the undemocratic theocracy zealous evangelicals are trying to force on American society.
Is the Western world really post-Christian, or does Christianity simply need a reinterpretation? What did Dietrich Bonhoeffer mean by 'religionless Christianity'? Is it passe? Or was it perhaps ahead of its time? In an era of dramatically increased religious pluralism and the emergence of large numbers of people identifying as 'spiritual but not religious,' so-called 'religionless Christianity' can speak to those who find both biblicism and 'belief-based' religion irrelevant.
In this personal, witty, and timely book, New York Times bestselling author Thomas Cathcart takes listeners on a journey into belief and unbelief and leads them through to the other side. Drawing from deep philosophical and theological wells, There Is No God and Mary Is His Mother demonstrates the meaningfulness of being a Christian in a secular age. Cathcart shows that, even absent traditional theological formulas and doctrines, Christianity can be a credible, meaningful, and practical means of negotiating worldly existence and experience. For Christians, There Is No God and Mary Is His Mother offers encouragement. For ex-Christians, it presents a different way of being a Christian than the one they've rejected. For atheists, it shows how Christianity can be an ally in affirming the here and now.
Is Atheism Dead? is an entertaining, impressively wide-ranging, and decidedly provocative answer to that famous 1966 Time cover that itself provocatively asked "Is God Dead?" In a voice that is by turns witty, muscular, and poetic, Metaxas intentionally echoes C. S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton in cheerfully and logically making his astonishing case, along the way presenting breathtaking-and often withering-new evidence and arguments against the idea of a Creatorless universe. Taken all together, he shows atheism not merely to be implausible and intellectually sloppy, but now demonstrably ridiculous. Perhaps the only unanswered question on the subject is why we couldn't see this sooner, and how embarrassed we should be about it.
Atheism is often considered to be a negative, dark, and pessimistic belief which is characterized by a rejection of values and purpose and a fierce opposition to religion. Atheism: A Very Short Introduction sets out to dispel the myths that surround atheism and show how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral. It also confronts the failure of officially atheist states in the twentieth century. The book presents an intellectual case for atheism that rests as much upon positive arguments for its truth as on negative arguments against religion.
All my life I've been surrounded by people who believe in God, or say they do. They insist that one must believe in order to be moral, but they themselves are so immoral. They insist that religion is a moral guide, when many of the things that religions advocate are unjust and cruel, or just plain false.
I was seven years old when I realized that I did not believe in God, or that at the very least, something was not right about the whole thing. It wasn't that the stories in the Bible contradicted science. I was perfectly willing to believe in a talking snake. Some of the things God said and did made no sense, and some of the things God did were just plain mean. Either God wasn't all powerful, or God was not good. Or, God wasn't there. I ultimately decided the latter was true. It was morality that made me atheist.
My purpose is not to debate the existence of God. You either believe or you don't. This book is about values.
There are those, such as the former Attorney General of the United States, William Barr, who assert that not only is morality impossible without God, but that belief is required to be a citizen of a democracy! Their project is to use the law to force their religion upon the growing number of those of us who want no part it.
There are impossible things, but atheist morality is not one of them. Every moral decision ever made, by any person in all of time, was made in the absence of God.
This is my testimony.
The father of the intelligent design movement, Phillip E. Johnson, thinks the new atheists are right! How? They've put serious discussion about God back on the public agenda.
Despite their conclusions, folks like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett are asking the right questions. They're making belief in any religion an issue again, especially in the university context where, for decades, questions about faith and reason have been taken off the table for serious discussion. Open debate is exactly what we need on the topics of God, evolution, and creation.
Together Johnson and John Mark Reynolds help us see the unique opportunity these vociferous and even evangelistic atheists are creating in their attempt to convert us to their unbelief. The authors show that we need not fear or react against these challenges. Rather they point to better ways to engage the opinions of this new, aggressive form of anti-religious activity. With skill and insight they energetically take on the question of whether the evidence leads to a materialistic naturalism or points toward a creator God.
Be informed. Be encouraged. Join the discussion.
Join NIH Director Francis Collins and other luminaries as they explain their answers to the question "Does God Exist?"
Do you believe God exists? This bold audio series invites you to join some of the world's leading thinkers in taking on this profound question. In 13 riveting episodes, your host, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, tackles this topic in one-on-one interviews with leading figures across fields.
Among many other provocative questions, Kuhn asks, Does belief in God need to be justified? Does God make sense? and What are the most persuasive arguments for atheism?
A gifted moderator, he creates equilibrium through his even-handed questions and eagerness to give everyone a seat at the table. You'll hear from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim philosophers as well as prominent atheists.
Topping the chart of Christian philosophers are Alvin Plantinga and Peter van Inwagen, both professors at the University of Notre Dame. From the atheistic camp you'll meet the founder of The Skeptics Society, Michael Brant Shermer. You'll also hear from thinkers who bridge the science/religion divide, such as Robert John Russell, Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences.
Addressing issues ranging from the problem of evil to how the discovery of alien life might affect our belief systems, this series will engage your mind and heart in some of the universe's biggest questions.
This course is part of the Learn25 Collection.
About the Holy Bible
A Lecture
By Robert G. Ingersoll
Narrated by Denis Daly
This aggressive diatribe against the Bible was published in 1894 and is based on an assertion that formed the basis of many of Ingersoll's attacks on organized religion -the concept of divine inspiration and the evils that spring from this contention.
On the title page the author states:
'In the nature of things there can be no evidence to establish the claim of Inspiration.'
Production copyright 2020 Voices of Today
For as long as the idea of 'miracles' has been in the public sphere, the conversation about them has been shaped exclusively by religious apologists and Christian leaders. The definitions for what a miracles are have been forged by the same men who fought hard to promote their own beliefs as fitting under that umbrella. It's time for a change.
Enter John W. Loftus, an atheist author who has earned three master's degrees from Lincoln Christian Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Loftus, a former student of noted Christian apologist William Lane Craig, got some of the biggest names in the field to contribute to this book, which represents a critical analysis of the very idea of miracles.
Incorporating his own thoughts along with those of noted academics, philosophers, and theologians, Loftus is able to properly define 'miracle' and then show why there's no reason to believe such a thing even exists.
Addressing every single issue that touches on miracles in a thorough and academic manner, this compilation represents the most extensive look at the phenomenon ever displayed through the lens of an ardent non-believer.
In 2013, when the state of Oklahoma erected a statue of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol, a group calling themselves The Satanic Temple applied to erect a statue of Baphomet alongside the Judeo-Christian tablets. Since that time, The Satanic Temple has become a regular voice in national conversations about religious freedom, disestablishment, and government overreach. In addition to petitioning for Baphomet to appear alongside another monument of the Ten Commandments in Arkansas, the group has launched campaigns to include Satanic 'nativity scenes' on government property in Florida, Michigan, and Indiana, offer Satanic prayers at a high school football game in Seattle, and create 'After School Satan' programs in elementary schools that host Christian extracurricular programs. Since their 2012 founding, The Satanic Temple has established nineteen chapters and now claims 100,000 supporters. Is this just a political group perpetuating a series of stunts? Or is it a sincere religious movement?
Speak of the Devil is the first book-length study of The Satanic Temple. Joseph Laycock, a scholar of new religious movements, contends that the emergence of 'political Satanism' marks a significant moment in American religious history that will have a lasting impact on how Americans frame debates about religious freedom.
From bestselling author and provocateur Christopher Hitchens, the classic guide to the art of principled dissent and disagreement
In Letters to a Young Contrarian, bestselling author and world-class provocateur Christopher Hitchens inspires the radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, and angry young (wo)men of tomorrow. Exploring the entire range of 'contrary positions'--from noble dissident to gratuitous nag--Hitchens introduces the next generation to the minds and the misfits who influenced him, invoking such mentors as Emile Zola, Rosa Parks, and George Orwell. As is his trademark, Hitchens pointedly pitches himself in contrast to stagnant attitudes across the ideological spectrum. No other writer has matched Hitchens's understanding of the importance of disagreement--to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress, to democracy itself.
A leading minister offers an inspiring guide to living a meaningful life by embracing the power of gratitude.
"Galen Guengerich's wise and tender words about belonging, connection, and gratitudeare like keys to unlock our hearts, give us courage, and call us into the kind ofrelationships and community we are all longing for."-Elizabeth Lesser, bestselling author of Broken Open
Galen Guengerich, the charismatic, brilliant leader of one of the nation's most prominent Unitarian Universalist congregations, All Souls in New York City, shares with readers his wisdom on how to lead a purposeful and joyful life through the practice of gratitude. When Guengerich was in his midtwenties, he left the Conservative Mennonite Church, the faith of his upbringing. The prospect of venturing out on his own was daunting, but he needed to find the way of life that was right for him.
For Guengerich, transcendence is not limited to experiences of the divine; it can also be reached through gratitude's ability to take us beyond ourselves and create connection to others and the universe. Through his personal story, poems that resonate with his spiritual message, and guided spiritual practice, including "gratitude goals," this book helps readers discover how the way of gratitude can make them happier and healthier, and provide a new sense of belonging, not only to the universe as a whole but also to themselves.
