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Principle of Analogy

I recently found the name for a simple and common sense idea that is often abused in apologetics circles, the Principle of Analogy. Bob Price described it this way: We don’t know that things have...

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End of the World (Again)

Hey gang!  This has been great fun, but today is the last day for this blog.  Of course, that’s because this is the last day for everything.  God ends the world today. I hope you took advantage of my...

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No Apologies or even Admission of Failure from Camping

What happens when you make a bold public prediction—say, for the end of the world—and it doesn’t come true?  Don’t analyze it or even acknowledge it; just pretend it didn’t happen and get on with life....

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The Moon Isn’t Made of Green Cheese … Is It?

In a fable going back centuries within various cultures, a simpleton sees the reflection of the full moon in water and imagines that it’s a wheel of green (that is, young) cheese.  It’s a tale that we...

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Using the Monty Hall Problem to Undercut Christianity

I first came across the Monty Hall Problem 20 years ago in Parade magazine: Suppose you’re on a game show, and you’re given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others,...

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Word of the Day: Confirmation Bias

Sandy beaches often have a line of debris left by the last high tide.  These lines look different on different beaches, reflections of the local environment.  They might contain rocks, shells, seaweed,...

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Humor: Paranormal Activity

Photo credit: James Randi Educational Foundation

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Back from the Reason Rally

I’ve recently returned from the Reason Rally, held on the National Mall in Washington D.C. (photos here).  There were an estimated 20,000 people there, in the rain, which is a lot more than I would...

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Shroud of Turin: An Easter Miracle?

The Shroud of Turin is a 14-foot-long linen cloth with the faint image of a man.  Imagine the cloth going from feet to head along a man’s back, then folding over the head to continue back to the feet....

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The Moon Isn’t Made of Green Cheese … Is It?

Easter has recently passed, and I’d like to rerun a post on the resurrection. In a fable going back centuries within various cultures, a simpleton sees the reflection of the full moon in water and...

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Jesus: Just One More Dying and Rising Savior

It’s a week after Easter, so here is one final post on the theme of resurrection. History records many dying-and-rising saviors.  Examples from the Ancient Near East that preceded the Jesus story...

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Conference Notes

I recently returned from the Orange County Freethought Alliance conference.  Though a local conference, it had an impressive lineup.  Of course, they had an advantage with some well-known Los...

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Christians as Star Trek Fans

Christians are modern people, no less intelligent than any other group of people, and yet they jump into a world of ancient mythology and act like it’s real.  They’re like trekkers who dress up as...

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Claims that Prayer Cures Disease

Washington recently declared a state epidemic for pertussis (whooping cough).  Pertussis hasn’t been this bad in Washington for decades.  The number of cases (close to 2000) is already ten times the...

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Word of the Day: Cottlingley Fairies

In 1917, two girls spent much of their summer playing by a stream.  Repeatedly scolded for returning home wet and muddy, they said that they were playing with fairies.  To prove it, they borrowed a...

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God is as Believable as Unicorns

A chapter in Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World (1995) is titled “The Dragon in My Garage.”  In the spirit of Sagan’s story, here is an imagined exchange between you and me about my unicorn. Me: I...

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Witch Hunts, Sex Scandals, and the Atheist Community

I attended The Amazing Meeting 2, the skeptics conference organized by magician James Randi, in 2004.  I’ve been to many conferences before and after, but this one was a big deal for me.  Though not...

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