One of the most frequent criticisms I receive is that I'm accused of being arrogant, a charge I will not deny. When one becomes extremely confident in the logic of his or her argument, it often comes across as arrogance. And to be brutally honest, I've gotten bored with responding to the average atheist's arguments against God, because they usually aren't very good and don't require a great deal of effort to refute. To those aspiring to become evangelists of atheism (after all, Dr. Richard Carrier offers online courses in "counter apologetics" for atheists) my best advice would be to learn how to think critically -- merely parroting Richard Dawkins, Richard Carrier or Sam Harris won't win the competition for ideas against the likes of John Lennox or William Lane Craig. Or my own arrogant self, for that matter. Quite frankly, the gladiator-style duels with amateur atheists that pass for debate on the internet have become old hat and really don't present much of a challenge for me anymore. They are extremely tedious and very predictable. And after making the same basic argument for the existence of God about a decade now, I've yet to encounter a better argument coming from an atheist trolling the internet. On the other hand, a debate against a serious, well known and well respected nontheist like Michael Shermer could prove to be very interesting and worth the effort for me. Of course, the first challenge will be to engage Mr. Shermer in dialogue, unless I look for an argument to destroy that he's made in the past. He's got plenty of material available on the … [Read more...]
Dishonest skepticism
How would you describe outer space? Do you think you could draw a picture of deep space that someone else would recognize for what it represented? What would you draw? I have a confession to make: I usually enjoy the writing of famous skeptic Michael Shermer, and personally think he is an excellent author. In fact, I even bought the hardcover copy of his book Why People Believe Weird Things from the Roswell Public Library. Literally, I had some difficulty putting that book down when I was actively reading it a few years ago. In the spirit of full disclosure, I confess that I felt compelled to replace the original library copy because I accidentally got ketchup stains on a page and didn't want to give them back a book that I'd damaged. Otherwise, I probably would have settled for buying the more economically priced paperback copy to add to my book collection. I've admired the work of Mr. Shermer for some time. I even thought his guest appearance on Mr. Deity was hilarious, albeit in a somewhat sacrilegious sort of way. Probably the most famous skeptic in the world today, Mr. Shermer was the founding publisher of both Skeptic magazine and founder of the Skeptics Society. Interestingly, the word "skeptic" has been defined two different ways in the dictionary: a person inclined to question or doubt all accepted opinions. synonyms: cynic, doubter; More PHILOSOPHY an ancient or modern philosopher who denies the possibility of knowledge, or even rational belief, in some sphere. Using those definitions … [Read more...]
Pure Evil
Writing horror and detective novels requires research into some very dark subjects. The writer must always ask his or herself, why do people intentionally hurt or kill other people? What was the motive for the crime? The villain in my novel Secondhand Sight was the embodiment of pure evil, a sadistic person who derived pleasure from the suffering and pain of others. Do people that sick and twisted really exist? Absolutely! My imagination isn't anywhere near that dark or fantastic to conjure up a serial killer without any inspiration from real life. My dreams are of rescuing puppies, not beheading them. I can't comprehend nor want to contemplate the sort of evil, twisted mind that could compose a letter to a young mother suggesting that she euthanize her autistic son. We all know that such evil exists. That is inarguable. History is replete with accounts of evil people committing atrocities for various reasons or flimsy excuses. The only remaining question to consider is whether or not pure evil exists, which has been defined as the idea that bad people inflict intentional harm on others for no rational reason. Do Satan and his minions actually exist? Are real demons present in the natural world? I say yes. Professional skeptic Michael Shermer reported that Florida State University professor Roy Baumeister proclaimed that the concept of pure evil is nothing but a myth, asserting that any act of aggression can be sorted into one of these four categories: Instrumental violence -- meaning violence with war-like purpose of conquest and … [Read more...]
