I've noticed that a useful question to raise in a debate regards what evidence one's opponent would consider sufficient to cause him or her to change his or her current position. This question is good for a number of reasons.



1. It will expose anyone who says "no amount of evidence could change my mind" as someone who was never open to the possibility that he or she is wrong. In this case, debate is a waste of time.



2. It can offer direction in a debate.



3. It… Continue

It is a wonder that atheists are sometimes accused of being unromantic because our worldview does not afford us belief in soulmates. Well, it seems to me that the opposite is true--that belief in soulmates definitively strips relationships of their true value and that a sober view of (godless) reality offers a much more satisfying alternative. Let me explain.



As a Christian, I firmly believed that God "had someone out there for me." You know... my rib. And it was waiting for… Continue

A question I hear from time to time is "so what were your reasons for becoming an atheist?"



I don't like this question because I've been an atheist for seven years and have learned a lot over the years. Quite simply, my reasons for being an atheist now are in some ways different than the reasons I had for becoming an atheist in the first place. The question I'd rather answer--certainly the more relevant one--is why I am an atheist now.



Another question is this: "So what… Continue

Star Trek isn't all it's cracked up to be.



Okay okay, I hope for your sake that you disagree with me. Many of my friends thought the movie was awesome. One friend said it will forever be one of his favorite movies and another said it was a milestone in cinema history. Great. I'm glad they liked it that much.



For me, however, much of the movie sounded like a bad cosmological argument. For example, a crucial plot element involves the concept of a "singularity" -- a concept… Continue

For the past few days I've seen this quote on the TA homepage:



"When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours" - Stephen Roberts



Well, I have a problem with this quote. Specifically, it's not true. Perhaps theists could say this to each other but it does not make sense for an atheist to say this to a theist. It's the same mistake made by somewhat cliche phrase - "monotheists disbelieve in countless deities;… Continue