In a previous post entitled “Why I Am an Anti-Fundamentalist,” I mentioned that I cannot condone any form of theism which preaches the concept of Hell. That post was long enough already, so I moved my elaboration of that point to here. To someone like me, the notion of Hell is absurd for at least three reasons: a.) There’s a lot of fuzzy ambiguous thinking about how this concept would even work. Presumably the torture of this “place” is supposed to… Read more
May 13, 2013
Why I Am an Anti-Fundamentalist (and not an Anti-Theist) Part 2
May 13, 2013 By Neil Carter
13 Comments
I am not a person who tends to be against things. I often say that I am a pathologically conciliatory person. Maybe it’s because I’m a middle child. Maybe it’s because I grew up sandwiched between two girls, or because I’ve fathered four of my own. Whatever the reason, I don’t like to fight. But there comes a time when you realize something needs to be fought. You see the damage it causes not only yourself but also those around you, and… Read more
May 12, 2013
Why I Am an Anti-Fundamentalist (and not an Anti-Theist) Part 1
May 12, 2013 By Neil Carter
7 Comments
I’ve argued in another post that, like all wars, the culture wars elicit different kinds of action depending on context. On the front lines, when face-to-face with one’s enemy, nothing less than confrontational attack will suffice. But when among friends, diplomacy and relationship building are the order of the day. At times like these it becomes crucial to know who your friends are, and who are your enemies. Full disclosure: As a member of the human race who feels a… Read more
May 9, 2013
In Praise of Social Networks
May 9, 2013 By Neil Carter
9 Comments
I tend to be hard on myself. I’ve never understood people who nurse high views of themselves because for me my flaws are always front and center. Some of that is natural to my own psychological make-up. It’s typical for an introspective, reflective person. But some of that came from the version of the Christian faith on which I cut my teeth. I am personally convinced that low self-esteem is one of the primary ways that evangelical Christianity does… Read more
May 8, 2013
Godless in Dixie
May 8, 2013 By Neil Carter
6 Comments
Who would you say is the most distrusted and disliked group in America? According to two large university studies, Americans distrust atheists more than Muslims, recent immigrants, and homosexuals, and they also find atheists the least desirable candidates for a future son-in-law or daughter-in-law. One survey presented a scenario in which a person hit a parked car but failed to leave behind insurance information. The survey then asked respondents to predict the probability that the person in question is a Christian,… Read more
May 6, 2013
It Takes All Kinds
May 6, 2013 By Neil Carter
14 Comments
In case you didn’t know, we are in the midst of a culture war. It’s a war between competing narratives, each having its own collection of good guys and bad guys, stories of derring-do, and tales of epic battles between the forces of good and evil for the fate of the world. But this is no mere war of words. It is a war of ideas, and ideas have consequences. Ideas lead people to do things, to take action. And… Read more
May 4, 2013
What Atheists Wish Christians Knew About Them
May 4, 2013 By Neil Carter
19 Comments
This is an excerpt from the video I posted yesterday in conjunction with the National Interview an Atheist at Church Day. This shorter clip is 16 minutes (as opposed to 49 minutes…ain’t nobody got time fuh dat) and it represents the portion of the interview I want most to be shared (but if you really want to see the longer interview, just click here). If you like it, please share it far and wide! Read more
May 3, 2013
Interview an Atheist in Church Day (Jackson, MS)
May 3, 2013 By Neil Carter
26 Comments
In conjunction with National Interview an Atheist in Church Day (May 5, 2013), the pastor of the Meadowbrook Church of Christ in Jackson, MS interviewed me on May 1st. This is the full video. Next I’ll post it again in four parts. Read more
April 30, 2013
Losing My Religion (pt. 2)
April 30, 2013 By Neil Carter
9 Comments
The first letter I sent to my friends a couple of years ago in order to “come out” about my atheism prompted a slew of questions which took me some time to think through, but what follows is my (somewhat lengthy) response to their questions. My doubts probably began early in my faith with the occasional “reality check” moments while reading the Bible. I was always bothered by things like 900 year old guys in Genesis, or Noah putting two… Read more
April 30, 2013
Losing My Religion (pt. 1)
April 30, 2013 By Neil Carter
8 Comments
What follows is a letter I wrote to a handful of friends a couple of years ago in order to “come out” to them about my atheism. It prompted a number of probing questions which necessitated a much longer letter, which I will include in the next post. After twenty years of earnest, sincere seeking, I find that I no longer believe in the existence of God. I realize it will come as a shock to those who have walked… Read more
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