Godless (63 page)
10
Stephen Hawking, in his introduction to
Before The Beginning
by Martin Rees, calls God a “theoretical construct.”
Before The Beginning
by Martin Rees, calls God a “theoretical construct.”
12
Craig, W. L. (1992). “The Origin and Creation of the Universe: A Reply to Adolf Grunbaum,”
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
43. (As quoted in “Some Comments on William Craig’s ‘Creation and Big Bang Cosmology’ ” [
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/adolf_grunbaum/comments.html
] (1994) by Adolf Grunbaum.
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
43. (As quoted in “Some Comments on William Craig’s ‘Creation and Big Bang Cosmology’ ” [
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/adolf_grunbaum/comments.html
] (1994) by Adolf Grunbaum.
13
Simultaneous creation is not only non-intuitive, but also problematic. Without temporal succession, there is no way to determine the order of cause and effect. If creation happened simultaneously, we cannot eliminate the possibility that the universe created God. (Don’t some atheists say that “God” is a human creation?)
14
The Book of Genesis portrays the Hebrew deity creating the world in time: “On the first day, second day, etc.” To the biblical literalist, God’s actions are indeed temporal, and therefore under the jurisdiction of Kalam.
15
I know there are some theoretical attempts to treat sets as members of themselves—the “set of all sets” ought to include itself, or the “set of concepts,” being a concept, ought to include itself—but I think these are examples of mixing logical spheres, producing confusing semantics. A set-as-collection has a different referent from a set-as-concept. (All sets-as-concept probably have the same referent.) To be useful, a concept should boil down to its lowest level of referent and avoid paradoxes: the “set of sets of sets of sets, etc.” is obviously artificial, lacking any useful referent. The “catalog of all catalogs that does not list itself” is paradoxical, therefore impossible. In any event, “the universe” is a collection of material things (lowest referent), not a “collection of concepts.” (Thanks to Doug Krueger and Alan Gold for insights on this matter.)
18
Atheists are sometimes accused of having a “bias against the supernatural,” but it could be countered that theists have a “bias against the natural.”
20
We could say that “The universe is not composed entirely of pork chops,” but this does not distinguish the universe from any other set. We will never stumble upon a “set of all things” made entirely of pork chops, and say, “Oops, this is not the universe.” (If we thought we did, we would have to admit that it is only a subset of all things that exist—a part of the universe, not another universe.) We
can
find rivers in New Jersey, pyramids built in the 20th century and jellybeans in various shapes, and we would agree that their existence contributes to the set of all things that those other things are not.
can
find rivers in New Jersey, pyramids built in the 20th century and jellybeans in various shapes, and we would agree that their existence contributes to the set of all things that those other things are not.
21
Including John Allegro, G. A. Wells, Michael Martin (who leans towards Wells’s view), Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy (
The Jesus Mysteries
), Robert Price (
Deconstructing Jesus
), Frank Zindler (
The Jesus The Jews Never Knew
), Earl Doherty (
The Jesus Puzzle
), and others.
The Jesus Mysteries
), Robert Price (
Deconstructing Jesus
), Frank Zindler (
The Jesus The Jews Never Knew
), Earl Doherty (
The Jesus Puzzle
), and others.
25
Including the Westar Institute, Santa Rosa, California, with 70+ bible scholars and many books and publications.
27
“Americans’ Bible Knowledge Is in the Ballpark, But Often Off Base,” July 12, 2000, Barna Research Group.
28
Did Jesus Rise From The Dead? The Resurrection Debate,
Gary Habermas and Antony Flew, ed. Terry L. Miethe, Harper & Row, 1987. Flew’s remarks were inspired by David Hume’s
First Enquiry.
Gary Habermas and Antony Flew, ed. Terry L. Miethe, Harper & Row, 1987. Flew’s remarks were inspired by David Hume’s
First Enquiry.
30
See for example
The Passover Plot: A New Interpretation of the Life and Death of Jesus,
by Hugh Schonfield.
The Passover Plot: A New Interpretation of the Life and Death of Jesus,
by Hugh Schonfield.
32
See “Historical Evidence and the Empty Tomb Story: A Reply to William Lane Craig,” by Jeffery Jay Lowder, 2001.
www.infidels.org/library/modern/jeff_lowder/empty.html
.
www.infidels.org/library/modern/jeff_lowder/empty.html
.
33
“Thomas” and “Didymus” both mean “twin.” Many early Christians believed Jesus had an identical twin brother. See
The Jesus Mysteries: Was the “Original Jesus” a Pagan God?
by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, pages 117-118. Although some early Christians and modern scholars conclude that Thomas must have been crucified in Jesus’ place, the authors say no, “the Gnostics invented the tradition of Jesus’ twin brother as an allegory for the ancient Daemon/eidolon doctrine.”
The Jesus Mysteries: Was the “Original Jesus” a Pagan God?
by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, pages 117-118. Although some early Christians and modern scholars conclude that Thomas must have been crucified in Jesus’ place, the authors say no, “the Gnostics invented the tradition of Jesus’ twin brother as an allegory for the ancient Daemon/eidolon doctrine.”
34
The verses from Mark 16:9-20 are included here for those who think Mark’s finale is authentic. Even though they are not authentic, they do show a contradictory story from whoever added them, most likely a Christian.
37
The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity,
by Thomas Sheehan, Random House, 1986, p. 97.
by Thomas Sheehan, Random House, 1986, p. 97.
38
The Acts of Jesus: What Did Jesus Really Do?
by Robert W. Funk and The Jesus Seminar, Polebridge Press, 1998.
by Robert W. Funk and The Jesus Seminar, Polebridge Press, 1998.
39
Mere Christianity,
by C. S. Lewis (1943, MacMillan) and
More Than A Carpenter,
by Josh McDowell (1987, Tyndale House).
by C. S. Lewis (1943, MacMillan) and
More Than A Carpenter,
by Josh McDowell (1987, Tyndale House).
40
There was also an appearance story in a lost book known as the Gospel of the Hebrews, probably written in the mid second century. We find a few quotes from this book in the writings of others. Jerome quoted the appearance story. Since it is not a complete resurrection account, it can’t be compared with the others.
42
Matthew 27:52-53. “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
54
Regional Model Life Tables and Stable Populations,
A. Coale and P. Demeny, 2nd ed., 1983. This represents statistically exact results for third world countries in the 19th/early 20th century with living conditions essentially the same as those in ancient Rome. Thanks to Richard Carrier for this data.
A. Coale and P. Demeny, 2nd ed., 1983. This represents statistically exact results for third world countries in the 19th/early 20th century with living conditions essentially the same as those in ancient Rome. Thanks to Richard Carrier for this data.
55
Although names of various Gospels had been loosely assigned to the books by tradition in the early and mid 2nd-century, they were first formally attached to all of them by Irenaeus in 180.
59
For one source, see “The ‘Elian Gonzalez’ Religious Movement” at
www.religioustoleranceorg/elian.htm
. .
www.religioustoleranceorg/elian.htm
. .
63
Beyond Born Again,
by Robert M. Price. Section II—The Evangelical Apologists: Are They Reliable? Chapter 6: “Guarding An Empty Tomb.” (
www.infidels.org/library/modern/robert_price/beyond_born_again/chap6.html
) See also
When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study,
by Leon Festinger, HarperCollins College Div, 1964.
by Robert M. Price. Section II—The Evangelical Apologists: Are They Reliable? Chapter 6: “Guarding An Empty Tomb.” (
www.infidels.org/library/modern/robert_price/beyond_born_again/chap6.html
) See also
When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study,
by Leon Festinger, HarperCollins College Div, 1964.
64
The Acts of Jesus: What Did Jesus Really Do?
by Robert W. Funk and The Jesus Seminar, Polebridge Press, 1998, p. 533.
by Robert W. Funk and The Jesus Seminar, Polebridge Press, 1998, p. 533.
65
For documentation of most of these composers and songwriters, see my article “It Ain’t Necessarily So: Music’s Debt to Nonbelievers” in
Everything You Know About God is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion
, edited by Russ Kick, (2007, The Disinformation Company).
Everything You Know About God is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion
, edited by Russ Kick, (2007, The Disinformation Company).
Copyright © 2008 Dan Barker. Foreword copyright © 2008 Richard Dawkins. All rights reserved.
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