The 10 Commandments Exposed

"What is wrong with the Biblical Ten Commandments? As it turns out, a lot."

Most people respect most of the content of the 10 Commandments (link), even though most people cannot recite what they are (link). The link below does an excellent job exposing how they were formulated. They are not worthy of respect as a source of morality because they primarily were for authority and control.

What's Wrong With The Ten Commandments?

How about substituting John W Loftus' version of them? (link)

Miracles

"A miracle is an event not explicable by natural or scientific laws. Such an event may be attributed to a supernatural being (God or gods), a miracle worker, a saint or a religious leader."     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle


It is virtually universal that all religions based on an interventionist deity accept miraculous claims.  In such cases, eyewitness testimony's value is inflated, as scientific scrutiny has failed to support the reality of any miracle.  This link is a textbook example of overselling the importance of eyewitness testimony by a religious apologist:    http://www.toughquestionsanswered.org/2015/08/24/why-was-hume-wrong-about-miracles-part-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ToughQuestionsAnswered+%28Tough+Questions+Answered%29

This link concisely presents the reality of miracle claims from a science-based perspective:  http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Miracle

Joe Nickell, a noted skeptic, wrote this article for The Secular Web:
Examining Miracle Claims

The Skeptic Dictionary addresses the Catholic claims of incorruptible saints:
Incorruptible Body

John W Loftus does a good job of defining miracles and looking at them from biblical times to today here, and also does a good job in exposing the dishonesty of apologetics. He has a nice summary here also.

Rationality Rules clearly and succinctly debunks miracles here.

A final challenging thought for anyone who accepts miracles: 

• Miracles, if they actually occur, are suspensions of the laws of nature.

• Science depends on strict regularity of the laws of nature for its success.

• Science works.

What Is "Sophisticated Theology/Philosophy?"

One of my favorite atheist authors is John W. Loftus. He recently reposted one of his quotes on Facebook that I consider a classic. Here it is:

"What is Sophisticated Theology/Philosophy?

"Sophisticated theology/philosophy is argumentation used by delusional people to defend the indefensible. It is pure sophistry, empty rhetoric without substance, fallacious reasoning, ungrounded assertions lacking sufficient evidence. Sophisticated theology/philosophy is a kind of red-herring argumentation used as a smokescreen to hide the fact that faith lacks sufficient evidence. Follow its trail and you will be led down the rabbit hole of definitions used to obfuscate the lack of evidence. Sophisticated theology/philosophy confuses people who don't share that sophistication. At its most fundamental level sophisticated theology/philosophy is nothing more than special pleading."

There IS A Proper Way To Do History

Among Richard Carrier's skills is the ability to communicate what is involved with the Historical Method:

• "Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Primary sources and other evidence including those from archaeology are used.

• "In the philosophy of history, the question of the nature, and the possibility, of a sound historical method is raised within the sub-field of epistemology. The study of historical method and of different ways of writing history is known as historiography."

This hour-long presentation delves into the subject in a logical and understandable manner:

Miracles and Historical Method
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NOTE: John W Loftus, an atheist author who has earned three master’s degrees from Lincoln Christian Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Loftus, a former student of noted Christian apologist William Lane Craig, got some of the biggest names in the field to contribute to this book, which represents a critical analysis of the very idea of miracles.