Were You Born Selfish?: An Interview with Frans de Waal
Both the good and bad in our species come from our primate background, says primatologist Frans de Waal, author of The Age of Empathy.
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Unreasonable Doubt: Vincent Bugliosi Defends Agnosticism
When he’s not writing bestselling books, Vincent Bugliosi is a legendary prosecuting attorney. As such, he is certainly well acquainted with the legal policy of presumption of innocence. His newest book, Divinity of Doubt, a treatise on agnosticism, would have been much better if Bugliosi had taken this principle into account in the context of his arguments for, and against, God.
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Debating God: Atheist and Evangelical Face Off at Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame had cause for its anxiety leading up to last week’s big debate between the New Atheist polemicist Sam Harris and the evangelical philosopher William Lane Craig. It’s said that all publicity is good publicity, but one needn’t strain too hard to find an exception—least of all in the history of God debates.
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Pastor Rob Bell Catches Hell From Conservatives
Bell, the enormously popular pastor of the enormous Mars Hill Bible Church, has a new book coming out this month called Love Wins in which Bell “puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly optimistic—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins.” This description launched a frenzy of reactions within the evangelical community.
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The Night of the Farting Dog: An Atheist in Freefall
Mark Salzman’s latest work tells the story of an optimistic, but highly anxious, seeker whose sense of enthusiasm and adventure dried up when the chaotic monotony of domestic life intervened with a vengeance.
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God-Haters Can Be Great Company
A reviewer misses the point. To be an atheist is to deny God’s existence, not to become enraged about God’s acts (or lack thereof).
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Way Beyond Atheism: God Does Not (Not) Exist
Most principled atheists do not go beyond simple denial. They refuse to go further, to seriously question the ground beneath their feet. And, by holding on, consciously or not, to their unjustified assumptions, they end up rejecting far too little.
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Spiritual Envy: Michael Krasny’s Agnostic Quest
One of our premier interviewers, host of KQED’s Forum, talks to RD Senior Editor Lisa Webster about atheists, God, his parents’ Judaism, and writing a book without answers.
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Web 8.0: The Return of the Human
Humanity may be a mystery, but what about the human who virtually enters a spec of dust and is able to learn the mysteries of dustness? Doesn’t this kind of leap require us to adopt a kind of awe and reverence for the mysteries outside the human as well?
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Little ‘Value’ in New Harris Book
Sam Harris latest, The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values, is undermined by poor scholarship, ad hominem attacks and an obsession with religion.