tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-369592192012-01-07T09:36:40.393-08:00Announcing appearances, publications, and occasional thoughts on natural philosophy and ancient history by philosopher, historian, and author Richard Carrier.Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comBlogger1721100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-63766704957757623162011-11-30T13:53:00.000-08:002011-12-02T10:45:15.484-08:00

Today I am freezing my Blogger account and moving my blog to Freethought Blogs, a prominent all-atheist venture. This move will help me earn an income doing what I do, and give my work a higher profile so it will do more good. To make my life manageable I won't be posting here anymore, nor accepting any new comments on posts archived here, but I will keep this account open in order to keep its

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-91326545471814290452011-10-28T16:08:00.000-07:002011-10-28T16:08:33.984-07:00

Here is the latest update on my moral theory work, for those keen on following it in-depth. This post is deliberately long, so those not so keen can skip this one. It assembles notes I've been sitting on for a while for lack of time to get them up. On my last trip to St. Louis I debated a fellow atheist on my own goal theory of moral values vs. the desire utilitarianism of Alonzo Fyfe. That

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-89195705405923357412011-10-26T14:32:00.000-07:002011-10-26T14:32:19.779-07:00

Just FYI to all my fans and friends and others curious to know: California blinked and acquiesced in letting Amazon pay no sales tax in the state. So just as I said I would back in July, I've gone back to the Amazon Storefront and links, because Amazon is thousands of times superior to Barnes & Noble in quality, service, and functionality.

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-5063992004249901682011-10-23T07:32:00.000-07:002011-10-23T07:32:46.463-07:00

I'm off to sell and sign my books at the Sacramento Freethought Day festival today (click link for details). I'll be hanging out at a table with David Fitzgerald. Come say hi! Buy a book! Support a starving philosopher-historian!  

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-28940784188716834322011-10-05T19:17:00.000-07:002011-10-05T19:17:33.312-07:00

As a bonus for those who funded my research on or are anticipating the publication of my two volumes on the historicity of Jesus, I have decided to summarize one of the many things I have discovered and will include in that work, making it public early, particularly as it seems important to recent scholarly debate (in a sense making this a sequel to my earlier Ignatian Vexation). Indeed, I have

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-89899630106333331482011-09-27T16:31:00.000-07:002011-09-27T16:31:00.502-07:00

This December, due to popular demand, I will be repeating the September online course I am wrapping up this week at CFI's online campus, teaching once again their one-month intro course The Real Origins of Christianity. Anyone can attend and receive a certificate of completion (though only students at UB receive college credit). It is all online and all flextime (you can work at any time of day

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-82555723495961197772011-09-15T09:14:00.000-07:002011-09-15T09:14:56.901-07:00

I will be speaking at the Center for Inquiry conference on "Science for Everyone" next month in Tallahassee, Florida, along with several other great speakers. Reception is Friday evening, 14 October (2011), 7:30-9:30pm, and the conference itself is Saturday, 15 October, from 8:30am to 5pm. Registration is $50 ($35 for students with a valid student ID), and a lunch is included. The event is at the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-7089591043767922842011-09-14T19:12:00.000-07:002011-09-15T09:22:18.177-07:00

As a veteran I was asked to join the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers and I agreed wholeheartedly. This is an excellent outfit that anyone who is a nonbeliever and a veteran or in service should join, so the MAAF can have numbers to cite and a network of resources and eyes-on-the-ground to tap. They represent you, and your fellow godless servicemen and women, and with an

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-27919197278116008592011-08-19T14:20:00.000-07:002011-08-19T14:20:31.416-07:00

I'm now confirmed as one of the featured speakers at the Fargo, North Dakota "Project 42 Conference" (click that link for all conceivable details), sponsored by the Red River Freethinkers, this September 23-25, with a Friday movie event, a Saturday series of talks (followed by a local debate and meetup that night), and a Sunday panel and activist seminar. I'll be joined by PZ Myers, Robert Price,

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-2903638987399354822011-08-17T15:22:00.000-07:002011-08-17T15:40:08.677-07:00

For all you Midwes- tern godless out there, Skepticon IV is just months away. PZ and I are grandfathered in, so we'll definitely be speaking, along with many other awesome folk. Once again this irreverent ride is brought to you by the MSU Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and as always, in Springfield, Missouri. The venue this time will be the Gillioz Theatre. Officially from Friday to Sun

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-74645111637494258522011-08-08T17:41:00.000-07:002011-08-08T17:41:36.024-07:00

This September (in just a few weeks) I will be visiting lecturer at CFI's online campus, teaching their one-month intro course The Real Origins of Christianity alongside Dr. John Shook (we co-taught the last course, on naturalism). Anyone can attend and receive a certificate of completion (though only students at UB receive college credit). It is all online and all flextime (you can work at any

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-89173859994621450052011-07-31T14:52:00.000-07:002011-07-31T14:52:59.037-07:00

The End of Christianity (the long awaited sequel to The Christian Delusion) is now available in bookstores (and I'm assured will soon be available in kindle and other digital formats). Delusion was an awesome book. End is even better. Indeed, I think the two volumes together amount to a decisive refutation of Christianity. A bona fide litmus test. No rational person can read both volumes and not

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-89610185450994777522011-07-26T12:40:00.000-07:002011-07-26T12:41:48.840-07:00

I'll be appearing at this year's Atheist Film Festival at the Roxy in San Francisco, California, to give a Q&A for the audience after the showing of the film Agora. The festival starts on Sunday, August 21 (2011) at 10am. There will be two screens with different things running concurrently. For more details (including directions, tickets, etc.) see the SF Atheist Film Festival website. If you

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-69291973996496239112011-07-08T10:53:00.000-07:002011-07-08T10:53:18.263-07:00

Now that California has signed into law a tax reform that counts internet business associations as establishing legal "nexus" for state taxes to apply, Amazon has dumped all of its California internet sales associates. That means I can no longer earn a commission on referring you to Amazon to buy my books, or other books that I think are worth reading (which I had been doing in my Richard Carrier

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-71892707681806319682011-06-14T09:11:00.000-07:002011-08-09T11:48:49.777-07:00

Over the years I have been mulling a problem in metaphysics: the ontological mysteries of Quantum Mechanics. I have been developing a theory in this regard (see, for example, The Ontology of Time and my unresolved alternatives in Sense and Goodness without God, pp. 98-99, III.4.1), and now, informed by some recent discoveries and publications in the sciences (and finally a stronger understanding

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com78tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-61129956292298355702011-06-06T14:35:00.000-07:002011-06-06T14:35:00.145-07:00

I recently did an interview for the Think Atheist podcast, which is now available. We discuss historical method generally, how historians work and what makes their work logically valid, including discussion of Bayes' Theorem and the philosophy of history, and the completion schedule of my four books currently in progress (one of which is completed and now under contract at a publisher and in the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-19698232104228140302011-06-01T20:07:00.000-07:002011-11-28T17:04:38.225-08:00

In the New Testament, at least two passages have been interpolated into the letters of Paul: 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. Today I'll present the evidence for this conclusion that most experts have long known about, but most laymen never hear. For those not savvy to the study of ancient manuscripts (called textual criticism), an "interpolation" is a word or passage that was

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-19263232819985538782011-05-30T15:02:00.000-07:002011-07-08T10:57:27.732-07:00

Several months ago the papers of the 2008 Amherst conference finally appeared in print. Sort of. I have a lot of problems with this, and the following is a review of the successes and failures of the new book Sources of the Jesus Tradition: Separating History from Myth (Prometheus Books 2010). I've been working on this review for a long time, but too many other matters kept taking precedence (

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-59703232669211792512011-05-11T10:37:00.000-07:002011-05-11T10:37:26.002-07:00

A good long while ago I completed a contract job to produce a thoroughly researched and argued case against the authenticity of the verses in Mark 16:9-20, which the mainstream consensus has long since rejected as an interpolation but fundamentalists keep trying to rescue. The final product has now finally been published at Errancy Wiki (which years ago also published a concise summary of my case

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-79275554554122180042011-04-01T09:38:00.000-07:002011-05-16T08:11:39.344-07:00

Many are asking about the mysterious new lead tablets (the Jordan Lead Codices) "suddenly" uncovered that supposedly are going to change the world, proving all sorts of weird things about the first generation of Christianity. I hear according to Glenn Beck, they are the mysterious coded books referred to in the book of Revelation! Holy Sheit! Not. All the media stories misquote people, and then

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-83336828389620253832011-03-29T10:40:00.000-07:002011-03-29T10:40:00.941-07:00

I'll be in St. Louis, Missouri the first week of May on a whirlwind tour of four events on three days. I'll be selling and signing my books at all three venues. And all do ask for small donations. (1) First is a debate in the Responsible Public Debate series held by the Ethical Society of St. Louis (which I hear is the largest ethical society in the nation) on Tuesday, May 3, from 7pm to 9pm.

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-9549340441863371642011-03-28T13:17:00.000-07:002011-03-31T08:02:39.350-07:00

I'd like to post today some (hopefully) educational and philosophical thoughts on a major current event of considerable importance, on which every American should be well informed. There has been much said of late (by both liberals and conservatives, even on the usually well-informed Daily Show) to the effect that Obama is a war criminal, because his aerial assault on Libya was unconstitutional

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com145tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-36630464768059669392011-03-25T08:52:00.000-07:002011-03-25T08:52:49.129-07:00

A day after my Riverside appearance I'll also be speaking to the Orange County Backyard Skeptics in Villa Park, California (at 7pm, Thursday, April 14). To attend (and get the venue address--it's held literally in a member's private but lovely backyard) you must be a member of their meetup group (which you can join here), or personally invited by a member. Suggested donation is $5 (or $10 if

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-2942879544536621242011-03-24T09:40:00.000-07:002011-03-24T09:40:55.147-07:00

That's right, I'll be speaking on Rapture Day! What's that, you ask? Here's the official announcement, from the event organizers (the Air Capital Skeptics and the Secular Student Alliance): Rapture Day is going to be a day of great speakers giving presentations with a focus on religion and how it relates to various doomsday claims. The event will be held at the Wichita State University CAC

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-72546457944101264182011-03-19T16:23:00.000-07:002011-03-19T16:23:41.250-07:00

A donor who wishes to remain anonymous has commissioned on my behalf a print publication of a slightly updated version of my 2006 essay "Why I Am Not a Christian." All proceeds will go to me. He just wanted it to exist so he could hand it out to door knocking evangelists, and make other handy uses of it in his own atheist evangelism. At the donor's request (and generous payment) I made several

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-56313655195354722022011-03-15T18:43:00.000-07:002011-03-15T18:43:36.802-07:00

Ontology is the study of “being,” i.e. what it means for something to “be” or “exist.” I have discussed on other occasions the ontology of time and the ontology of logic and mathematics (among other things, in numerous places). A couple weeks ago for a Christian youth group (Stand to Reason) I was asked to discuss the ontology of moral facts, expanding on questions that remained after last year.

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com146tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-15539510161502432362011-03-08T13:44:00.000-08:002011-03-08T13:44:47.592-08:00

I will be speaking in Riverside, California on Wednesday, April 13 (2011), for the Inland Empire Atheists, Agnostics & Skeptics, from 7pm to 9pm (doors open at 6pm), at the Universalist Unitarian Church on 3657 Lemon Street (see the meetup page for the event). Admission is $5 (but free to students and the unemployed). I will be selling and signing my books afterward.   Topic: Defending Naturalism

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-77966186868356696552011-02-24T17:34:00.000-08:002011-02-24T17:34:58.424-08:00

I will be appearing in San Francisco next month, on Saturday 26 March (2011), for the San Francisco Atheists, at their usual venue (Schroeder's Restaurant, on 240 Front St., San Francisco, CA 94111), from 4:30-7pm. I'll be selling and signing books as usual. Description: "From Robots to the Moon: Amazing Science and Technology of the Ancient World" : Dr. Richard Carrier, a specialist in ancient

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-16179475001798076412011-02-18T15:20:00.000-08:002011-02-18T15:20:22.258-08:00

This March (March 1 to 31) I will be visiting lecturer at CFI's online campus, co-teaching their one-month introductory course in the philosophy of naturalism, this year taught by Dr. John Shook (author of The God Debates) and myself. Anyone can attend and receive a certificate of completion (though only students at UB receive college credit). It is all online and all flextime (you can work at

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-45113389676255333522011-02-17T18:48:00.000-08:002011-02-17T18:48:35.661-08:00

Besides the major video release I mentioned yesterday, two other known videos of me came out around the same time, plus a new podcast. I'm blogging those three items today. (1) Back in 2008 the guys of Give a Damn? came to my home and interviewed me for their film (which I've seen, and it's pretty awesome, hopefully it is near to a general release). I didn't make the final cut, so Rob Lehr, the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-58255421365813634142011-02-16T09:13:00.000-08:002011-02-16T09:13:13.869-08:00

Video of my presentation at Skepticon III last year is now available. I like this one. This is my best and most entertaining talk yet. Informative and fun. I definitely recommend it. To watch it on YouTube click here. Filmed and edited by Rob Lehr of Hambone Productions, I recall there was a loss of data at the event but he restored it best he could (so you'll see a fade at one point), and I'm

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-72798422231905079932011-02-15T18:24:00.000-08:002011-02-15T18:24:56.332-08:00

I will be appearing in Greensboro, North Carolina, in a few weeks, for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Atheists, Agnostics and Skeptics, on Wednesday, March 2 (2011), at 7pm (until 9pm). My talk will be "Are Science & Religion Compatible? Looking at Ancient Creation Science vs. Modern," an updated version of the talk I gave in absentia at Indianapolis for Darwin Day 2008 (see those

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-61248989029717772732011-02-08T09:08:00.000-08:002011-02-08T09:08:47.097-08:00

You heard that right. On Saturday, 9 April 2011, at 5pm, I will be debating my "nemesis" J.P. Holding on the textual reliability of the New Testament ("Do We Have What They Had?"). It is being sponsored by the Christian congregation of Pastor Cameron English and will be held at the Amador Christian Center (see their events page; right now it's a little ways down the page). For directions and more

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com50tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-61536053513396146652011-02-02T14:43:00.000-08:002011-02-02T14:59:21.116-08:00

Recently Vincent Torley (of Uncommon Descent: Serving the Intelligent Design Community) asked the 25 Most Influential Living Atheists what their underlying views were on the issue of abortion and human rights. As I unexpectedly made that list, I received his questionnaire. It was well-formulated and honest (he allows for qualifications, for instance). I found it well worthy of an answer. He

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-2121636140324953332011-01-05T17:57:00.001-08:002011-01-05T18:33:25.670-08:00

(This is Part III of III of the conclusion to a crazy debate on political philosophy. For the back-story to what follows, jump back to Factual Politics to start the whole thread. Or click here to jump back to Part II) 6. The Social Contract: You're Either In or Out Benjamin said... SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY IS MYSTICISM No it's not. It's scientific fact, fully established by game theory and

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-24967515162667653262011-01-05T17:57:00.000-08:002011-01-05T18:21:22.657-08:00

(This is Part II of III of the conclusion to a crazy debate on political philosophy. For the back-story to what follows, jump back to Factual Politics to start the whole thread. Or click here to read Part I)   3. The Need of Facts and Logic Social Security Benjamin said... See what I had to say about the inevitability of government debt and the driving force behind it. And [when it comes

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-46986493322634492882011-01-05T17:56:00.001-08:002011-01-15T12:30:47.499-08:00

(This is Part I of III of the conclusion to a crazy debate on political philosophy. For the back-story to what follows, jump back to Factual Politics)  1. Being Logically Challenged What Is Politics? Benjamin said... Politics is force. Politics is the regulation of force. Absent government, force is unregulated, and anyone can kill or rob or hurt or intimidate anyone they please.

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-75006761304908515212011-01-05T17:56:00.000-08:002011-01-05T18:01:24.406-08:00

After posting on my blog a long while ago on the question Does Free Will Matter? a bizarre anarchist going by the local moniker Benjamin replied in elaborate length denouncing the very concept of all government whatever, insisting that if we got rid of it (all of it), everyone would live happily ever after in perfect harmony. Absurd. But nevertheless. He was insistent. Delusionally, he

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-21401715996595182872011-01-04T08:52:00.000-08:002011-01-04T08:52:52.656-08:00

Luke Muehlhauser of Common Sense Atheism interviewed me at the CSH Conference for his podcast, on historical method and the historical Jesus. I discuss my upcoming books and their content and progress. We also digress on other topics like education, the McGrews' use of Bayes' Theorem on the resurrection, and Bayes' Theorem's application to the fine tuning argument. The audio is now available to

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-70700540065264985442010-12-24T10:21:00.000-08:002011-04-28T15:14:01.930-07:00

In this latest and most blasphemous War on Christmas my faith compels me to respond to those unbelievers who would deny even the existence of the One who is the true reason for the season: Santa Claus. These people must be cognitively defective, unable to see the visions of Santa we all experience daily, or to feel His spirit moving within them (or they deny it's there when they really, secretly,

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-69142819748402943712010-12-21T07:30:00.000-08:002010-12-21T07:30:22.501-08:00

Breaking News: The Nature of Existence is now available on DVD. In fact, there is an affordable two-disc set available that has 80 minutes of additional material (which possibly includes more footage of Roger's interview with me), and a seven-disc companion set that does what I had hoped for (and asked for in my review of the film in The Skeptical Inquirer): explore all the questions that the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-92079294896169726312010-12-03T10:44:00.000-08:002012-01-07T09:36:06.649-08:00

I have added a new section to my Richard Carrier Recommends Amazon storefront. For those who might not remember (see earlier blog about this) my Amazon Storefront is a place where you can buy books from Amazon and I get a cut of Amazon's profits. It's a nice way to help support me, and get some great books that have been influential on me, and that I think are essential reading these days. I

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-74869283574608818572010-10-21T09:01:00.000-07:002010-12-03T10:36:06.501-08:00

Just a quick heads up: Skepticon 3 is on the verge of selling out. Only a few hundred seats left (out of some 1500 or so). So if you want in, now's the time...

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-71241783534134779672010-09-13T11:52:00.000-07:002010-09-13T11:52:28.791-07:00

I will be on a panel at the Council for Secular Humanism's 30th Anniversary Conference in Los Angeles (California), which is taking place October 7th-10th (2010). Unfortunately this event was way more amazing than I knew, so it's already sold out. So this notice won't be of any use to anyone--except those already lucky enough to be going. But I will be joining several other speakers on a joint

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-73781689492212220462010-09-07T11:56:00.000-07:002010-09-13T13:37:42.071-07:00

I'll be speaking in Sacramento, California, later this month, on Sunday, September 19 (2010). The talk will take place at 3pm in the Fahs Room of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento (UUSS) at 2425 Sierra Boulevard (Sacramento 95825), sponsored by HAGSA (The Humanist Association of the Greater Sacramento Area). I'll be discussing the contents and controversy of The Christian Delusion

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-18294825504302445202010-09-04T09:52:00.000-07:002011-07-15T16:29:57.195-07:00

Ever since The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails (TCD) came out we've been expecting deluded and irrational attacks. One such going the rounds now is the laboriously long treatment by the Christian crackpots at Triablogue, which they have amusingly titled The Infidel Delusion (I say amusingly because the "I know you are but what am I" tactic only reinforces the stereotype that many Christians

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-83658763020501204652010-08-27T09:35:00.000-07:002010-09-18T13:28:57.252-07:00

Quick report on a new video and podcast of me some of you might be interested in. Video: a decent video of the second Carrier-Licona debate on the Resurrection of Jesus (more a conversation really, a completely different and in many ways more illuminating format than our formal debate on this same topic at UCLA years back) is available for free viewing online. This took place at Washburn

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-90582543622898749322010-08-03T16:27:00.000-07:002010-08-03T18:06:20.981-07:00

In Sense and Goodness without God I open with an impassioned plea that everyone be a philosopher, that they replace all the devotion and time they spend (or are told to spend) on religion, all to doing philosophy instead. To which I'm often asked "How?" Indeed, someone on FaceBook just asked me that the other day. Someday (if I live long enough) I hope to write a book answering that question for

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-44800123448414440192010-08-02T10:35:00.000-07:002010-12-03T10:36:06.502-08:00

This is an update to a series of blogs I've run on the film Agora, about the murder of the scientist Hypatia in the 5th century A.D. (see Killings Hypatia and Weisz Is Hypatia). Until now I was responding to what other people said who saw it. But then I discovered Agora was playing at a theater in Berkeley, so Jen and I went to see it. I can now give it my own first-person review... It was a

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-83861504724302417992010-08-01T10:00:00.000-07:002011-08-26T18:23:25.280-07:00

A while ago I blogged about a coming film on Hypatia of Alexandria (Weisz Is Hypatia). I've heard reviews from people who've seen it (still hasn't come to where I am, and might never), and they've reassured me it isn't as loose with historical facts as it at first sounded. It does engage in fictional "what ifs" apparently, but that's fine. One review of note is by a medievalist who posted at the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-8572422100969647862010-07-30T13:13:00.000-07:002010-07-30T13:13:12.698-07:00

Today I'd like to send out three quick pleas for your support of other folk trying to fight the good fight for reason and science. -:- Help Skepticon III: They are getting so many reservations to attend that they are just about past their current venue size of 500, and reservations are accelerating, so projecting forward they are likely to have 1000 or so attending this year, which means they

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-16022277836162762002010-07-29T18:03:00.000-07:002010-08-05T15:58:27.160-07:00

I've been very busy of late, almost underground working furiously away, but I finally found a hiatus to blog some news. I have a hodgepodge of things to mention. Two items today... -:- First big news is that Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism is now available as an eBook. You can buy it in various places, but most obviously on Amazon.com (click for Kindle

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-71911740457680459222010-06-17T14:09:00.000-07:002011-02-16T09:29:06.168-08:00

It's official. And it's awesome! Skepticon 3 will take place at MSU (in Springfield, Missouri) from Friday to Sunday this November 19th to 21st (2010). Brought to you by the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. For all possible details see their official website Skepticon.org (which will be updated with more details over time as everything gets finalized). For how amazing the last was, see my

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-3415437074943045502010-06-15T16:32:00.000-07:002010-12-03T10:36:06.503-08:00

Quick notable note. Last year I blogged about the advance premiere of the odd doco The Nature of Existence by Roger Nygard. Revisit my remarks there to see what I knew about it then. I was interviewed extensively for it, and I have a two second appearance in the film. I've since received a reviewer's copy and seen it. I gave it a qualified review for The Skeptical Inquirer (which I believe will

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-60185667291109688542010-05-28T10:39:00.000-07:002010-05-28T10:42:32.670-07:00

Taking a break from renovation and housework for a new addition to my ongoing series on music. I needn't go into too much detail how this time's collection only further proves my original thesis that we live in a glorious post-musical age (though I'll drop some hints). I'll mostly just survey what I've added to my catalog since last I wrote about it. To catch up (if you're new to all this),

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-53358188566189111762010-05-14T09:56:00.000-07:002010-05-14T10:03:25.486-07:00

I apologize to anyone who has been wondering where I am. I've been incommuni- cado for many weeks due to Jen and I having just purchased a home. It's our first owned home in fifteen years of marriage. Being poor, we bought a fixer. And boy has it been. Like a voluntary labor camp I've been working 12 hour days seven days a week (even forgetting when weekends were passing) making the house livable

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-41585097992443435522010-04-08T15:47:00.000-07:002011-07-15T16:31:39.164-07:00

Two years in the making, controversial even before its launch, and perhaps the most definitive refutation of Christianity yet in print, The Christian Delusion (Why Faith Fails) is now available at Amazon and your local bookseller. Edited by John Loftus, TCD contains fifteen chapters by nine authors, including numerous experts with doctorates in their respective fields. Myself included. It's a

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-80678561161529026892010-04-07T17:14:00.000-07:002010-04-08T11:33:51.078-07:00

I will be speaking for the East Bay Atheists this April 18 (Sunday) at 1:30pm in the Berkeley Main Library (3rd Floor Meeting Room) on 2090 Kittredge St. in Berkeley (California). It's about a block south of the downtown Berkeley BART station. Subject: "Why Everyone Says Medieval Christians Invented Science." I'll summarize and expand on one of my chapters in the controversial book The Christian

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-32904937935949897072010-03-31T16:48:00.000-07:002011-02-25T08:44:22.082-08:00

Yesterday I posted on my recent article in Free Inquiry on Defining Naturalism, in which I also replied to The Teapot Atheist's response to that FI article. TPA then answered back (Richard Carrier on Richard Carrier on Naturalism...I think just using my last name would have been more economical, but that's just my aesthetics talking :-). He's well in earnest. But still wrong.  Some of my

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-63643685037446543462010-03-30T10:26:00.000-07:002011-02-25T08:44:22.083-08:00

An article I submitted years ago has finally made it into the pages of Free Inquiry magazine (issue 30.3 of April/May 2010, pp. 50-51), "On Defining Naturalism as a Worldview," part of their ongoing 'It's Only Natural' column. It was sitting in their queue for ages. It essentially just summarizes the most important points of my more extensive blog on the subject, Defining the Supernatural. It

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-60399216214171259182010-02-25T17:06:00.000-08:002010-03-12T08:17:07.865-08:00

I will be appearing next month in Tuscon, Arizona, for the Center for Inquiry of Southern Arizona, on Sunday, March 21 (2010) at 10am (until about noon), at the DuVal Auditorium (1501 North Campbell Ave. in the University of Arizona Medical Center, to the right of the lobby, after walking in the main entrance of the UMC). I'll be delivering a reprise of my talk on Not the Impossible Faith (

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-79289249980884023202010-02-07T11:00:00.000-08:002010-02-07T11:00:28.508-08:00

The day after my debate in Topeka, Kansas (this coming week) I'll be giving a talk in Olathe, Kansas for the Kansas City Freethought community. That's Friday, February 12. The event will be held at 6pm (and go until 9pm) at the Bass Pro Shop on 12051 Bass Pro Drive (Olathe, Kansas 66061). I'm told you just "enter the front doors, take the center staircase to the second floor, then enter the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-79982461417341616692010-01-27T09:22:00.000-08:002010-01-27T09:26:12.993-08:00

We finally have a venue for this Thursday (Jan. 28): at 6pm (running until 8:30pm or so) I will be giving a talk on the historicity of Jesus and taking Q&A at the Calgary public library (Meeting Room 1, lower level; address: 616 Macleod Trail SE). And if I have any books left from the previous day's debate (quite possibly I won't, it appears that venue may be packed), I'll be selling and signing

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-45909191605991499092010-01-25T15:23:00.000-08:002010-01-25T15:24:35.416-08:00

I might be on AM 770 (a Canadian radio station out of Calgary) this Tuesday night (Jan. 26). Check out their website for a schedule (I'll be on the Rob Breakenridge show) and where there might be an internet simulcast. I haven't been given any precise info on when (sometime between 7 and 10pm Calgary time, whatever that is) or if it will be live (or recorded and aired another day entirely) or

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-60892388845466543542010-01-22T10:31:00.000-08:002011-12-27T12:18:55.686-08:00

I will be debating Mike Licona on the Resurrection of Jesus at Washburn University (1700 SW College Ave.) in 
Topeka, Kansas, at 7pm on Thursday, February 11 (see meetup notice). The debate is sponsored by the Atheist Community of Topeka and Christian Challenge, and will be held in the Washburn Room of the Memorial Union. I'm not aware of any entry fee. I will be signing and selling my books

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-36044132568806752812010-01-15T09:53:00.000-08:002010-01-27T09:30:02.959-08:00

I will be debating Michael Horner on whether God exists, in Calgary, Canada (Alberta) this January 27th (Wednesday) at 4pm in MacEwan Hall on the campus of the University of Calgary (2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB). $2 admission. I will be signing and selling my books afterward (event is scheduled to run an hour and a half and I'll likely be around until 7pm). I will also be speaking the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-86950041168598716722010-01-02T12:02:00.000-08:002010-01-19T15:27:03.378-08:00

I've finished reading James Hannam's book God's Philosophers, which I'll probably start blogging about next month. But in the meantime I'm overdue to comment on a much screwier exchange on the same subject online. I'll do that now, to whet your appetite for my discussion of Hannam's much more careful and informative treatment. Mike Flynn (in "The Age of Unreason") levels many correct and valid

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com311tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-1087238351078262582009-12-21T12:39:00.000-08:002009-12-21T13:01:50.601-08:00

Many have asked me my opinion of the health care bills that have now come to fruition and will probably be negotiated to a complete bill for the President to sign within a week. What better topic for Christmas blogging than the health and well being of our fellow citizens? Though the critics derisively call this effort ObamaCare (hence my title), the truth is Obama has explicitly had little to

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-7137053351140255922009-12-09T13:17:00.000-08:002009-12-09T13:17:51.833-08:00

A group of UK freethinkers who maintain an Arabic website interviewed me a few months ago. That interview is now online. See tabee3i Interview with Dr. Richard Carrier. In it I discuss (counter-intuitively) why naturalism is a stronger position than mere atheism, how I think closet atheists and doubters under oppressive Islamic regimes should cope with their situation (and how godless parents

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-33440994440668711712009-12-02T17:46:00.000-08:002009-12-02T17:59:18.919-08:00

It's been nearly a year and the common opinion is that President Obama has gotten little done and failed to deliver on any of his promises. Of course it's unrealistic to expect he would in only a year. It took Bush eight years to right and fully screw this country over inside and out. So we should wait for at least Obama's second State of the Union address before assessing him as a president. He

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-33505906294304788812009-11-17T18:28:00.000-08:002010-09-02T10:24:03.692-07:00

In my previous post I discussed my involvement as a commentator on a recent provocative article by Alex Rosenberg (see Rosenberg on History). At the time I had been asked to cut my word count by moving my discussion of Rosenberg's strange take on history as a science to my blog (which you can find in that previous entry, linked above). It was subsequently decided that my remaining word count is

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-58060054978502642792009-11-12T20:01:00.000-08:002010-02-26T16:48:43.327-08:00

I was invited by Gary Comstock to comment on philosopher Alex Rosenberg's interesting and provocative article on the implications of naturalism, "The Disenchanted Naturalist’s Guide to Reality," at OnTheHuman.org. I stated eight objections as an invited commentator at that site, but due to word limits I was unable to post my ninth and final objection, which pertained to Alex's take on history

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-82064457225972732282009-10-21T12:12:00.000-07:002009-10-26T15:49:02.488-07:00

First, I still haven't seen The Nature of Existence, but it's supporting website now has extras on it, including a few extended bits I suppose were not included in the final film, some of which include material from Nygard's interview with me (sprinkled in amidst material from other interviews). Use the the film website's People link (or click here), and wait fifty years for the page to load,

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-80498153658653695252009-09-25T11:12:00.000-07:002011-02-18T11:31:20.866-08:00

Last year I spoke at Missouri State University (in Springfield) alongside P.Z. Myers, for the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, on science, religion, and morality (video of the whole event is available on YouTube). They weren't sure if they could make it an annual event, but lo and behold, they exceeded their wildest dreams. Now Skepticon 2 is on for Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-46262879464698467172009-09-23T14:19:00.000-07:002009-09-23T14:21:48.484-07:00

On Sunday 8 November (2009) I'll be appearing in Scottsdale, Arizona (near Phoenix) for the Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix, in a special banquet room at HomeTown Buffet (on 1312 N. Scottsdale Road). Breakfast begins at 9am, introductions around 9:45am, then my talk and Q&A (and book sale and signing) will run to 11:30am or so. The event is on the HSGP calendar, but you'll get more of a

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-78832505489075511982009-09-22T08:26:00.000-07:002009-09-22T08:33:58.925-07:00

Last year I promised to make several appearances around the country, and now these are all coming to fruition. I blogged the SFSU event last week. This week I'll be blogging several more. Tuesday, October 20 (2009), I'll be appearing in Sacramento (California), at 191 Lathrop Way, Suite D, for the Sacramento Freethinkers, Atheists and Nonbelievers (FAN). For directions see the website of the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-73342073268894367842009-09-11T17:54:00.000-07:002009-09-11T18:01:05.112-07:00

Students at San Francisco State University want me to give a talk and take questions on the subject of mathematics and god, from the perspective of physics and naturalism. It's been quite a long time in the making, but we've arranged an event for Tuesday, 29 September (2009), 4-6pm. The talk is sponsored by the SFSU Department of Philosophy and by the Philosophy of Religion Society. It's free and

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-64781135732786712009-08-28T13:30:00.000-07:002009-08-28T13:30:59.407-07:00

Ben Dench at the liberal-progressive OEN (OpEdNews) web news service conducted and published an extended interview of me on a variety of topics. It's now available online. We discuss the future of Christianity, the role of secularism in improving society, my beefs with professional philosophy, and my proposal that a lottery for congress would be superior to the current election process. And a few

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com149tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-19639106306363445332009-08-26T09:38:00.000-07:002009-08-28T10:06:12.803-07:00

Just a quick notice: at 11pm EST (8pm PCT) tomorrow (Thursday, August 27, 2009), Missouri State's student run internet station, The Growl, will be having a conversation with me on a variety of topics, including the new chapters I prepared for an upcoming anthology by John Loftus (one of those agreements I made years ago that finally came due, I'll blog it when it hits the presses next year), and

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-43790091317638647602009-08-19T14:10:00.000-07:002009-08-19T14:55:20.474-07:00

In his thoughtful reply to my recent review of his book Encountering Naturalism, Tom Clark narrowed the differences between us on how naturalism changes the way we should think. We agree on even more than I suspected. But important differences remain, and one is so important it warrants an entire blog of its own.In Sense and Goodness without God I make a point of the fact that what people say

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-58897454176147271832009-08-11T08:56:00.001-07:002011-07-08T10:59:32.541-07:00

Last year I read two important books about metaphysical naturalism, which are very different from each other. I'll review the first today, Thomas Clark's brief summary (only 101 pages) of the naturalist worldview, in aid of his website and institute devoted to the subject, the Center for Naturalism (which has been much updated of late, and now has a rather elegant look and a great collection of

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-867350060729684762009-07-24T10:09:00.000-07:002009-08-28T10:06:12.803-07:00

Last year I recorded a new lengthy interview for the Polyschizmatic Reprobates Hour on Rodney Stark's disastrously awful treatment of ancient science. Dan the Demented cut the show into three parts, the third on other topics, but the first two on Stark. Those two episodes are now up and available, on the PRH website and as podcasts. You can listen to them here: [Season 3 Episode 3] [Season 3

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-83035042803719709822009-07-17T13:08:00.000-07:002009-07-17T13:25:34.032-07:00

I will be giving yet another reprise of my talk on Not the Impossible Faith in Los Angeles (California) this August 2 (2009) for CFI West (4773 Hollywood Blvd.), at 11am on Sunday. This is part of their Feed Your Brain program. Free to Friends of the Center, $8 admission for everyone else. I will be selling and signing books afterward (where you'll get a better deal on NIF than online). For a

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-84780386152731294062009-06-10T14:49:00.000-07:002010-08-02T10:39:18.753-07:00

The absurdly beautiful Rachel Weisz is playing the famous atheist and feminist icon, the late 4th century pagan philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, in the epic film Agora by Alejandro Amenábar, which is projected to release in December, just before Christmas. According to Rueters, the film sounds like an interesting pro-atheist myth, exaggerating certain realities to convey a pro-science message

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-48179808273239644212009-06-05T10:19:00.000-07:002009-11-30T12:50:20.525-08:00

In a past thread I've been having a lengthy and interesting discussion with a neopagan about the nature of Taoism, paganism, and supernaturalism. In the course of which, the issue of humanity's future came up. Much was said, but it eventually boiled down to this: some think I and many other atheists are too optimistic about the future. I made the point that the past three hundred years have

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com50tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-33170668064282855872009-06-02T10:18:00.000-07:002012-01-07T09:36:40.421-08:00

Amazon has a new program that allows associates to build their own mini-storefronts to promote their favorite books and videos. We get a commission on everything sold there, even stuff you add to the shopping cart from your own wishlist while you're there, or the Amazon automated and listmania recommendations that pop up. I've updated my Support page to explain this and more. To check out my

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-35745610258491095512009-05-29T08:38:00.000-07:002009-05-29T09:49:10.924-07:00

I'll be appearing at Camp Quest West this year. For those who haven't heard of it, Camp Quest is a national organization that endeavors to reproduce all the great trappings of Church Camp for atheists, providing a place godless kids can spend a week in the wild, learning stuff, having fun, gobbling early morning flapjacks, roasting strange things over a campfire, putting on silly skits, staying

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-77470562696055027342009-05-27T09:28:00.000-07:002009-05-27T09:45:00.558-07:00

I will be giving yet another reprise of my talk on Not the Impossible Faith in Sacramento (California) this June 14 (2009) for Atheists and Other Freethinkers. This will be their usual meeting time and place, Sunday 1pm to 4pm in Room 10 at the Sierra 2 Community Center, 2791 24th Street, just south of Broadway (see map). Parking is available on the street or in the rear (off 4th Avenue). It's

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-7088821787325800722009-05-12T08:55:00.000-07:002009-05-12T09:06:53.024-07:00

The San Francisco Atheists have asked me to give an encore presentation of my discussion of J.P. Holding and my book Not the Impossible Faith in San Francisco (California). This will be in the banquet room at Schroeder's (240 Front Street, when you walk in just head all the way to the back room) on the Saturday of May 30 (2009) at 6pm. It's open to the public, but you will be expected to buy a

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-18736427156585211992009-05-01T12:31:00.000-07:002010-09-04T09:38:33.616-07:00

Today, critics compel me to compose a long and dull commentary on probability and biogenesis, which will nevertheless be terrifyingly important to some people. The rest of you can skip all the way down to the last section marked "conclusion" and just read that. Everyone else, bear with me. In Sense and Goodness without God I briefly summarized the conclusion and justification for a naturalist

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-34953535206473052262009-04-20T14:42:00.000-07:002009-08-28T10:06:12.804-07:00

On Thursday April 30 (2009) at 5pm PST (8pm EST) I will be the guest on The Infidel Guy (a godless internet radio show, for those not in the know), for about an hour. It will be by phonecon, which I hate, but it will be casual and informal, and topical. We might wander over many subjects, but the big three will be my thoughts on The Jesus Project, my recent debate with William Lane Craig, and my

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-76178932102018700472009-04-07T19:27:00.000-07:002009-04-07T19:45:38.338-07:00

On Sunday April 19 (2009) I will speak for the East Bay Atheists at the Berkeley Public Library (Central Library, 3rd Floor Meeting Room, 2090 Kittredge St., just a block from the Downtown Berkeley BART station along Shattuck) in California (obviously) from 1:30 to 3:30pm (that includes introductions and Q&A and everything else). The subject will be Not the Impossible Faith: Why Christianity Didn

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-61314595964267907242009-03-27T08:45:00.000-07:002009-03-27T13:26:10.412-07:00

Welcome to the fourth installment of my occasional blogging on music (to follow the trail back to the others, and the philosophy behind all this, start with More Music of Late). I figured it was time. Since my last post, my music library has grown by over a hundred tunes. Here's a survey of the best finds in the lot...The Black Angels. Haunting. Dark. Eerily groovy. Kind of like a 21st century

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-63164204873560236962009-03-25T12:07:00.000-07:002011-06-10T15:57:11.739-07:00

As many know I was interviewed for the film The God Who Wasn't There, which came out years ago and includes an extended version of my interview in the DVD extras. When I finally got to see the film, I privately circulated (eventually to journalists, academics, colleagues and others) a brief white paper on potential errors in it (only regarding the first third regarding ancient history, as that's

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-75896839401073207372009-03-20T13:45:00.000-07:002009-04-14T14:50:49.965-07:00

The Carrier-Craig resurrection debate went down the night before last. I'm finally home and rested. Here's just a quick report on what went down.As I had predicted, I didn't win the debate. As I said before the debate in comments to the previous post on this, "it always takes twice as much time to rebut an assertion as to make one, so the fact that both parties have equal time all but entails the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com161tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-74049206266982717182009-02-26T17:08:00.000-08:002009-08-28T10:06:12.804-07:00

I'm going to be in another movie. Sort of.I first became acquainted with Roger Nygard from his films Trekkies and Trekkies 2. Trekkies was superb--funny, informative, moving, yet with a real love of his subject. Trek fans only come off looking as silly as they actually are, and it's all humor in good fun (with an underlying message of humanism that's actually very Trekkie itself). Watching the

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-74377191000751390952009-02-18T12:30:00.000-08:002009-02-18T13:49:49.894-08:00

I am still writing On the Historicity of Jesus Christ. But to save space there, I found I often needed to cite an online book I wrote some years ago, which is easier to do when there are page numbers. So I went ahead and produced a Lulu print edition. I just received sales stock today, so I will be selling it at my events in March after all, as I've hinted was possible. Though it is not yet

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-8173945666029062372009-02-17T09:51:00.000-08:002009-02-26T18:08:20.542-08:00

Atheists United, who is sponsoring my work On the Historicity of Jesus Christ (in progress), will be hosting a preview of my La Verne talk (Monday March 9) in Ventura, California, the previous day (Sunday March 8), followed by a cocktail fundraiser for Atheists United (at a different location). This will make my talk reachable by people too far from La Verne to make that trip, and it'll give my

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-23995860784734147452009-01-30T09:38:00.000-08:002009-04-14T14:50:49.965-07:00

All the details have been settled at last: I will debate William Lane Craig on the Resurrection of Jesus at the Mary Linn Performing Arts Center on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri the night of Wednesday March 18 (2009) at 7pm (on the corner of College Ave. and College Park Dr).The event is being sponsored by the campus Philosophy Club. Admission will be

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com94tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-81308404682057091672009-01-10T14:20:00.000-08:002010-11-15T14:10:02.721-08:00

In my previous blog about The Jesus Project I promised a two-parter, the first on the Project in general, the next on December's conference specifically (it's been more than a week, I know, but a lot's being going on of late). This time my remarks will be rather long, as quite a lot went on, spanning the whole weekend. But all this was newsworthy, IMO. In general the conference revealed some

Richard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com48