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Answering the Tough Questions about Objective Morality

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today continues our eight-part debate on the resolution, "Does objective morality depend on the existence of God?" We'll hear from two sharp young thinkers. Joe Heschmeyer, a Catholic seminarian in Kansas City, Kansas, will argue the affirmative view. Steven Dillon, a gifted philosopher and a former Catholic seminarian, will argue the negative. The eight parts will run as follows: Monday (11/4) - Joe's opening statement (affirmative) Tuesday (11/5) - Steven's opening statement (negative) Wednesday... Read More

Tough Questions about Objective Morality

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today continues our eight-part debate on the resolution, "Does objective morality depend on the existence of God?" We'll hear from two sharp young thinkers. Joe Heschmeyer, a Catholic seminarian in Kansas City, Kansas, will argue the affirmative view. Steven Dillon, a gifted philosopher and a former Catholic seminarian, will argue the negative. The eight parts will run as follows: Monday (11/4) - Joe's opening statement (affirmative) Tuesday (11/5) - Steven's opening statement (negative) Wednesday... Read More

The Science Delusion: An Interview with Atheist Curtis White

Many of today's most popular atheists, including Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, encourage their listeners to give up religion and submit to science. They believe scientific method provides the best understanding not only of the physical world but also of art, culture, economics, and anything left over. More recently, neuroscientists and their fans in the media have delivered a variation on this message: the mapping of the human brain will soon be completed, and we will know what we are and how... Read More

How Religion Benefits Everyone: An Interview with Rodney Stark

Rodney Stark is one of the leading authorities on the sociology of religion. For many years, the Pulitzer Prize nominee was professor of sociology and professor of comparative religion at the University of Washington. In 2004 he became Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and codirector of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University. He has authored more than 150 scholarly articles and 32 books, including several widely used sociology textbooks and best-selling titles like... Read More

How to Argue Well: An Interview with Matt Fradd (Video)

One of the more popular memes floating around the Internet features a young man wearing a t-shirt that reads: "I'm an atheist. Debate me." We all know the type, which also includes not a few Catholics. The Internet is a breeding ground for fiery debate and argument, as anyone with a Facebook page and a religious or political opinion knows well. Behind the safety of a screen people just love to go back-and-forth on the big question of life. But unfortunately, most of the time these arguments devolve... Read More

Do Faith and Science Contradict?: Interview with Catholic Physicist Dominique Lambert

Prominent atheists such as Richard Dawkins have consistently chastised religion for thwarting scientific research. But Professor Dominique Lambert, a respected expert in theoretical physics and the philosophy of science at the University of Namur, Belgium, believes not only does the Catholic faith, when correctly applied, not hinder science, but gives it vital intelligibility, meaning, and purpose. In this interview, Professor Lambert speaks about the necessity of a harmonious relationship between... Read More

Interview with Atheist Blogger Chana Messinger

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Chana Messinger, a popular atheist blogger who has written before here at Strange Notions. Chana is a recent graduate of the University of Chicago with a BA in mathematics. She was the president of the University of Chicago Secular Alliance for two years, a Speaker at the 2011 Secular Student Alliance Conference, a panelist at the 2012 Skepticon Conference, and a speaker at the 2013 Chicago Skepticamp and at Chicago Skeptics. She describes herself as an... Read More

(Video) Interview with Atheist Blogger Bob Seidensticker

Bob Seidensticker is a popular atheist blogger at Patheos whose blog is titled "Cross Examined". There he critiques intellectual arguments for of Christianity from an atheist perspective. He wrote a guest post recently at Strange Notions titled 10 Reasons to Just Say Nay to the Naysayer Hypothesis. After graduating from MIT in 1980, Bob designed digital hardware and worked at a number of technology companies from a 10-person startup to Microsoft and IBM. After that, he began to focus more on writing.... Read More

The Dove and the Soapbox

Early yesterday morning we received our 5,000th comment here at Strange Notions. We're just four weeks in and the response has been stunning. The site has received over 185,000 pageviews, 65,000 unique visitors, and thousands of comments. Contrary to those who claim this is "a one-sided Catholic conversation," roughly 75% of the comments have come from charitable, serious-minded atheists. As far as I can tell, there is no other place on earth where atheists and Catholics have come together in these... Read More

Pope Francis Book Giveaway

  A couple weeks ago we posted an excerpt from a new book-length interview with Pope Francis. The book is titled On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century and presents conversations between him and an Argentinian rabbi and biophysicist. We shared the book's chapter on atheism. Shortly after we posted the excerpt, the publisher, Image Books, asked if I'd like to give away some copies at Strange Notions. At first I was hesitant, thinking the... Read More

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