I would like this book list to correspond to a sort of roadmap, a progression from, say, a mainline Christian to a full-blown ethical progressive atheist and humanist, who has a sure foundation for morality apart from religion. I’m not all the way there yet, as I have some books on my “to-read” list that […]
A Deconstruction Reading List Read More »
I was a Calvinist before I became an atheist. I was very Calvinist, in fact. It got to the point where I had eventually achieved such a robust Reformation theology that I accepted the idea that God could actually choose to send me to hell for eternity. I figured if it were to happen, it
Annihilationism and Your Pet Cat Read More »
I am an agnostic Jesus-follower. That is, science and reason tell me that Yahweh, even if he existed, was a murderous tyrant, and so if Christians teach that Jesus was the son of Yahweh, or that Jesus believed he was doing the will of Yahweh, or that Yahweh raised Jesus from the dead, that these claims must be false.
When I was an Agnostic Read More »
Since I began deconstructing my faith 10-12 years ago, I have been keeping notes in Evernote with various tags (later Notion, as I had to abandon Evernote due to its constantly-increasing fees and restrictions). I even made a Mind Map of all the points I had developed. Two of the the several organizing points were
Theodicy, Slavery, and CSA Read More »
They say: When God does good, it’s not because he’s conforming himself to some external morality; God’s actions are good because it is God doing them. Goodness is whatever God does and commands. This is the absolutist’s reply to Euthyphro’s dilemma. But maybe the absolutist is wrong. By way of illustration, what if we simply
Thoughts on Dystheism and the Sacrifice of Isaac Read More »
Tim Alberta’s The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory is a great book. The author’s intended purpose is to investigate the errors that have allowed MAGA extremism to permeate the evangelical church. The book’s overall sentiment can be summarized by this quote from a passage where the author was interviewing Cal Thomas: “When Trump mentioned
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory – Book Review Read More »
The problem of evil, or, “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” There are two categories that are really pivotal in my thoughts and opinions on theism in the last decade. These are “theodicy” and “dystheism”. The definitions of these terms are very similar, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were people out there
Dystheism vs. Theodicy Read More »
Theodicy is the attempt to vindicate God when we see so much evil in the world. During the first phase of my deconstruction, my own theodocious issues weren’t quite the same as others. For me, the problem of evil was addressed with by Calvinism and the doctrine of Original Sin. I think the big issue
The Odyssey of Theodicy Read More »
Some of these events have been addressed in previous blogs, such as my drift towards a mainline liberal church. I thought that was a destination, but “The road goes ever on and on, whither then I cannot say…” I am the son of a worship leader, and I spent 15 years of my own life
A Chronology of Deconstruction Read More »