No. 3 | Free Inquiry (original) (raw)
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The Silver Bullet Question (Part 2) James H. Dee
In “The Silver Bullet Question that Kills the Immortal Soul,” FI, April/May 2004, I argued that souls cannot be infused into humans in today’s world, because there is no point in human or prehuman history where a putative “first ensoulment” can be ethically justified.1 In that essay, The Silver Bullet Question was: “Who first had …
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Easter: What Really Happened?
Introduction Tom Flynn
Spoiler alert: We’ll probably never really know what happened on Easter.
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Betting on Jesus: The Vanishing of the Christ David K. Clark
Even granting the possibility of miracles, once we grasp what the resurrection saga means and how it would have had to unfold, we can be certain that it never took place.
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The Faith I Left Behind
Why I Am Not a Fundamentalist Christian Anonymous
In the pages that follow, we present three more statements of nonbelief—and an explanation of a stance against “membership” in any “group.” The first articles in this series were published in the February/March 2014 FREE INQUIRY. There’s more to come in the June/July and the August/September issues.—The Editors My transition into the folds of Southern fundamentalist …
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The Faith I Left Behind
Why I Am Not a Muslim Kylie Sturgess
Teaching an ever-changing population of young Muslim immigrant girls was sometimes an unsettling experience.
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The Faith I Left Behind
Why I Am Not a Member . . . of Anything Robert F. Allen
For one unbeliever, independence is more important than claiming the label of “atheist.”
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The Faith I Left Behind
Leaving Unholy Mother Church William F. Nolan
I’m more than an ex-Catholic; I’m an ardent anti-Catholic. Holy Mother Church should be ashamed.
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Why Is Creationism So Persistent? Lawrence Wood
Creationist beliefs are dismayingly robust because they accord with intuitions about the world that have been with us for thirty millennia and because they are imposed through childhood indoctrination.
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Faith: A Disappearing Concept Mark Rubinstein
In the last analysis, faith is the last defense shielding the believer against introspection.
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New Laureates Elected to the Academy of Humanism Sean Lachut
The International Academy of Humanism, a program of the Council for Secular Humanism, was established to recognize distinguished humanists and to disseminate humanistic ideals and beliefs.
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Editorial
To What Extent Should We Accommodate Religious Beliefs? Ronald A. Lindsay
The Hobby Lobby and Conestoga cases may prompt the Supreme Court to overextend the religious-liberty rights of corporate employers.
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Op-Ed
Dead Is Dead Arthur Caplan
If family feelings—including religious beliefs—can mandate prolonged medical care for the dead, society suffers.
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Op-Ed
What Would Happen If We All Came Out? Greta Christina
If every one of us who can do it comes out about our atheism to one person who doesn’t already know, it could change the world.
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Op-Ed
Is Democracy a Threat to Liberty? Shadia B. Drury
Liberalism and democracy are very different things. Failure to grasp that underlies America’s failed attempts to “export” “liberal democracy.”
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Op-Ed
Share, Yes; Force, No Ophelia Benson
If only more believers could recognize that their taboos apply to them, not to everyone.
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Obituary
Joe Levee, Supporter and Former Board Member Julia Lavarnway
Joseph Raymond Levee, a dedicated supporter of the Council for Secular Humanism and its supporting organization, the Center for Inquiry, died at the age of eighty-seven on February 1, 2014.
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Letters in response to the February/March 2014 issue of FREE INQUIRY.
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Church-State Update
School Rankings and Vouchers: Connecting the Dots Edd Doerr
The data actually undermine claims that private, especially religious, schools deliver better education.
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Great Minds
Lorraine Hansberry: Writing in the Light of Reason Becca Challman
Lorraine Hansberry’s drama stressed both the humanity of humanism and the need for critical thinking.
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Applied Ethics
What’s the Appeal of Christian Ethics? William R. Creasy
The problem with Christian ethics is that its ideal of denying material needs ignores the imperative to find a balanced way to live in the natural world.
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Humanism at Large
My Invisible Friends Dennis E. Erickson
Looking for guidance in life? First, make sure you know who your friends are!
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Reviews
Less Secular Than It Seems Tom Flynn
A review of Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It, by Jennifer Michael Hecht.
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Reviews
When We Learn Right and Wrong Wayne L. Trotta
A review of Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil, by Paul Bloom.
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Reviews
An Education on Education Edd Doerr
A review of The Public School Advantage: Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools, by Christopher A. Lubienski and Sarah Theule Lubienski.
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Poem
Modern Mortuary Science Katharine Merow
A poem from the April/May 2014 issue of FREE INQUIRY.
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