TreesNightly

The following is an interview with Tjaart Blignaut of Massive Activity . Over time, your blog has taken a much greater focus on atheism. Why this change of focus? Have you always been an atheist? I have been an atheist since about the age of twenty one or twenty two. I spent quite a lot of time being quiet about my atheism, because I thought that beliefs were something personal that shouldn't be disturbed. My mind was changed gradually when I became aware of Richard Dawkins' out campaign. When I came out I realised that atheism was very much misunderstood, and I became troubled by the fact that Christians would totally ignore the fact that I was an atheist. My position was readily dismissed as a phase, or I was told that I would eventually turn back to belief. This thoughtless dismissal frustrated me, and I turned to blogging and engaging with believers online to say all the things I felt needed to be said, and pave the way for more atheists to feel like they could come out and...

Religious apologists when arguing for the Kalam Cosmological Argument accept and promote the scientific consensus regarding the Big Bang Theory, yet totally devalue the scientific consensus regarding modern evolutionary synthesis when arguing for the Design Argument (and to a lesser degree a variety of other arguments for God.)? Convenient. When I believed in a supernatural creator, it bothered me that other people believed in supernatural creators before the one I believed in was a thing. Especially since those people's beliefs are seen as B.S. nowadays.? One of the great double standards of religious apologetics is the notion that something from nothing is impossible while the material from the immaterial is fundamental.? Praying for your headache to go away is a bad idea. Praying for your limb to regrow is a horrible idea. Unless you are the world's healthiest hypochondriac, just say "no" to faith healing. The placebo effect can't fix much.? I'm tired of at...