Theological Criticisms

Why Atheists Care About Religion?

First and foremost, it's critical to understand why an atheist might spend time criticizing religion.

Theists may ask, "Why not just ignore us? And leave us alone with our beliefs?" But the problem is not that simple. Atheists are perhaps the last, most oppressed minority in the world, and especially in the United States.

For example:

PART IV. CRIMES, PUNISHMENTS AND PROCEEDINGS IN CRIMINAL CASES
TITLE I. CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
CHAPTER 272. CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY, DECENCY AND GOOD ORDER
Chapter 272: Section 36. Blasphemy
Section 36. Whoever wilfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying, cursing or contumeliously
reproaching God, his creation, government or final judging of the world, or by cursing or 
contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching
or exposing to contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures shall be 
punished by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than three 
hundred dollars, and may also be bound to good behavior. [1]

In Massachusetts, it's against the law to be atheist. You can spend a year in jail! This is just the tip of the iceberg. We have to dedicate at least one whole page to these issues.

See Why atheists care about religion

Philosophical Arguments

• Top 10 arguments for the existence of God - A comprehensive outline of the most common claims theists make that prove God is real, along with detailed explanations of why they are faulty.
• 10 questions every intelligent christian must answer
• 20 Reasons to abandon Christianity - A very detailed and compelling set of reasons why Christianity is invalid.
• Do believers really believe? - If you truly believe something, your actions should indicate so. Are there any inconsistencies with this when examining Christians?
• The hypocrisy of a Christian - You might be a Christian if... what you say, what you think and what you do are in constant conflict
• Why does faith deserve respect? - Religious people demand that people respect their faith, even if they disagree. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.
• Occam's Razor - The most obvious explanation is usually the most likely. Are there magical omniponent, all-seeing, all-knowing supreme beings that are watching over us, or is this just a bunch of myths written by men to explain the unknown?
• How many atheists are there in prison? - If believing in a God is the basis of moral behavior, why do statistics show that the vast majority of people incarcerated are theists?
• Free will - The fallacy of free will. Does it exist, or is it merely an illusion?
• How to piss off an atheist - An amusing short video
• Make up your mind, God - There are some major inconsistencies which go right to the heart of Christian dogma.
• Misconceptions about atheists - A talk by Sam Harris
• It's a miracle - The other side of the argument theists make regarding the "grace of God."
• Disproving God via argument of the infinite - If God has no creator himself, then he must be infinite, but does this premise disprove the existence of God?
• Why are Christians so angry? - If you know you're going to heaven, why spew so much vitriol on non-believers?
• Why atheism? - A detailed essay that covers a lot of ground through history and philosophy describing how atheism manifests itself and why.
• Who are atheists? - There is a lot of misinformation about who atheists really are. This article addresses the issue well.
• Why theists hate atheists - This commentary sheds a lot of light on why religious people seem to be so bent on attacking atheists.
• Funerals make me glad to be an atheist - A story of one person's impression of the funeral of his grand father.

Arguments Against Scripture

• The ten commandments - What's wrong with them?
• Bible rules - A comprehensive list of things in scripture your preacher never told you about!
• Abominations - There are plenty more "abominations" according to the bible than merely being gay.
• Scripture - FreeThoughtPedia's main section on scriptural analysis & history
• Abortion and the Bible - What does the Bible say about abortion?
• The Bible and Science - How accurate is the Bible when it makes claims that science and actual evidence can verify?
• The Bible and Prophesy - Theists claim the Bible has never had a failed prophesy... Let's take a look.
• Inconsistencies in the Bible - Making sense of the "infallible" word of God can be maddening.
• Bad Bible Advice - If it's in the Bible, it must be true and good, right?
• Good Bible Advice - The bible says some nice things too!
• Bible perverts - Whatever fetish you're into, you can find biblical justification
• Christianity: Religion of peace? - Is Jesus all about peace and love, or something else?
• Dear believer - An open letter to Christians by Dan Barker about what they expect him to believe.
• Magic Bible - The Bible makes all sorts of amazing promises. Here's your source for a wide variety of goofy claims.
• Incompatible properties - Proof that god is logically impossible and contradicts himself and his nature
• Murderous God - The God of the bible is a tyrannical, murderous, genocidal maniac
• Where are the unicorns? - Unicorns are mentioned in the Bible nine times. If the Bible is real, where are they or evidence of their existence?
• God is evil - The Bible is all the evidence you need to show how "good" God might be
• Monotheism is a farce - There's ample evidence that Judaism, Islam and Christianity are directly descended from polytheistic mythology.
• Old testament vs new testament - Christians claim the old testament is no longer valid and Jesus brought forth a new covenant. What does the Bible say about this?
• Bible rules - Theists use the Bible to make all sorts of regulatory claims. Here are some they ignore.
• The 2-verse Christian test - Are you a Christian? Use these two verses from the bible to test how "Christian" you are.
• Crazy bible - The Bible says all kinds of unusual things.
• Monsters in the Bible - Where are all these neat creatures that the Bible refers to?
• Bizarre bible stories - Top 10 list of craziest stories in the Bible.
• Perverted bible - Who needs porn when you have the Bible?
• The world according to fundamentalist christianity - A "Cliff's Notes" on how fundamentalist Christians look at the world.
• Goofy Jesus - Jesus wasn't nearly as cool as people think.
• Amazon.com user reviews of the Holy Bible
• Was the bible plagiarized from other works of fiction?
• What language was the bible written in?

Historical arguments

• A Silence That Screams - What evidence is there for a historical Jesus? This page outlines a comprehensive analysis of what we know about a real-life Jesus character.
• America is not a Christian nation - There's plenty of evidence to indicate the America's founding fathers specifically intended for the country to not be founded upon any religion
• A nation of Christians is not a Christian nation
• Religious_Scandals - Virtually every religion has dirty laundry it would rather not discuss.
• Was the United States founded on Christianity? - An in-depth look at the circumstances surrounding the inception of the United States and its government.
• Jesus and Mithra - Is the story of Jesus borrowed from earlier Persian mythology?
• Thomas Jefferson letter to Peter Carr - A revealing letter from one of America's founding fathers to his nephew, speaking of religion and reason

Scientific arguments

• The Fact of Evolution - Evolution is a fact as well as a theory and here comes the science!
• God belief physiology - Is there a biological need that believing in God satisfies?
• Believers are no better - Do statistics show that religious people are more moral than atheists?
• Evolution - An index of articles on evolution
• Museums and religion - Does religious dogma belong in public science institutions?
• Bible stickers - Freethinker responses to attempts to derail science teaching in schools
• Twelve Step Programs - Do 12-Step programs work? Or is it a way to convert weak-willed people to religion?
• Scientists and atheism - Studies showing what percentages of scientists believe (or don't believe) in God(s)
• Stupid design - Just how intelligently designed is our universe?

Theological hypocrisy

• Grace Community Church of Jacksonville - demonstrates what a church will do to impose moral standards, even on ex-members.
• Theists in the news - News reports of religious people
• Theists Gone Wild - Not everyone turns the other cheek
• Religious Scandals - The history of religion isn't so rosy

Documentaries

• The God Who Wasn't There - Did Jesus really exist historically?
• The root of all evil? - Richard Dawkins' brilliant BBC 2-part series on religion
• Enemies of Reason - Expose of superstition in modern society

• Penn & Teller - Holier Than Thou

Essays

• Free Will - What is it? Do people really have "free will?"
• Engaging Creationists: The atheist version of Paris Hilton - Pile takes a harsh look at the atheist movement and their unhealthy preoccupation with the fringe fundamentalists. Is this causing more harm than good?
• Our godless Constitution - A well-written and researched article from The Nation outlining the details of the founding fathers of the United States and their position on theocracy.
• The Age of Unenlightenment - Columnist Charlie Brooker from London's Guardian newspaper writes one of the most powerful and pointed editorials ever, on the issue of religious influence in modern society.
• Why I Am Not A Christian - A speech by Bertrand Russell in 1927
• The dragon in my garage - An essay by Carl Sagan
• God's enemies are more honest than his friends - Who's really telling the truth or honest with themselves? By Sam Harris
• The Improbability of God - By Richard Dawkins; an analysis of the Argument from Design
• To Live at All is a Miracle - By Richard Dawkins; an ultimate analysis of the Argument from Improbability and his own version of the pursuit of the meaning of life for an atheist
• Is atheism hate speech? - If you don't believe, theists often claim you "hate god". What kind of sense does that make?
• The cancer from within - An Air Force Academy graduate attends the orientation ceremony for his son and remarks that things are not the way they used to be.
• One-dimensional thinking - Ever wonder what goes on in the head of a theist who believes in heaven or hell?
• FatAtheist's 10 Commandments - One freethinker proposes his own set of 10 commandments.
• The Sacrifice of Reason - By Sam Harris
• Notes on Gender-based violence in the contemporary Hindu society - By Shubhojoy Mitra

Other Arguments

• Christians do the darnedest things - Christian sex perverts and more... Wait, what?
• One line responses to theists - Quick quips to silence most theist criticism of atheism
• Quotes - Quotes from various personalities on the topic of religion and theism
• Quotes on politics and religion - Quotes regarding religion and politics
• Funny theist quotes - In many cases, just seeing their own claims in print is an effective counter-argument. Take a look at this huge collection of quotes from religious people online.

See Also

• Atheist intolerance - Stories of atheists facing discrimination
• Religious Debate - Index of formal and informal debate video and audio
• Essential reading - Freethoughtpedia's list of recommended literature
• Index of theological debates
• Ignorance & Misinformation