<body BACKGROUND="images/paper.jpg" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="blue" vlink="purple" alink="green"> <blockquote> <BR> <center><font color="#0000aa" size=+4><b>Aaron's Page of Reason</b></font></center> <BR><BR> <b> "We owe it to ourselves as respectable human beings, as thinking human beings, to do what we can to make humanity more rational...Humanists recognize that it is only when people feel free to think for themselves, using reason as their guide, that they are best capable of developing values that succeed in satisfying human needs and serving human interests." - Isaac Asimov </b> <BR> <BR> <p> <font size=+2><b><a name="intro">Introduction</a></b></font> <UL> <LI> <a href="http://www.ffrf.org/nontracts/freethinker.html"><B>What is a Freethinker?</B></a> from the <a href="http://www.ffrf.org/" target="_top">Freedom From Religion Foundation</a> - An introduction to the beliefs of freethinkers.</LI><BR><BR> <LI> <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/bill_schultz/agnostic.html"><b>The Essence of Agnosticism</b></a> - A good description of epistemological agnosticism.</LI><BR><BR> <LI> <a href="http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/intro.html"><B>An Introduction to Atheism</B></a> from <a href="http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/" target="_top">The Atheism Web</a> - A gentle but thorough introduction to the different varieties of atheism and agnosticism.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.secularhumanism.org/Introduction/whatis.htm"><B>What is Secular Humanism?</B></a> - Defines secular humanism and answers common questions about humanism.</LI> </UL> <BR> <font size=+2><b><a name="atheism">Arguments for Atheism</a></b></font> <UL> <LI><a HREF="http://freethought.freeservers.com/reason/rationalview.html"><B>Arguments for Atheism</B></a> - Several basic arguments for atheism.<BR><BR> <LI><a HREF="http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_18_3.html"><b>The Improbability of God</b></a> by <a href="http://www.world-of-dawkins.com/" target="_top">Richard Dawkins</a> - "Even if the physicist needs to postulate an irreducible minimum that had to be present in the beginning, in order for the universe to get started, that irreducible minimum is certainly extremely simple. By definition, explanations that build on simple premises are more plausible and more satisfying than explanations that have to postulate complex and statistically improbable beginnings. And you can't get much more complex than an Almighty God!"<BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://freethought.freeservers.com/reason/complexity.html"><b>Science, Complexity, and God</b></a> - An atheological argument from the fundamental complexity of God.<BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://hem.passagen.se/nicb/evil.htm"><b>The Problem of Natural Evil</b></a> - "A benevolent God would allow no more evil than is absolutely necessary to achieve his ends. Because natural evil is gratuitous, its existence is incompatible with the existence of God."<BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://hem.passagen.se/nicb/Theodicy.htm"><B>Does the Free-Will Defense Constitute a Sound Theodicy?</B></a> - Theists usually argue that human free-will excuses God of the blame for evil. This article shows that the free-will defense fails.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theodore_drange/aeanb.html"> <B>The Arguments from Evil and Nonbelief</B></a> - "When God is conceived of as an all-powerful and all-loving deity, many arguments for his nonexistence can be raised. Two of the main ones are the Argument from Evil and the Argument from Nonbelief."<BR><BR> <LI><A HREF="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theodore_drange/incompatible.html"><b>Incompatible-Properties Arguments: A Survey</b></A> - Ten atheological arguments are presented (and briefly discussed) in each of which there is an apparently incompatible pair of divine attributes.<BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://hem.passagen.se/nicb/funda.htm"><b>The Errancy of Fundamentalism Disproves the God of the Bible</b></a> - Shows that the Christian god does not exist, since if he did, he would not have produced a revelation like the Bible, which contains errors and ambiguities. </UL> <BR> <font size=+2><b><a name="theism">Arguments for Theism</a></b></font> <UL> <LI><a href="http://freethought.freeservers.com/reason/misc.html"><B>Arguments for Theism</B></a> - Several common arguments for theism are refuted.<BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://freethought.freeservers.com/reason/pascal.html"><B>Pascal's Wager</B></a> - Despite its obvious logical fallacies, Pascal's Wager is one of the more often stated "arguments" that theists use when debating atheists. This article refutes the wager by showing that it could just as easily be used as a reason for rejecting belief in God.<BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.duke.edu/~sdk2/ooze/skeptic/design.html"><B>Design Argument - R.I.P.</B></a> - Explains why the Argument from Design doesn't work.<BR><BR> <LI><P><A HREF="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theodore_drange/tuning.html"><B>The Fine-Tuning Argument</B></A> - Currently, a popular theistic argument is the so-called "fine-tuning argument," the argument that God is the best explanation for the combination of physical constants which allow life. This article argues that (1) God is a poor explanation, and that (2) there are better explanations than God for the combination of physical constants.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theodore_schick/bigbang.html"><B>The 'Big Bang' Argument for the Existence of God</B></a> - "Some believe that evidence for the big bang is evidence for the existence of god. Who else, they ask, could have caused such a thing? In this paper, I evaluate the big bang argument, compare it with the traditional first-cause argument, and consider the relative plausibility of various natural explanations of the big bang."</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.wco.com/~anrwlias/kca/"><B>The Kalam Cosmological Argument: A Rebuttal</B></a> - Argues that "the Kalam Cosmological Argument is, essentially, the Argument from First Cause dressed up in new clothes" and that it commits the fallacy of "Argument from Personal Incredulity."</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theism/christianity/select.html"><B>Select Christian Apologetics Web Sites</B></a> - A list of links to web sites which argue that Christianity is true.</LI> </UL> <BR> <font size=+2><b><a name="misc">Miscellaneous</a></b></font> <UL> <LI><a href="http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/positive.html"><b>Is There Anything Good About Atheism?</b></a> - Discusses some of the many positive aspects of atheism.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><A HREF="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/ought.html"><b>What an Atheist Ought to Stand For</b></A> - "I enumerate the values that should be held by all atheists. If you want to know what my value system is based on, and what sort of moral standard I hold my life to, you should read this essay."</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.infidels.org/org/aha/essays/morality.html"><B>The Human Basis of Laws and Ethics</B></a> - "So we can see that without living beings with needs, there can be no good or evil. And without the presence of more than one such living being, there can be no rules of conduct. Morality, then, emerges from humanity precisely because it exists to serve humanity. Theology attempts to step outside this system, even though there is no need (beyond coercion) for such a move."</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/fish.html"><b>A Fish Did Not Write This Essay</b></a> - Examines the differences between faith in God and "faith" in reason.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://members.aol.com/bbu84/biblicalstupidity/why.htm#9"><B>Some Reasons Why Humanists Reject the Bible</B></a> - "Because the writers of the Bible were people who lived in an unenlightened and barbaric era, they produced a book which contains many erroneous statements and harmful teachings."</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/harm.html"><b>Does Religion Actually Do Any Harm?</b></a> - Argues that religious beliefs does some good, but that "this good is far outweighed by the harm that can also be caused by such beliefs."</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://condor.stcloudstate.edu/~lesikar/einstein/"><b>Einstein on Science and Religion</b></a> - Some of Einstein's writings on science and religion, collected by Prof. Arnold Lesikar.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://members.aol.com/Heraklit1/"><b>Natural Pantheism</b></a> - An introduction to natural pantheism, a philosophy that "deeply reveres the universe and nature and joyfully accepts and embraces life, the body and earth, but does not believe in any supernatural deities, entities or powers." </LI> </UL> <BR> <font size=+2><b><a name="resources">Resources</a></b></font> <UL> <LI><A HREF="http://www.infidels.org/" target="_top"><IMG SRC="images/ttoplogo.gif" WIDTH=230 HEIGHT=72 ALT="The Secular Web" align=right></A> <a href="http://www.infidels.org/" target="_top"><b>The Secular Web</b></a> is the most comprehensive freethought site on the Internet. It contains over 6,000 documents and has more than 180,000 unique visitors per month. Its <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/" target="_top">Modern Library</a> is an excellent resource for freethinkers of all varieties.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/" target="_top"><b>Secular Humanism Online Library</b></a> - A collection of articles on secular humanism from the <a href="http://www.secularhumanism.org/" target="_top">Council for Secular Humanism</a>.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://freethought.freeservers.com" target="_top"><b>The Freethought Zone</b></a> - A collection of articles that provide a good introduction to atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/" target="_top"><b>Wasteland of Wonders</b></a> - A collection of often humorous articles on atheism, theism, and related issues.</LI> </UL> <BR> <font size=+2><b><a name="humor">Humor</a></b></font> <UL> <LI><a href="http://www.sonic.net/~jhuger/kisshank.htm"><b>Kissing Hank's Ass</b></a> - A parable from <a href="http://www.sonic.net/~jhuger/" target="_top">Rev. Jim Huber</a>.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/godcomplaint.html"><b>Interview: God Complains About Noise, Omniscience</b></a> - An interview with the Almighty.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><b><a href="http://www.infidels.org/misc/humor/church_bulletins.html">21 Actual Announcements from Church Bulletins</a></b> - Humorous church bulletin announcements.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.infidels.org/misc/humor/lioaca.html"><B>Life in Our Anti-Christian America</B></a> - A satirical look at absurd claims that there is a pervasive anti-Christian bias in American culture.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><a href="http://www.thedoormagazine.com/" target="_top"><B>The Door</B></a> - A religious satire magazine.</LI><BR><BR> <LI><b><a href="http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/twainlfe.htm">Letters from the Earth</a></b> - Mark Twain's classic story of Satan and the Human-Race experiment. </UL> <BR> <br> <a name="rings"><BR></a> <center> <P><A HREF="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=freethought&id=504&next" target="_top"><IMG SRC="images/ft_now.gif" WIDTH="135" HEIGHT="30" ALT="Freethought Now!"></A></P> <P><font color="#000000">This</font> <A HREF="http://www.infidels.org/electronic/ring" target="_top">Freethought Ring</a> <font color="#000000"> web site is brought to you by Dr. Aaron Reynolds.</font><br><br> [ <A HREF="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=freethought&id=504&next" target="_top">Next</A> | <A HREF="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=freethought&id=504&skip" target="_top">Skip It</A> | <A HREF="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=freethought&id=504&next5" target="_top">Next 5</A> | <A HREF="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=freethought&id=504&prev" target="_top">Prev</A> | <A HREF="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=freethought&id=504&random" target="_top">Random</A> | <A HREF="http://www.infidels.org/electronic/ring/freethought/" target="_top">info</A> ]</P> </center>  <BR>  <BR>  <center> <A HREF="http://www.beseen.com/hc-index.html"> <IMG SRC= "http://pluto.beseen.com/hit.counter?account=dr_aaron_r@hotmail.com-&font=TealOnWhite&base=0" WIDTH="108" HEIGHT="45" BORDER=0 ALT="Hit Counter"></A> </center>   <BR>  <BR> </blockquote> </BODY>