http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner en-us Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:57:40 -0700 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:53:36 -0700 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d30-Postmodernism?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner   Post-modernism is arguably the most depressing philosophy ever to spring from the western mind. It is difficult to talk about post-modernism because nobody really understands it.   - Kalle Lasn The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy... doubt Philosophy Religion Religious Arguments Atheism Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:53:36 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d30-Postmodernism?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d26-The-crowded-universe-of-Coast-to-Coast-AM--Why-we-need-to-be-skeptical?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Rael was visted by extraterrestrials and they told him to teach the restored truth.Coast to Coast AM is a popular late-night radio show that presents stories and interviews about the paranormal, the supernatural, and various conspiracies.Every night... doubt science Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:37:07 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d26-The-crowded-universe-of-Coast-to-Coast-AM--Why-we-need-to-be-skeptical?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d23-Why-tear-down-religion-when-it-does-good-things?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner More good can come from truth (whatever it might be) than anything else.  Untruths might still be beneficial, but those benefits are short-term. When we operate under false pretenses, we eventually reach a point where those pretenses grind again... Mormonism doubt Religion Atheism Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:36:48 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d23-Why-tear-down-religion-when-it-does-good-things?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d19-Lehis-vision-and-fearing-the-world?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner  One of the most popular stories in the Book of Mormon is in 1 Nephi, the vision of the tree of life.According to the vision, the world is a dark and dreary place, filled with "mists of darkness," "strange roads," and "f... Mormonism Religion Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:04:23 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d19-Lehis-vision-and-fearing-the-world?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d14-Latterday-fear-mongering?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Not pictured:  Billions of charred corpses.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an end-of-days religion, committed to the idea that Jesus' return is imminent.  Although the LDS Church makes no prediction about when this will h... Mormonism Theology Religion Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:22:41 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d14-Latterday-fear-mongering?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d12-2009-Exmormon-Conference-wrapup?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner  The 2009 Exmormon Conference "No Price Too High" concluded this weekend in Salt Lake CityAlthough the conference features a host of speakers and presentations, perhaps the best part of conference is the socializing and friendship it o... Mormonism News Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:18:54 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d12-2009-Exmormon-Conference-wrapup?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d9-Mormon-apostle-ignites-passion-and-controversy?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner LDS Conference CenterEven before the 179th LDS Semiannual General Conference came to a close last weekend, a talk by Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland was swarming the Internet.A Deseret News article published that day was filled with comments attesting to... Mormonism News Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:40:19 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d9-Mormon-apostle-ignites-passion-and-controversy?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d7-DNA-supports-the-Book-of-Mormon--And-Atlantis?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Although there is some debate over the origins of Native Americans, scientists largely support the theory that some 20,000 years ago, people migrated across the Bering Land Bridge from the Siberian region and populated North and South America The La... Mormonism science Religion Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:36:34 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m10d7-DNA-supports-the-Book-of-Mormon--And-Atlantis?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d29-Your-religion--The-odds-are-against-you?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Which religion we're raised in is just chance. 1. We know it is possible for people to believe in things that are not true.  (Ancient gods, cults, superstitions, false prophets, self deception, etc.) 2. We know it is possible for people to sin... doubt Cognition Religion Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:18:06 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d29-Your-religion--The-odds-are-against-you?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d25-Between-faith-and-reason-what-would-it-take-to-change-your-mind--Part-2?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Part 1 challenged believers to determine what would be required to demonstrate that they are mistaken about their beliefs.But what if the believers are right?  What evidence would an unbelieving critical thinker require to convince them that the... doubt Religion Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:26:53 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d25-Between-faith-and-reason-what-would-it-take-to-change-your-mind--Part-2?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d23-Between-faith-and-reason-what-would-it-take-to-change-your-mind?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Anyone who is honest with themself would have to concede that there is a chance they could be wrong about the beliefs they hold.  That chance could be very large or very small, depending on why they hold to that belief and what convinced them of... doubt Religion Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:16:36 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d23-Between-faith-and-reason-what-would-it-take-to-change-your-mind?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d21-An-interview-with-the-author-of-Torn-By-God-a-haunting-exploration-of-faith?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner   Zoe Murdock's father became interested in polygamy while she was a child.  He believed Celestial Marriage involved polygamy and was a law that must be obeyed in order to become a god.  Brigham Young taught that: The only men ... Mormonism Religion Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:22:35 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d21-An-interview-with-the-author-of-Torn-By-God-a-haunting-exploration-of-faith?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d14-Cultural-delusion-vs-universal-science?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Are angels more reasonable than reptoids?  Why? If a man teaches that aliens are coming, he's started a fringe cult.  If instead he teaches that Jesus is coming, he's being religious.  No empirical observation or test can justify one o... science Cognition Religion Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:11:51 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d14-Cultural-delusion-vs-universal-science?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d10-Clinging-to-ignorance?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Venus has often been mistaken as a UFO, especiallyunder certain weather conditions, like this Venus halo.Astronomer Phil Plait frequently points out the strange fact that the more a person knows about the sky, the less likely they are to see an alien... doubt science Cognition Atheism Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:44:34 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d10-Clinging-to-ignorance?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d8-Mountain-Meadows?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner The Mountain Meadows Massacre September 11th marks the gruesome day when 152 years ago, some 120 men, women, and children were slaughtered in cold blood by a group of Mormons.  The Mountain Meadows Massacre would be the "worst incident of ... Mormonism News Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:34:21 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m9d8-Mountain-Meadows?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d31-How-religion-can-abuse-language-and-analogy-to-prove-a-point?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Life is like a box of chocolates....  full of nuts.It's often helpful to use a metaphor or an analogy when trying to explain something.However, it can be easy to slide from using these as tools for understanding and instead commit the logical fa... Theology Cognition Religion Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:51:08 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d31-How-religion-can-abuse-language-and-analogy-to-prove-a-point?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d28-Critical-thinking-and-how-faith-can-lead-to-bad-decisions?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Understanding requires critical investigationThe world is full of beliefs about who we are and how things work.  Yet we know that many of these beliefs are false. A little over 250 years ago, villagers in parts of Europe took vampires seri... doubt science Cognition Religion Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:07:52 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d28-Critical-thinking-and-how-faith-can-lead-to-bad-decisions?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d21-Why-praying-for-confirmation-of-truth-cannot-work?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner "Praying Hands"In a previous article, I discussed some of the faults with the "religion test," the process proposed to find the truth of God and his word.  It's a topic worth revisiting.The Book of Mormon promise is this: B... Mormonism doubt Cognition Religion Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:29:20 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d21-Why-praying-for-confirmation-of-truth-cannot-work?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d20-Evidence-for-the-Book-of-Mormon?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Lehi Trail  (Source: Wikipedia)According to the Book of Mormon, Lehi and his family leave Jerusalem and travel south near the coast of the Red Sea, stop at a place called Nahom, then veer east until they reach a fertile land they call Bountiful.... Mormonism doubt Religious Arguments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:38:57 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d20-Evidence-for-the-Book-of-Mormon?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d12-LDS-temple-marriage-policy-does-more-harm-than-good?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner Salt Lake City TempleThe LDS church teaches that a marriage can be "sealed" within LDS temples so that they last for time and eternity.  Not only is this meant to unify a couple in the afterlife, but it's an essential step in gaining ... Mormonism Theology Homosexuality Religion Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:32:39 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-8829-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner~y2009m8d12-LDS-temple-marriage-policy-does-more-harm-than-good?cid=exrss-Salt-Lake-City-Freethinking-Examiner