In days of yore people knew how to talk about Being with a capital B. Existence had gradations, modulations and all manner of expressions, some greater, some lesser. This was common sense to the people of the time, the natural way of thinking about Being.

But as time passed the…

The question of cosmic origins is a perennially popular question, but most theists think the answer has been known for thousands of years. God is the ultimate cause of the cosmos.

While there’s room to disagree with that theistic conclusion, there are rational limits on the valid ways to reject…

From both sides of the debate God of the Gaps is used as a disparaging critique of an argument. The non-theist often considers the accusation sufficient to refute the argument. The theist is keen to assure us their arguments aren’t God of the Gaps.

Which means everyone agrees to be…

Faith is sometimes described as belief without evidence. Non-believers promote this idea, but many believers also say this is the substance of faith. If we had evidence, why would we need faith?

But this is a shallow understanding of faith. If that was the substance of faith, faith would be…

The Authentic Eclectic

In 1994 the philosopher David Chalmers raised questions about consciousness which ignited a zombie apocalypse.

These weren’t questions no one had asked before. These were questions that rattled the established orthodoxy. They challenged the complacent modern assumption that science had settled all such questions.

Many people assume it’s no longer…

While the Bhagavad Gita is well known outside of India, the Bhagavata Purana, or Bhagavatam, is a hidden gem.

Bhagavatam means The Book of God. While much of the Vedic literature is esoteric and philosophical in nature, the Purana’s are intended for a general audience. …

Dharma is a Sanskrit word which means to support and preserve. It’s the essential quality on which something rests, that quality which makes it the type of thing it is. The dharma of something defines its intrinsic nature.

Dharma can be understood in many contexts. In the broadest sense of…

It’s become fashionable to say atheism has no burden of proof. It’s said atheism is the default assumption and the onus is on the theist to prove, not on the atheist to disprove.

While this idea has the superficial gloss of rationality, under a critical cross-examination it falls apart. …