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This website is being renovated throughout 2008.
Pages and the content of pages will continue to change until the end of the year and
there may be some inconsistencies and missing links. Please
do not quote from or link to specific pages (apart from the home page)
without contacting the webmaster first.
Faith is the false friend that promises and never delivers.
Reason never lies.
This section of the website has taught us how to reason. Why?
Because reason brings us closer to truth.
Faith claims that God exists but only reason can prove whether that statement is true.
Faith is the absence and denial of reason. Faith is guesswork. Faith is emotion
grasping at straws. Faith tells us what we want to hear. Faith is not a
window into the world that surrounds us but a mirror that turns inwards, reflecting only our own fears and
longings.
Reason promises nothing but it takes us on a journey and shows us wonders that we could never imagine - the beauty of nature, the vastness of the cosmos, the music of mathematics, the secrets of life.
Faith makes promises, of a better life, of justice, of love. It hypnotises and seduces us. It shows us a world that is always out of reach because it is nothing more than an illusion, a hologram dancing in the air. Faith is the charlatan, the snake-oil salesman who convinces us only because we want to be convinced.
Faith disguises itself as reason. Like a conjurer forcing cards on the audience, faith misdirects us. That is my card; it's magic! You've shown me God; I believe!
Faith shackles us. Many of us are comfortable in our prison; we may even deny that we are imprisoned. And we seldom realise that we have imprisoned ourselves. But when we begin to suspect that faith is lying to us, the shackles begin to fall and reason sets us free.
We have gathered about us the tools to reason. Now it's time to put faith aside and look at the world
around us. It's time to question God.
for a summary of the introduction
click here
or move on to
Chapter 1: Defining God
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How good is your reasoning?
Can you distinguish lies from truth? Or a good
argument from a false one? Can you when tell someone is trying to pull
the wool over your eyes?
We keep physically fit by exercising regularly and eating healthy
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food. The same is true of our minds - we need regular mental exercise and a good diet of
solid facts and logic.
This chapter offers basic reasoning skills to help you understand the contradictions
that lie at the heart of all religion.
0.1: Basic principles
Start at the beginning
0.2: What do we know?
Separate fact from fiction
0.3: Start with the question ...
... not with the answer
0.4: All the evidence ...
... not just some of it
0.5: Cause and correlation
They're not the same
0.6: Don't jump to conclusions ...
... or you could land in the ...
0.7: No way
Proving a negative
0.8: Occam's Razor
The simplest solution
0.9: Facts, knowledge and science
What we know and how we know it
0.10: Reason and faith
Understanding the difference
0.11: Summary
Finished the introduction? Move on to
Chapter 1
Defining God
Does God exist? Before we try to answer that question we
need to have a clear idea of who or what God is. How do we
describe God? What versions of God are on offer?
Not sure what you're looking for?
If there's a word that you don't recognize, it might be defined
here.
If there's a topic you're looking for, check one of the Search
boxes on this page.
If there's something you want to ask, send an
e-mail. We can't guarantee an answer,
but we'll do our best.
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Do you have a question / comment about this page?
Email us, pasting the URL into your letter with the comment
This account is protected by Spamarrest.
You will receive a
one-off request to verify your email before it is delivered.
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If God existed, he would...
admire the beauty of a universe that he did not create
recognize that eternity is meaningless
deny both heaven and hell
disown all men and women who speak in his name
denounce the harm caused by religious "morality"
help the human race to thrive without him
If God existed, he would be an atheist.
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