“What Did Josephus Mean by That?” A Case Study in the Relationship between Evidence and Probability
I recently engaged a friendly debate with Dennis MacDonald on the MythVision podcast regarding the historicity of Jesus. Much of which was the usual stuff expected of a serious, expert, secular discussion of that question (follow the link to watch). I might blog about...All I Want for My Birthday Are More Patreon Patrons!
Today is December 1 and I’m 51. Impossible I know but alas! This year I moved back to California to be closer to my disabled parents so I can more regularly help them out. But California is expensive. Much more than Ohio! I’m also coming up on some...The Incompetent Crankery of the Israel Only Movement
There is a strange little fringe movement, including in its ranks even atheists and other nonbelievers, that attempts to make the bizarre argument that Christians should abandon their religion because “the Bible” says the entire Christian gospel concluded...All Ten of My Online Courses Are Available Any Month of the Year!
Join these affordable, one-month opportunities to hone your knowledge and pick the brain of a bona fide expert, with all the questions you ever had, on subjects from historical methods and the historicity of Jesus, to the science and philosophy of free will or...How To Fabricate History: The Example of Eusebius on Alexandrian Christianity
As a fellow of the Westar Institute I recently attended a webcon on Eusebius, as part of their new project Seminar on the history of Christianity, and it was heartening to see their reliance on real historians and not just theologians and biblical scholars (all the...Shopping for Christmas Gifts? Check Out My Amazon Store!
As an Amazon Associate I earn commissions on sales I recommend, so if you want to buy some books for folks as gifts for Christmas, Solstice, Ragnarsday, or the Ascension of the Pink Unicorn, or any such thing that might be coming right soon, check out my...Why Syllogisms Usually Suck: Free Will Edition
In my experience, maybe 90% of the time when someone says they can prove something true with a logical syllogism, the syllogism they present is hopelessly fallacious. There seems to be a ubiquitous failure mode caused by a popular belief that syllogisms can prove...Free Will in the Real World … and Why It Matters
“Since all events are causally determined, and we don’t control our past, then we don’t control our future, and if we don’t control our future we have no free will.” The argument is compelling, but fallacious: it depends on an...Brilliant Art by Rena Davonne
Many have been asking about the fantastic and intriguing cover art to my new book Jesus from Outer Space. It’s an original painting by artist Rena Davonne. It’s intentionally psychedelic-conceptual, in keeping with the mystical and hallucinatory origins of the...The Bible Actually Permits Abortion and Condemns Homosexuality
There are two common modern myths about the Bible, one conservative, the other liberal. The liberal myth is that the Bible never condemns homosexuality. In fact it clearly does, both in the Old Testament and the New. The conservative myth is that the Bible condemns...New Testament Studies for Everyone: Join This Quick & Valuable Course Online!
No matter the time of year, either Easter or Christmas or some other Holy Day is coming! Learn how to critically examine the Book that these celebrations almost loosely aren’t based on. The best fake news ever. Master how to debate and understand the Christian...How My Philosophy Would Solve the Unsolved Problems
Tooling around looking for lists of “unsolved problems” in philosophy I must admit the best list that’s most easily found online is Wikipedia’s. I realized for general benefit I should write up how my worldview addresses these. I’ve...Galileo’s Goofs: Lessons We Can Learn from Failure
I’ve written before about the importance and methodology of thought experiments, and how they are often screwed up even by professional philosophers (see On Hosing Thought Experiments). Today I’m going to pull a page out of the history of science to...Formalized Gullibility as a Modern Christian Methodology
In my debate with Craig Evans, one of the strange arguments he attempted was the Argument from Verisimilitude, whereby he says we should believe any story that’s dressed up in a realistic background. In my original Analysis of the Carrier-Evans Debate, I...How Not to Live in Zardoz
So. You know. Zardoz. That dystopian 70s movie everyone hates because it’s so fucking weird. “It depicts,” as Wikipedia describes it, “a post apocalyptic world where barbarians worship a stone god called ‘Zardoz’ that grants them...Get Dr. Carrier’s Latest!
About the Author
Richard Carrier is the author of many books and numerous articles online and in print. His avid readers span the world from Hong Kong to Poland. With a Ph.D. in ancient history from Columbia University, he specializes in the modern philosophy of naturalism and humanism, and the origins of Christianity and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, with particular expertise in ancient philosophy, science and technology. He is also a noted defender of scientific and moral realism, Bayesian reasoning, and historical methods.
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