The Moral Bankruptcy of Divine Command Theory: Matthew Flannagan’s Failed Defense
Theology has no salvageable theory of morality. Theists complain atheists have no reason to be moral. But in fact theists have no reason to actually be moral, as in: to elevate compassion, honesty, and reasonableness above all authority, even the authority of their...Support Skepticon This Year!
I’ll be attending Skepticon this November just as a regular Joe. But it’s a fantastic event that deserves your support. A thousand and more people benefit from getting to attend a free, well-run, kick-ass godless conference in the middle of the Bible Belt....Sex & Sexism in Ancient Rome (Video)
My talk for PolyColumbus last month has now made it to YouTube! It is age restricted due to its sexual content. A transcript is underway. I will add a link for that to this post (and announce it in comments, so if you want, subscribe to comments below to be alerted...Did Muhammad Exist? (Why That Question Is Hard to Answer)
I get asked this a lot. “Why not apply your methods and skills to the question of whether Muhammad actually existed or not?” My answer is always the same: I will not likely ever be able to do that, because it would require getting a whole second Ph.D. in...Errata for On the Historicity of Jesus
Originally I updated this page for years since its first publication in 2015, as I and others find typos in On the Historicity of Jesus that slipped through even our excessive editorial process (a common experience I find). This page has now evolved into two sections....A Better Movie on the Jesus Myth
Mythicist Milwaukee & King’s Tower Productions are going to produce a well-researched film about the Jesus myth theory that deliberately eliminates the flaws of past films (like that awful Zeitgeist thing) and pays attention to the best scholarship on the...Appearing in Wichita!
I’ll be one of the featured speakers for the Skeptics of OZ Conference on Saturday October 17 (2015), in the CAC Theater at Wichita State University (Wichita, Kansas). Details here. Lanyrd here. I’ll be discussing my book Proving History, but in particular...And Now I Preach about Polyamory
Heina Dadabhoy has written a good article about the Preachy Polyamorist trope: Why Are Those Polyamorists So Damn Preachy?, which is enhanced by some of their earlier observations in When the Monogamous Bait Poly Smugness. I recommend reading both. I pretty much...Sacramento Freethought Day: I’ll Be There! So Should You!
This year the day’s fun spans Sunday October 11 (2015), 10:30am-6:30pm, at the Capitol, in Sacramento (California). Details here. (Including schedule, appearing guests, amenities, tabling opportunities, and more.) Special guests include Mandisa Thomas, Jason...My Online Course on the Bible Starts Next Week. Join in. Learn Cool Stuff!
How screwed up are the manuscripts of the New Testament? What aren’t Christian preachers and apologists telling the public? How can you know when they are trying to pull the wool over your eyes about what’s in the Bible…or if they even know they are...Appearing in Toronto!
I’ll be speaking on the historicity of Jesus in Toronto next month, on Friday, October 23 (2015), at 7:30pm, at the University of Toronto (252 Bloor Sreet West) in the OISE Auditorium (Ground Floor). Sponsored by CFI Canada. Details here. Tickets here....Sigh. Now I'm on Twitter.
Yup. I avoided it like the plague. I’ll still avoid it like the flu. But as Jubal Early said…Well. Here I am.Learn the Basics of New Testament Scholarship & How to Make Good Use of It
By popular demand! I am teaching again my online course, Introduction to Biblical Scholarship on the New Testament. This is for anyone who wants to be better equipped to debate the Bible or understand the Bible. You will learn in it a lot of useful and surprising...In Which James McGrath Reveals That He Is a Fundamentalist Who Has Never Read Any Contemporary Scholarship in His Field
The title of this article is a joke. Sort of. But maybe not as much as you think. As I’ll show. Because James McGrath has added another entry to his bizarrely uninformed critique of On the Historicity of Jesus, and this time is the most...Looking for a Literary Agent
Anyone with connections, please do inquire: I want to produce a mass market book summarizing the conclusions and findings of On the Historicity of Jesus, with a major publisher, one that works often with expanding into foreign language markets. I have been asked by...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.
Support Dr. Carrier
Books by Dr. Carrier
Explore C.H.R.E.S.T.U.S.
