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The authors of Genesis proclaim that God made the heavens and earth in less than a week. This feat must have amazed these Bronze Age authors, even though they thought the heavens extended only so far as the sky above them. For them, the heavens included only five of our solar system’s eight planets visible …

Considering that Christianity promises redemption and immortality for any and all who are baptized and take Communion, is it any wonder that it has been the dominant worldwide religion in the past two millennia and today boasts 2.2 billion followers? The faith is based exclusively on four gospel accounts of the life, ministry, and martyrdom …

In an article titled “What Is Faith?” (FI, October/November 2021), Richard Packham suggested a tripartite breakdown of faith or belief: (a) necessary, unavoidable faith; (b) harmless faith; and (c) dangerous or stupid faith. As these labels indicate, his typology incorporates judgments or evaluations of the consequences, the utility, or, we might say, the “worthiness” of …

In 2020, I set forth the evidence that Jesus was originally an ancient Hebrew mystery cult hero in my article for Free Inquiry, “The Quest for the Mythical Jesus.” I argued that at some point, his passion drama was misinterpreted to be the story of an actual son of God who was crucified and resurrected …

A common objection to atheism is the argument from personal incredulity—the idea that because something seems incomprehensible it must therefore be false—in which the believer claims, “I don’t understand how anyone can find life meaningful if they don’t believe in God.” It so happens that as an atheist, I don’t understand how anyone can find …

Despite not having set-in-stone commandments to follow, humanists have reflected upon certain principles and creeds that should guide a human life. We can read them, for example, in the Affirmations of Humanism: A Statement of Principles, a manifesto by philosopher Paul Kurtz, which appears in every issue of Free Inquiry. There is also The Declaration …

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) was an American lawyer, writer, and orator during the nineteenth century. He was nicknamed “the Great Agnostic” for his promotion of agnosticism. The Council for Secular Humanism, copublisher of Free Inquiry, owns and operates the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum in Dresden, New York. On August 12, 2023, the Museum hosted …

The following article was adapted from the keynote address given at the thirtieth anniversary celebration event at the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum in Dresden, New York, on August 12, 2023.—The Editoris Today we remember and honor one of the greatest minds of the past several centuries: thoughtful, wildly intelligent, insightful, impactful, and remarkable. So …

In the mid-1990s, The Atlantic magazine scrapped an article it had assigned to Wendy Kaminer, reportedly fearing that it would be too controversial.1 Kaminer, a respected and established journalist, author, and lawyer, was already well known as an ardent advocate for free speech rights and a critic of the New Age indulgences of the self-help movement …

The Zeigeist, the spirit of the times, suggests we may have entered a new epoch, a transformation of how people see the world and situate themselves. Most previous historical epochs over the past few centuries, at least in the West, have increased humans’ optimism and sense of control over the environment. The Age of Discovery …