Appearing in Michigan

I will be speaking at an upcoming meeting of the Freethought Association of West Michigan in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Wednesday, January 24 (2007) at 7pm. This is open to the general public. For more information see the appropriate entry on the Association's Calendar page and Directions page. I will be selling and signing my book Sense and Goodness without God after the talk.The subject will be

Yockey on Biogenesis

Was the origin of life so amazingly improbable only God could have done it? No.Wasn't that a deliciously brief answer? Well, okay, first a quick recap, for those who don't like deliciously brief answers: I've argued this at dizzying length at the Secular Web in "Are the Odds Against the Origin of Life Too Great to Accept?" which led to a much briefer and considerably more rigorous paper, still my

Epistemological End Game

In September, Chris Hallquist raised an objection to my epistemology on his blog The Uncredible Hallq. For those not up on the jargon, an epistemology is your "theory of knowledge," it's what you believe about what it means to know something, how we know anything, and when it's right to believe or disbelieve one thing or another. I described my epistemology in my book Sense and Goodness without

Appearing in Ohio

Event Announcement:I will be the keynote speaker for the Humanist Community of Central Ohio's annual Winter Solstice Banquet in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, December 30 (2006). Dinner and event run from 4 to 9pm. Tickets are required and must be purchased before December 26. For more information see the front page of the HCCO website (there has also been an article in The Columbus Dispatch). I

Winning America

...or How the Democrats Could Win America but Probably Won'tSo the Democrats have both houses of Congress now. I have mixed feelings about that. The Democratic Party has a lot of potential, and is sadly the lesser of two evils, but just like the Republicans they often so easily screw things up that this could turn into another disaster, only with the car crashing into a different wall. I dread

That Habermas-Licona Interview

Recently I was asked to help Reginald Finley (The Infidel Guy) interview Gary Habermas and Mike Licona on why they believe Jesus was raised from the dead by God. This event went off disastrously, and a few days later I wrote here about why I thought it had, in an entry for Monday, November 6, 2006. Many people responded, and several of them made valid observations that convinced me I was wrong

Science and Medieval Christianity

On another blog last month I was asked by some friends to comment on a thread about Christianity's role in the progress of science. Other things were being discussed there, such as whether Martin Luther was a despicable ass or an admirable genius, which I didn't comment on because I know too little about the matter to add anything worthwhile. But the history of science is my Ph.D. field, so I

Why the Bizarre Avatar?

My picture is always a bit goofy. I look too young for my age, especially when I'm all smiles. See what I mean? Sure, I'm a young and happy guy, but I still get carded in bars even though I'm 36. Sometimes my photo gives people the wrong idea of who I am and what I'm about. So I originally chose a different avatar. I have since chosen another, based on a composite photo I developed for my new

The Nexus of Rick

Alas, it is time to blog. I resisted the idea of starting one for years. But I get so much email from critics and fans I can no longer keep up with it all. So I'll have to use a blog. Here you will find three things, updated every month:


Announcements of where I'll be appearing to speak


Announcements of all new publications by or about me


Choice excerpts from my email and forum postings to