From Tom: I have been visiting exchristian.net since the past month and I find it very interesting. Are there former ministers who have been to bible school or have studied theology intensively? Is there anyone here from South India? Especially someone who a pentecostal? I am currently a pentecostal from South India (Kerala) but since last year I have been very critical of Christianity. Reading the bible and really thinking about it, the whole thing brings forward may too many holes for christianity (Firefox shows up a typo when I type christianity with a lower case C-hmmm-supernatural) to be a one stop shop for truth. I have slowly started to move away from christian beliefs and have been inching my way to atheism. And in most areas I have started to find answers that gives me some clarification. However there is one aspect that stumps me and I have not been able to find any solid articles regarding it. It's about prophecies. And by prophecies I mean the ability of some pastors ...

From Alex: Hello all. I'm looking for some input on an experiment I am considering. Before I get into the details of my experiment, a little back story is in order. I'm a 19-year-old guy from southwest England. I was brought up casually Christian. My family isn't particularly religious, but the schools i went to happened to be Christian. I became an atheist when i was around 15 and haven't looked back since. I was never really into it, to be honest; the only reason I believed was because I didn't know there was an alternative. Religious studies in my education was a joke; 90% of the curriculum was about Christianity, and while other religions weren't shunned from the lessons, they were treated with a definite undertone of "check out how silly the non-believers are". In recent years, I have become a little obsessed with researching religion and atheism, and as many of you will understand, it has strengthened my atheism. I have felt an astronomically hig...

From ATF This is about an upcoming PBS TV special that will air in Novemeber this year. http://www.orlandosentinel. com/entertainment/tv/orl- exodus2108jul21,0,7755323. story The Nova program will premiere Nov. 18. PBS presented a clip and a panel discussion at the summer tour of the Television Critics Association. The program says the Bible was written in the sixth century BC and that hundreds of authors contributed. "At least the first five books of the Bible come together during the Babylonian exile," says producer Gary Glassman. The program challenges long-held beliefs. Abraham, Sarah and their offspring probably didn't exist, says Carol Meyers, a religion professor at Duke University. "These stories are unlikely to represent real historical events, but rather there's some kernel of ancient experience in there which has survived and which helps give identity to the people at the time the Bible finally took shape centuries and centuries later," Meyers say...

Commenting using Disqus Disqus is a comments system that’s new to this site, so I thought we should take the time to run through it to make commenters comfortable with and proficient at using it. What is Disqus? Disqus, pronounced discuss , is a service for blog comments. Disqus enables bloggers to make the conversations on their blogs more interactive and manageable. Our distributed comment system connects readers across blog communities, while empowering publishers in promoting their content. In short, using Disqus is a better way for people to participate in conversations initially started by blog posts. Check out how Disqus enhances the discussion on this blog . How does Disqus work? Like your average blog comments system. With a few extra perks. a compiled a little guide is below: Sort comments What? … You can sort the order of the comments to your own whim: By Oldest, Newest, Hot and Best. How? … By pressing the above ‘OPTIONS’ button. Please … Only reply when the Oldest or ...

Dear Friends, Most of you who are getting this newsletter e-mailed me some kind words after my story in the Los Angeles Times ran last year under the headline, " Religion Beat Became a Test of Faith ," which chronicled my spiritual journey from devout Christian to reluctant atheist. For whatever reason, my essay hit a nerve -- I think because serious religious doubt isn't talked about with a great deal of honesty these days. At any rate, the story generated thousands of e-mails and many new friendships. Last fall, HarperCollins asked me to expand the material into a memoir. Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America " is finished and will hit the bookshelves in February. This newsletter is designed to keep you up to date on the book, the book tour, appearances and signings. You can pre-order the book from Amazon (at a 34% discount!) by clicking here . I also have ambitious plans for my website, www.williamlobdell.com , where I think an...