“Memory’s unreliable…memory’s not perfect. It’s not even that good. Ask the police; eyewitness testimony is unreliable…. Memory can change the shape of a room or the color of a car. It’s an interpretation, not a record. Memories can be changed or distorted, and they’re irrelevant if you have the facts.” —Leonard Shelby, Memento

A recent episode of the Point of Inquiry podcast mentioned a book that instantly colored me intrigued. The title, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions About Human Behavior, practically begged my inner-skeptic to read it. All the delicious psych topics are here—memory, recall, perception, intelligence, dreams, behavior, the subconscious, human development, even ESP. But one curious theme unintentionally keeps emerging: the unreliability of memory and personal experience. (more…)

I was excited to see Bob Rees—a thoughtful believer if there ever was one—review Bill Maher’s pseudo-documentary, Religulous, in Sunstone (May 2009), but was ultimately disappointed. As is often the case with critiques of anti-theists like Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, or Christopher Hitchens, the review chose to play the “Religion Shouldn’t be Ridiculed” card, rather than substantively engage the criticisms it raised. The New Atheist movement brings an opportunity for sharp debate, but instead the same tired criticisms are trotted out: “they don’t understand religion;” “they’re just as narrow-minded as those they criticize;” “that’s not what my religion is.” On and on it goes, but when it’s all said and done, we end up in the same place—nowhere, with no specific criticisms of the indictments levied against religion. (more…)

When I stopped going to church, it was a decision based upon years of wrestling with its truth-statements.  I had stopped believing.  I didn’t leave angry.  I didn’t want my tithing back.  In fact, I worried about the sociality and opportunity to grow through service that I was missing by not remaining active on some level.  I believed that the church offered social and spiritual benefits that gave people a sense of purpose, ethics, and comfort.  I still felt that being raised in the church can make bad people good and good people better.  Though many of my Mormon friends and family members have sinced worked very hard to dissuade me of this notion, I still tend to believe it. (more…)

I have heard Obadiah say, “I choose to believe.”  I have also heard other Mormons speak of their faith as a choice.  Like Obadiah, these other Mormons seem to be well read enough to recognize their religion is not without historical or theological problems, but they still feel there is sufficient evidence in their lives to make the choice of belief.  None of these Mormons deny the contribution of environmental influences to that choice, but only insist that such influences are not fully determining, and, therefore, do not render the act of choosing a mere delusion of agency.

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