Richard Carrier, PhD

Richard Carrier, PhD

@richardcarrier.info

Godless polyamorous author & speaker. Philosophistorian. Longform blogger. Destroyer of bad epistemologies. Drinker of whiskey & sensible wine. You can find all things me at richardcarrier.info (books, classes, blog).

1.5K followers207 following573 posts

Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Last chance! I'll be tabling, selling, signing @ Rocket City Reason Con this weeknd. Great lineup, speakers & events + Friday: board & card games! rocketcityreason.com #events #huntsvillealabama #huntsville #atheism #conference #rocketcity #rocketcityreason #contentcreators #sciencecommunication

rocketcityreason.comRocket City Reason Con |Forrest is a biologist and passionate science communicator recognized for his engaging presence on YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts like SkepTalk and The Atheist Experience. His energetic presentations blend captivating science, skepticism, and advocacy for social progress, inspiring audiences to stay curious and embrace lifelong learning. Forrest’s work has championed science, raised significant funds for charity, and encouraged kindness and critical thinking across all ages.
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

I'll be debating "Israel Only" with Jason DeCosta next week, live on MythVision. Join us! Details and breadcrumbs in the link... www.richardcarrier.info/archives/44691 #israelonly #fullpreterism #debates #Bible #christianity

richardcarrier.infoDebating Israel Only with Jason DeCosta • Richard Carrier BlogsNext Sunday (October 18th) I’ll be debating Jason DeCosta on his version of the Israel Only theory, which purports to “fix” all the problems I found before in The Incompetent Crankery of the Israel On...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Three books I recommend for becoming a good philosopher -as in, a good thinker building a sound philosophy of life that improves your experience & navigation of the real world. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/44626 #philosophy #meaningoflife #bookrecommendations #bookreview #argument #Worldview

richardcarrier.infoThree Books You Might Have to Read to Be a Real Philosopher • Richard Carrier BlogsAmazon Prime Day deals end tonight. These aren’t in that deal. And you need to already be (or become) a Prime subscriber to get the deals there are today. But as always, I get a commission on anything...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Ending from yesterday with the example from David Oliver Smith (really, from Robert Eisenman). I conclude with what we need to learn from the failures of R.G. Price & D.O. Smith. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/44533 #deadseascrolls #roberteisenman #HistoricalMethods #history #CriticalThinking

richardcarrier.infoHow Bad Methodology Led to Some Bad Ideas from R.G. Price and David Oliver Smith: Part 2 (Smith) • Richard Carrier BlogsYesterday I started this two part series explaining what I am doing and why (so please catch up there), and went through an extended example from R.G. Price. Today I will finish with the second exampl...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

I survey an example of bad amateur methodology in biblical studies from (today) R.G. Price and (tomorrow) David Oliver Smith. Part 2 will explain the lesson. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/44323 #biblestudy #history #methodology #HistoricalMethods #probability #LiteraryStudies #gospels #bible

richardcarrier.infoHow Bad Methodology Led to Some Bad Ideas from R.G. Price and David Oliver Smith: Part 1 (Price) • Richard Carrier BlogsI have often noted or even used good ideas from amateur scholars like David Oliver Smith and R.G. Price (not to be confused with Robert M. Price). I even named Price in my original study of the histor...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

So #My9Games is people listing the 9 games that most influenced who they are. Video games. Sorry. Don’t do those. Influenced who I am? All #TTRPG: #D&D #CallofCthulhu #WarhammerFantasy #Palladium #SpaceOpera #Cyberpunk #TopSecret #ArsMagica #Talislanta

Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

"Texas Tech was now being defended by Ken Paxton..." Because of course it was. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202... #conservativesdontreallybelieveinfreespeech #toomanyconservativesareliars #pleasestopvotingforthem

newyorker.comThe Fallout of a Charlie Kirk Campus ScandalStudents and faculty across the country were punished for their actions in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder. A recent graduate of Texas Tech’s law school is still trying to clear her name.
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Take any of my online correspondence courses in October and pick my brain in forums with any questions you ever had about the subject. #freewill #naturalphilosophy #history #counterapologetics #CriticalThinking #moralsandvalues #ancientatheism #ancientscience www.richardcarrier.info/archives/16919

richardcarrier.infoTake Any of Ten Online Courses in Any Future Month! • Richard Carrier BlogsIncluding skills in philosophy & history, debunking & argument; free will; moral reasoning; atheism in ancient Greece & Rome.
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Every atheist should have this bookmarked to refer people to. Covers every reason why "the Argument from Evil is the only good argument for atheism" is itself a bad argument. secularoutpost.substack.com/p/is-the-so-... #atheism #theism #counterapologetics #philosophy #argumentfromevil #naturalism

secularoutpost.substack.comIs the So-Called “Problem of Evil” the Only Argument for Atheism?Without naming names, I’ve observed a tendency among some, not all or even most, theistic apologists to describe the case for atheism in a rather dismissive way.
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Now we set aside the fraudulent corruption in New Testament studies & get back to real scholarship: why the field does need a new paradigm, and has itself admitted this, but not its consequences. See... www.richardcarrier.info/archives/44170 #history #historicity #mythicism #JesusMyth #newparadigm

richardcarrier.infoWhy Is a Historical Jesus an Obsolete Paradigm? • Richard Carrier BlogsSo James McGrath is a liar for Jesus, defending Christian dogma with slander and lies about me and my work, desperately, childishly, trying to get people to not read it lest they discover his lies and...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Time to blow up the disinformation machine. Grenade. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/44107

richardcarrier.infoJames McGrath Has Now Defamed Me and Lied about My Work in a Professional Journal. Will the Field Do Anything About It? • Richard Carrier BlogsChristian apologist James McGrath published a brief review of The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus in the latest Booklist Issue of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament. We know from p...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

I'll be speaking in Atlanta (and via Zoom) this Sunday and hanging out & tabling in Huntsville this October. Deets in link. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/44099 #events #atlanta #atlantageorgia #huntsvillealabama #huntsville #atheists #JesusMyth #mythicism

richardcarrier.infoSpeaking in Atlanta This Sunday ... and Tabling in Huntsville This October • Richard Carrier BlogsAtlanta might be my only public talk this year (IRL). But I will also be attending and tabling (not presenting) at the Rocket City Reason Con this October in Huntsville, Alabama (so if you want to mee...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

I have students scheduled for my September #Science & #Philosophy of #Freewill & #HistoricalMethods & #CriticalThinking #courses -- Come join them! www.richardcarrier.info/archives/16919 #classes start the 1st, work at your own pace & ask all the questions you want on the subject for a month!

richardcarrier.infoTake Any of Ten Online Courses in Any Future Month! • Richard Carrier BlogsIncluding skills in philosophy & history, debunking & argument; free will; moral reasoning; atheism in ancient Greece & Rome.
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

I had dinner with the forger of a mysterious "first century #manuscript of Mark." Got its story & took my own photos. Here's the skinny. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/44000 #bible #papyrus #history #forgery #debunkingmyths @religionprof.bsky.social @goodacre.bsky.social @theguardian.com

richardcarrier.infoThe Infamous Missing Third Fragment of Mark Was a Prank! • Richard Carrier BlogsSo, the story began with a debate between Dan Wallace and Bart Ehrman in 2012. Yes. It’s been fourteen years. But anyway. I first covered this in 2012 under Amazing Proofs of Jesus! and updated it in ...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Jorge Guerra Pires will be offering occasional #translations of my blog #articles in #Portuguese -- Follow the link for details! www.richardcarrier.info/archives/43983 #atheism #philosophy

richardcarrier.infoPortuguese Translations of Select Articles • Richard Carrier BlogsJorge Guerra Pires will be producing occasional translations of my blog articles in Portuguese. So if that’s your primary language or you know anyone who is, bookmark his Medium site “Mente Ateísta” a...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

This one goes pretty hard, in the tradition of firebrand atheism of yore. It will anger some. But it's not wrong. Excerpted from my first book and updated. Here we go: www.richardcarrier.info/archives/43391 #christiansmurderedindians #DeathCult #religion #history #christianity #islam #colonialism

richardcarrier.infoLet's Be Honest about Why You Are a Christian or a Muslim: Your Forebears Murdered Their Way into Your Mind • Richard Carrier BlogsThis is another updated extract from Sense and Goodness without God that I’ve removed from its future edition (coming soon) because it’s an unnecessary use of wordcount there. So I am preserving a rev...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Pinning this here for future reflection: DOGE was supposed to ferret waste, instead it just hunted enemies. But this is an example of the kind of actual waste a serious DOGE could have gotten rid of. But those boyturds were too busy j3rking off in eachothrs faces. www.propublica.org/article/gene...

propublica.orgFiasco in the Factory: Taxpayers Funded a $533 Million Artillery Plant That Made NothingGeneral Dynamics opened a Texas factory to churn out artillery shells for Ukraine, but the machines kept breaking. Robot arms smashed into things. Hunks of metal crashed to the floor. There was even a...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

On why being smart or an idiot is not IQ but #curiosity & why #GenZ liking #fancycoffee & #aloyoga wear proves their #poverty & #BudgetSavvy not their #irresponsibility teaching #economics #culture & #CriticalThinking & why #TomiLahren is a #spectacular #idiot www.richardcarrier.info/archives/43820

richardcarrier.infoAI Says Tomi Lahren Is an Idiot: A Critical Thinking Exercise • Richard Carrier BlogsEveryone knows I think AI is garbage and should never be trusted to do the work for you. You always have to Do Your Own Research for real to ensure AI hasn’t conned you or left things out or misstated...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

This month's recommendations are the best handbooks you can get on Greco-Roman #science and #technology of yore. I review what's in them and great about them. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/43752 #bookrecommendations #AncientScience #AncientHistory

richardcarrier.infoTop Three Handbooks of Ancient Science & Technology • Richard Carrier BlogsToday I review for you the top three handbooks in ancient science and technology. There are others, but they either suck or are amazing but out of print. These three are must-haves for any enthusiast....
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

I weigh in on the dispute btw @paulogia.bsky.social & Inspiring Philosophy (Michael Jones) over whethr the #bayesian argumnt for the #resurrection of #jesus is bollocks, now a one-stop shop on why no resurrection #apologetics can be taken seriously anymore. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/43548

richardcarrier.infoWhy Christians Are So Bad at This: Paulogia vs. Inspiring Philosophy on the Bayesian Argument for the Resurrection • Richard Carrier BlogsRecently, Than Christopoulos produced a silly and absurdly wordy insistence that Bayes’ Theorem proves Jesus rose from the dead in Paulogia…It’s Time To Stop. I was recently interviewed about this on ...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Today I tighten and improve an old chapter on #bible #prophecy as #miracles focusing on the #HistoricalMethods that could prove that, and why sound method never finds any. I then use the #FalseProphecy of #Ezekiel on #Tyre as an example. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/43388

richardcarrier.infoProphecy and History: Some Pointers • Richard Carrier BlogsI am near to completing my forthcoming rewrite of Sense and Goodness without God (which I will be retiring soon, so if you want to collect the original edition before it goes out of print, better get ...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

As I near completing the rewrite of my first book (Sense & Goodness without God, to become A Better World w/o God) I made a reference article for it on #SocialJustice showing how my #philosophy grounds & delimits it, supplementing a new section on the subject. www.richardcarrier.info/archives/43406

richardcarrier.infoMy Starter Kit in Social Justice • Richard Carrier BlogsMy website’s category dropdown menu includes many social justice issues like racism, sexism, ableism, classism, privilege, feminism and men’s issues, gender and transgenderism, gay pride, culture, env...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

I'll be blogging about #BartEhrman 's awful new book about #Jesus and #Christianity eventually (it's on my schedule). But this very revealing article just dropped from cult-hunter Be Scofield establishing the context everyone needs for it: thesaviorcomplex.substack.com/p/the-jesus-...

thesaviorcomplex.substack.comThe Jesus Apologists: How Bart Ehrman’s “Love Thy Stranger” Protects His ImageBart Ehrman's new book reveals how far critical Jesus studies still have to go—and how much even skeptical scholarship continues to polish his story.
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Not our first Rodeo though. I went through all this already when Tom Holland did the same silly thing Ehrman just did. So you can already get his book prebunked with www.richardcarrier.info/archives/15259

richardcarrier.infoNo, Tom Holland, It Wasn't Christian Values That Saved the West • Richard Carrier BlogsNovelist Tom Holland just wrote an article for The Spectator titled “Thank God for Western Values,” declaring the “debt of the West to Christianity is more deeply rooted than many might presume.” Ever...
Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

Unusual query (maybe the #christian #deconstruction community might know?): I need a bibliography on why liberal Christianity is not that great compared to just going all to secular humanism. Most "secular is better" books only contrast conservative Christianity. I need the other kind. Suggestions?

Richard Carrier, PhD
@richardcarrier.info

e.g. Hector Avalos has a good chapter on this in The End of Biblical Studies & there are a few brief chs. in Murray's Atheist's Primer on point. But I want the best whole articles & books. An almost good example is Hollinger's book in light of Lazare's review of it at artsfuse.org/261600/book-...

artsfuse.orgBook Review: "Christianity’s American Fate" - Too Much Double-Talk - The Arts FuseReligion is false, unscientific, and morally dubious, and any discussion that doesn’t take that as its starting point will end up going astray.