Doug Jesseph

Atheism

Philosophical Atheism

Atheism is the view that there is no God. In general, atheists deny the existence of all supernatural entities. A fine website devoted to matters atheistic is that of the Internet Infidels, to which I commend your attention.

A scene from the debate "Does God Exist" held at NCSU on March 22, 2006
I'm the guy on the right trying to convince the folks from Campus Crusade for Christ that they should be atheists. As you might imagine, that's not a task for the faint of heart. In fact, if I had convinced them, it would probably count as a miracle, which would undermine some fundamental points I was trying to make. Have to think about that.

Beyond mere heathenism

I'm a philosophical atheist, which is to say that I do not believe in God. This makes me something of a rarity in North Carolina, where religious belief is almost universal. Over the years, I've participated in a number of debates on the rationality of religious belief. The opening statement from my most recent debate (against Dr. Michael Green in March of 2006) is contained here. It focuses on two arguments; the first of which I term the argument from explanatory irrelevance, and the second being the familar argument from evil.

In case you want the short (if not exactly sweet) version, the arguments are outlined here.

I'm also persuaded that Thomas Hobbes was an atheist, although the nature of the case rules out certainty. My grounds for interpreting Hobbes as an atheist are summarized in this paper.