debate.

Cherries in the Bible

2012-02-14T23:21:00.001-06:00

Her 8-year-old son approaches her, smelling of graham crackers and orange drink, and subtly says "Mommy, I don't like Derek, because he's loud in class and gets me in trouble. So tomorrow, I'm going to make him spill his drink at lunch." She kneels down and says "Son, the Bible teaches us to respect one another, love our neighbors, and treat people the way we want to be treated. If you have a

Dogma Debate Radio

2012-01-08T01:04:00.001-06:00

I'm happy to announce the return of the Dogma Debate radio show. Radio Puppets, LLC is the parent company for the new Dogma Debate, as well as our other pet project (non religious-based) Smalley & Hyso. The attention is certainly growing around both shows, which are available on iTunes and Spreaker Web Radio. The concept for Dogma Debate is to do shorter, 30-minute episodes on various

A Christian Nation?

2011-08-22T11:10:00.003-05:00

Many people hold strong to the 'fact' that the United States was built on Christian principles by Christian Forefathers, and is therefore, a Christian Nation. Here are a few fast facts to consider: The Pledge of Allegiance: The words "under God" were not original to the pledge, but added in 1954. It is not part of tradition, or American culture, but rather the product of a nation that was

2011-06-19T22:41:00.003-05:00

The Rapture

2011-05-21T12:20:00.002-05:00

I've offered to buy the houses of Doomsday Christians for upwards of $10,000, but I've had no takers. I've also been upfront with them that I would sell the house back to them at market value, should they still be here after the rapture. After all, I do care about the homeless population.It seems that every few years, someone comes up with an 'end of the world' story and formula for eminent

What God Provides

2011-04-27T15:46:00.004-05:00

CNN: "She was on her way to church on Easter Sunday and when she saw the high flood waters at Mount Calvary Powerhouse Church in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, she almost turned around and went home. A church van was shuttling people through the water and Mrs. Dugas helped transport a few people in her car as well. She had no idea that one of the young men in her car was planning to be baptized

Why Religion?

2011-02-21T11:31:00.001-06:00

Dear Mr Smalley, Hi, my name is Shannon and I'm a year 12 student in Sydney, Australia. One of the courses I am doing for my HSC (our version of SATs) is English Ext 2 wherein I will create a major work on basically anything that I want. A great deal of research is required to back up my work and I was hoping that I could use some correspondence with you in order to help shape the ideas behind

Why Haiti?

2011-02-18T00:51:00.002-06:00

Shortly after the earthquake, I posted a video tiled "ATHEIST TO THEISTS: Why Haiti?" and a concerned viewer from Haiti replied to me with the below, unedited email.hi,your vid touched me in kind of waylet me explain...i'm from haiti but was adopted by European family at a very young age.by now i have visited haiti and my family several times, and i feel really connected to them... except on 1

Post-believing Anger

2011-02-04T21:56:00.005-06:00

A reader by the name of Scott sent me this message, and I wanted to share it with the rest of the dogma debate readers. My response to him follows...David,I'd like to hear your opinion on something being that you're furtherdown the trail than I am. Today, I'm proud and happy to say that I'm anatheist even though I don't broadcast it without first having a reasonto announce it. But, I grew up in

Why Am I Atheist?

2011-02-04T21:49:00.003-06:00

A young visitor to dogma debate left this note for me. I've decided to share it with you, along with my response to him.Taylor said...Hey there, David.I am commenting here, not because I responding to your article or any of the ensuing comments, but because I stumbled upon it on Google while looking for reasons to be atheist (hence your title name "Top 10 Reasons I'm Atheist") to deflect

Obama on Christianity

2011-02-03T22:17:00.003-06:00

Why I voted for Obama...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOOrSAbU9z8

Another Closet Atheist...

2010-12-12T15:18:00.005-06:00

A reader sent me the following message requesting advice, so I thought I would share his concerns and my response with dogma debate readers. Enjoy...Hello David,Thank you for your intelligent thought. I've shared these concerns with humanity's obsession with God for some time.I hope it's okay for me to ask advice. I don't believe in God but respect any intelligent person who does. In fact my

My Fan Club?

2010-11-16T19:55:00.004-06:00

Well, the book is apparently getting rave reviews. Here are some comments I just saw on my Facebook fan site..."Good luck with your evil sodomy you unbaptized faggot. The holocaust happened for a damn good reason." - Ira K. Racadag"We're under a new covenant now, Christ gave everything so we could witness the good news to lost people like you." - William Gerwig "Hey, a baptized atheist. How does

Approach is Everything

2010-10-25T21:26:00.003-05:00

To the many believers who attempt to be 'militant' in their approach to spread your 'gospel,' I have a few questions:1) You know 'gospel' means 'good news,' right? Who wants good news delivered with insults or loud voices? If someone converted as a result of your intimidation factors, empty threats, or impossible dares, would that even count as 'faith' within your religious views anyway?2) What

Impossible as Hell

2010-09-26T02:36:00.002-05:00

Something just occurred to me. If Satan is in charge of Hell, he is also in charge of punishing the 'bad' people, wouldn't you agree? He's there to oversee the torture and pain, and inflict punishment on those that broke God's rules. Well, if he's punishing the bad ones, wouldn't that make him good? I mean, no teacher in her right mind puts the worst student in class in charge when she leaves. If

Is Ignorance Bliss?

2010-09-12T00:38:00.002-05:00

"Some would rather be content with ignorance than uncomfortable with the truth." —David SmalleyThis personal quote of mine means a lot to me. As I continue to talk to people of all ages and races all over the world about various religions, one thing remains the same: many of them consciously choose ignorance and logically explain their decision.They simply don't want to know. I've heard "I know

Baptized Atheist

2010-08-20T22:54:00.010-05:00

My book, Baptized Atheist, has officially released with Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and AAP.You’ve always believed because it was the right thing to do, but you have questions that your religious leaders and prayers have not yet answered. You’ve always had thoughts in the back of your mind that you would never actually say because it’s taboo to question your religion. I understand because I’ve

Fantasy

2010-08-12T19:02:00.002-05:00

An interesting thing occurred to me while watching Hook--the Robin Williams version of Peter Pan with my daughter. That movie is completely engulfed with fantasy--which of course, is a fun thing for children.One thing was common throughout the movie: the children (and a few adults) kept fantasizing and speaking of myths, and the dad (Robin Williams) was viewed negatively for correcting them and

Public Response To News

2010-07-01T18:28:00.000-05:00

In light of a recent news story regarding my Christian Day Care blog, I feel the need to clear a few things up and address the folks that responded on the news site that ran this story. Despite my comments being taken out of context—I do not feel that all Christian Day Cares are equal to child abuse. I would never say that. It’s a complete exaggeration of my statement.

Public Response to News Story

2010-07-01T18:27:00.001-05:00

Church Day Care

2010-06-07T12:21:00.002-05:00

Please use a lot of consideration when choosing your child care facility. I know that it gives you a warm tingly feeling inside to know that your child will be attending a 'Christian' child care center, but think this through for a moment.For the first few years of a child's life, it's crucial that he or she learns fundamentals of communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and social

Live Radio Show Wednesday 5/26

2010-05-25T22:44:00.003-05:00

I'll be live on the air with my new co-host Todd Hyso, as the Dogma Debate returns to BlogTalkRadio!Listen live at 8PM CST (9e) at www.blogtalkradio.com/dogmadebate

State Capitol Speech

2010-05-16T23:02:00.007-05:00

Addressing the Texas Board of Education on the steps of the State Capitol in Austin...

Smalley to Speak at the State Capitol

2010-05-04T22:29:00.008-05:00

I will have the pleasure and great honor of speaking at the State Capitol building in Austin, Texas on May 16th, in my support of the Texans for Truthful Textbooks Rally. I'll be joining my good friends Dr. Ed Buckner, Kathleen Johnson, and many more that are standing up for the education of children.Regardless of your religious beliefs, you must agree that it's not okay rewrite history. These

Did God Really Sacrifice?

2010-03-25T16:41:00.004-05:00

You will get to hear Dr. Creamer answer this question on his show Monday, but I’m curious of all the reader opinions as to how you will defend this. This was a big question that no one could answer with something that made logical sense, and played a major role in me rejecting Christianity prior to my Atheism.The main prospect of Christianity is that “God” sacrificed his son for us. Because of