Category Archives: James A. Haught

Articles and short works by the author, primarily on religion and moral issues.

James A Haught: “A Freethinker’s Testimony”

Just because you grow up in the Bible Belt (I was born in a West Virginia hamlet with no electricity) doesn’t mean automatically that you’re a fundamentalist. My family never went to church. Most people I knew laughed at “holy … Continue reading

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James A. Haught: “Murder in the Name of Religion”

When you think of saints, you envision stained-glass pictures of piety. But the truth can be horribly different. Consider Pope Pius V: When he was Grand Inquisitor, he sent Catholic troops to kill 2,000 Waldensian Protestants in Calabria in southern … Continue reading

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James A Haught: “The Meaning of Life”

Young seekers of truth go through a phase of wondering whether life has any discernible meaning. Why are we here? Why is the universe here? Is there a purpose to it all? This is the ultimate question, overarching all others. … Continue reading

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James A Haught: “Let’s outgrow Fairy Tales”

The supernatural spectrum is immense: Gods, goddesses, devils, demons, angels, heavens, hells, purgatories, limbos, miracles, prophecies, visions, auras, saviors, saints, virgin births, immaculate conceptions, resurrections, bodily ascensions, faith-healings, salvation, redemption, messages from the dead, voices from Atlantis, omens, clairvoyance, spirit-signals, … Continue reading

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James A. Haught: “Where do Beliefs Come From?”

Suppose a miracle is reported – say, another Virgin Mary sighting by Catholics, or the nine hundred-foot Jesus seen by evangelist Oral Roberts. Some Americans will embrace this news joyfully, as evidence of the holy, while others will be skeptical. … Continue reading

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James A. Haught: “Does God Exist?”

Does God Exist? Well, it depends on what you mean by God. The universe is a maze of mysteries. How can gravity – an invisible, unexplainable force – pull the Milky Way into a spiral? How can atoms contain such … Continue reading

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