Meet the Columnists
Atheist: Damien Harrison
(Atheism/Humanism/Rational Skepticism) Raised in a nominally religious household, I became a Charismatic Fundamentalist at 20 until I was forced to question my beliefs, which eventually led me to skeptical atheism.I was a Bible study leader and worship musician...
Atheist: Richard Carrier
I am the author of Sense and Goodness without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism, which explains and defends my complete worldview (available at amazon.com). I am a married veteran and a freelance writer, philosopher, and historian, with a Ph.D. in ancient history from Columbia University. I have published several papers and articles and have represented the atheist viewpoint at many public events and debates across the country and on national television...Christian: Kyle Runge
(Protestant - Reformed) Theologically - I grew up in a United Methodist church reading the Bible only occasionally but paying attention in Service, Sunday School, and other various conferences enough that I was familiar with the general themes of scripture, and (although not devoted in a personal way) was convinced of the Bible's large scale authority and historicity...Christian: Timothy McCabe
(Reformed Evangelical Protestant) No one is born a Christian. I'm no exception. Of course, just like so many other Americans, I believed I was a Christian before I actually became one. There really were passages in scripture that described me well, but they weren't the ones I thought they were...Gen 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...
Hindu: Audarya-lila Dasa
I am a biochemist by profession and I live in southern California. I work for a cancer diagnostic company. I am happily married and I have two teenage children ages 16 and 13. I love to swim and over the past several years have begun to really enjoy open water swimming. California coastal waters are only warm enough for me where I live to swim without a wet suit for about a one month period in late July to late August...Muslim: Asghar Ali Engineer
I was born in a Bohra orthodox priestly family. The Bohras are Shi'ah Isma'ili Muslims. My father was a learned scholar of Islam and serving the establishment of the Bohra head priest who holds the office of Da'i and popularly known as Saiyyidna (i.e. our Lord).My father, who was firm believer in the Shi'ah-Isma'ili Islam had somewhat open mind and showed great patience when persons of other persuasions entered into dialogue with him...