Had a blast at Skepticon II! Wow. You folk did a great job, and it was loads of fun--not to mention informative! Thanks again for everything. I'm looking forward not only to videos from the event on YouTube (so I can send them all around) but also to seeing reactions and remarks from attendees on their blogs.
Springfield, Mo, on the Missouri State University campus
The Skepticon series began in October of 2008 when PZ Myers and Richard Carrier came to the Missouri State campus and voiced arguments in opposition to faith. The event was presented to the public free of charge, and drew audience members from the surrounding states.
Skepticon II is building on the success of the original. We will bring back the heavy hitters from Skepticon I, along with some of the most prominent names in the atheistic/skeptic community such as Rebecca Watson, Dan Barker, D.J. Grothe, and more.
Our production team is in agreement that we will not charge admission to Skepticon. People have a chance to listen to some of the greatest minds to ever tackle the existence of god, and that type of information should always be free.
Dan Barker served as a Christian preacher and musician for 19 years, before discarding his faith and becoming one of the nation’s most prominent atheists. He is the author of Losing Faith in Faith and president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Richard Carrier is the renowned author of Sense and Goodness without God, as well as numerous articles online and in print. He received his Ph.D. in ancient history from Columbia University in 2008, and now specializes in the modern philosophy of naturalism, the origins of Christianity, and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome.
D.J. Grothe is a program director at the Center for Inquiry and editor for Free Inquiry magazine. He is also a professional magician who has lectured all over the United States and hosts the nationally popular radio show and podcast Point of Inquiry.
Dr. Myers is biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris and the author of the science blog Pharyngula. Myers is known for his criticism of creationism and religion. Dr. Myers was a speaker at the original Skepticon last Fall, and we are elated to have him, and his cracker-disrespecting ways, back at Missouri State.
Utilizing his varied background, Nickell has become widely known as an investigator of myths and mysteries, frauds, forgeries, and hoaxes. He has been called "the modern Sherlock Holmes," "the original ghost buster," and "the real-life Scully" (from "The X-Files" ). He has investigated scores of haunted-house cases, including the Amityville Horror and the Mackenzie House in Toronto, Canada.
Those who have seen The God Who Wasn't There will recognize him as the theological scholar explaining the similarities of Christianity to other localized myths. He is also the author of several books surrounding the inaccuracy of the bible/Christianity including Blasphemies and Revelations and Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition.
Dr. Stenger is author of the upcoming The New Atheism, as well as NY Times bestseller God: The Failed Hypothesis, Quantum Gods: Creation. He also penned Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness and The Comprehensible Comos, amongst many, many others.
Stenger will be giving a presentation on how the scientific evidence points most strongly to atheism.
Rebecca is a blogger and independent podcast host. She is the founder of the Skepchick blog and is a co-host on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast. Rebecca has spoken all over the country, including at the Amaz!ng Meeting.
Had a blast at Skepticon II! Wow. You folk did a great job, and it was loads of fun--not to mention informative! Thanks again for everything. I'm looking forward not only to videos from the event on YouTube (so I can send them all around) but also to seeing reactions and remarks from attendees on their blogs.
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