"Let me be succinct and clear: prayer is a useless exercise, undertaken by those who, in a fit of childish delusion, believe they can effect change in the real world by falling to their knees and murmuring to themselves. These people, oftentimes adults who have been properly educated and who can function in day-to-day society quite serviceably, are under the distinctly infantile impression that muttering under their breath can affect the outcome of some circumstance in which they have a stake, emotional or otherwise."
"Are you an atheist?" always makes me feel somewhat awkward, uncertain how to respond. It is not that I mind having people know that I do not believe in God. I have never been a believer, and I am unconcerned about who knows it. My problem with "atheist" is that it is too negative and does not say enough about what I consider to be true.
"We must teach our children to recognize their radiating effects on all they touch, and not only acknowledge their mighty power but embrace the responsibility that comes with it to further humanity's development, not for rewards in an afterlife, but to help make it possible for generations to come to experience living."
What is "atheism" as a movement? What should it be? While atheism does not necessarily entail any particular social values, there are nevertheless distinct values that outspoken atheists can--and should--rally around!
The God Delusion is a witty, razor-sharp attack on religious belief of all varieties. Dawkins pulls no punches and does not hesitate to heap scorn on foolish beliefs. Atheists will cheer it; believers will probably be appalled and bypass it, which is unfortunate, since this book presents a great deal of legitimately new and interesting information, and closes with a passionate and powerful defense of atheism that should be heard by all.
Although Dan Ferrisi was born into a 100% Roman Catholic family, he eventually came to deplore religion as a pernicious influence on the species. This is the story of his journey from Catholicism to atheism.
At the very beginning of the twentieth century, discussions on Atheism had a popularity and vigour that would astound most of us today. By contrast, in England today, religion is hardly mentioned and the main concern with any religious talk seems to be not to upset people with what you say.
George Walker Bush relates that he relied on guidance from "a higher Father" as he came to the decision to invade Iraq. Now that it's apparent that the best case scenario for Operation Iraqi Freedom will be a moderate Islamic republic aligned with Iran, and the worst case scenario a metastasizing war between Sunnis and Shiites spreading throughout the Middle East, perhaps it's time to address some questions surrounding President Bush's initial decision to go to war.
Whenever I critique the inherent, ubiquitous, and incessant relationship between Abrahamic monotheism and senseless violence, I inevitably receive defiant rejoinders not only from Christian rigorists but from misinformed moderates and secularists as well. Such people offer Hitler and Nazism as verification of humanity's purely secular propensity toward excessive bloodshed. But contrary to popular opinion, Adolf Hitler was not an atheist.
An open letter to Antony Flew criticizing his much publicized renunciation of atheism. He is confused about what sort of God he now believes in. The evidence on which he rests his case for abandoning naturalism is poorly researched. And his arguments for a nonnatural designer God are poorly reasoned.
"'Atheist.' You can almost hear the thunder rolling in the background. Just in the last few days, I've seen 'atheist' written in ways that indicate that the word represents a menacing entity--or even something supernatural. This seems to tell me that 'atheist' and 'atheism' are not only terms commonly misunderstood, but also words outside normal, acceptable, rational speech."
Antony Flew is one of the most renowned atheists of the 20th century. He is now considering the possibility that there might be a God--sort of. What's going on? Carrier has had direct contact with Flew and tells us what's going on; it's certainly not, at least not yet, what some theists would like to think.
John Dill came to the Internet Infidels Discussion Forum a theist, deconverted, and now considers himself an atheist. As a former theist, he has some pointers for all atheists regarding "proving the negative."
He does not believe in any of the supernatural events depicted in the Bible, yet John Shelby Spong will not be labeled "an atheist." He considers himself a Christian through and through, a Christian who sees a need for a new Reformation and whose church is leading the way into the future--even at the risk of alienating half its members. Spong believes that Christianity must change or die. Braverman believes that if the Christians are to be brought into the twenty-first century, it can only be done by an insider like Bishop Spong.
Defending the Fine-Tuning Argument against a few very common objections, Wardman demonstrates that the reasoning that underpins this variation of the Design Argument is far more robust than it is usually given credit for. Nevertheless, there is a very good reason that we need not postulate a Designer for the universe after all.
Somewhere along the line, our founding fathers dumped hundreds of years of religious influence and went secular. How do we know? Historical documents prove the case. Aside from the Declaration of Independence and Constitution there were numerous other state and federal documents that support the principle of separation of church and state.
It is a sickening fact that in today's fundamentalist-dominated America, expressions of atheism are tantamount to revealing one's disloyalty, subversion and even criminal involvement. How could it be any other way when the President sounds more like a Baptist preacher than the leader of a country founded on ideals of individual freedom?
Never mind that he wasn't named Patrick and wasn't Irish, even the most ardent heathen has to hold some modicum of respect for St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. After all, the guy's responsible for more annual beer sales than the Budweiser frogs and Paul Hogan combined.
Throughout his adult life, Frost vacillated between piety and irreverence, faith and skepticism. Although his wife accused him of being a closet atheist, he was never quite able to eradicate the fear of God implanted in him by his Puritan forebears.
The strength and pervasiveness of the conviction among the general public in the United States and elsewhere that atheists are incompetent or too untrustworthy to hold positions of trust is all too pervasive. In fact, there is even government support for some forms of anti-atheist discrimination. Atheists should never acquiesce.
Atheists, agnostics and humanists have longed for their own "Stonewall," the rebellion in New York in 1969 which is said to have begun the gay-rights movement. The Godless Americans March on Washington of November 2, 2002 might prove to be that kind of historical event.
It is long overdue that people who do not believe in any god are elected to significant political office. Atheists must start electing some of their own, and Eddie Tabash, the only admitted atheist to run for political office in 2000, describes what is necessary for this to happen, and how we need to overcome crippling assumptions and prejudices and start getting politically savvy, just as the Christian Right has done.
While grieving over his grandfather's passing and preparing a eulogy for him, Lankford discovers some crucial differences between the way believers and nonbelievers handle death.
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