What's New Archive ● 1999 ● July
July 30
Added two papers to Evan Fales' authorpage: Published the August issueof ii, the Internet Infidels' monthlynewsletterJuly 28
Added "ChristianApologies Necessary and Needed" by J. E. Hill to the FeatureArticlesOrganizers of the Reconciliation Walk seek atonementfor the past atrocities of the church, notably the inquisition and thewitch hunts. Those Christians engaged in reconciliation should be applaudedfor their efforts and encouraged to continue to examine the role of thechurch in history. However, some apologist s have the notion that humanityshould forgive and then quickly forget the atrocities committed by thechurch. Instead of coming out and just admitting that the Church has committedpast wrongs and to pledge that it will never happen again, the apologistsins tead make excuses for the lack of divine governance during these tragicescapades.
July 27
Added "Wittgensteinon Seeing" to the TravisDenneson author page of the Modern LibraryThrough an analysis of aspect-seeing in Wittgenstein'sRemarks on the Philosophy of Psychology, the author delves into the conceptualconfusions of mind-body dualism. Denneson elucidates the Wittgensteinianpoint that dualists are grammatically confused when they conflate the verbs"to see" and "to interpret" forgetting that interpretation is a consciousact over and above the natural and publicly-acces sible act of seeing. Thedualists' grammatical confusion leads to such untenable notions as theCartesian "brain in a vat" whereby seeing is believed to be a private activityoccurring in a private hidden world. Seeing, Denneson reminds us, is a"brute fact, neither having nor requiring verification in the form of aphysicalist account . . . We do not each exist as a brain in a vat" butrather we exist "as a whole creature, as a conundrum made of physical materialthat is, in some enigmatic and marvelous way, mu ch more than the sum ofits parts."
July 24
Added June1999 Feedback to the FeedbacksectionAdd ed SETI at Home
SETI@home is a scientific experiment that harnesses the power of hundreds of thousands of Internet-connected computers in theSearch for Extraterrestrial Intelligence ( SETI). You can participate byrunning a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.There's a small but captivating possibility that your computer will detectthe faint murmur of a civilization beyond Earth. Join the Internet Infidelsin th e Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence! [Read the article..]
July 22, 1999
Added Was Hitler an Atheistor a Theist? More Importa ntly, Who Cares? by Mark Ivan Vuletic to theSecularWeb's Feature SectionVuletic argues that theists and atheists oftenget too caught up in a pointless debate over the metaphysical lean ingsof despotic historical figures. "Suppose Hitler was an atheist," Vuleticpoints out, "what implications follow for atheism as a whole? None." Theistsand atheists who spend their time trying to denounce the other side byarguing that "tyrant W was an ath eist," or "racist murderer X was a theist,"are typically engaging in a classic act of bigotry -- the demonization of an entire class of highly varied people on the basis of the actionsof a few extremists. In the process, they insult and polarize the goodpe ople on each side, and trivialize the comparatively minor, yet stilldangerous, elements within. [Readthe article..]
July 21, 1999
Added 100th Anniversaryof the Death of Robert G. Ingersoll by Sandra Feroe to the SecularWeb's Feature SectionJuly 21, 1999 marks the 100th anniversary ofthe death of Rober t G. Ingersoll (b.1833). Called "The Great Agnostic"by newspapers of the day and, by all accounts, the nation's most oft-heardorator, Ingersoll was an enlightened, humane freethinker, a visionary,an advocate for unpopular causes such as womens', ch ildrens', and minorityrights, and a combatant against superstition and hypocrisy. [Readthe article..]
July 19, 1999
Added the Lowder-FernandesDebate on naturalism vs. theism to the list of upcomingeventsAdded Adolf Grünbaumto the list of II Supporters
July 16, 1999
Added "AnEmotional Tirade Against Atheism" (1999) [ 54K ] by JefferyJay LowderRavi Zacharias's book, Can Man Live Without God?, isreviewed. I comment on the book's treatment of the following issues: theevidentialist challenge; the Lack of Evidence argument; the problem ofevil; various v ersions of the cosmological, teleological, and moral arguments;historical evidence for the reliability of the Bible; Pascal's wager; andBertrand Russell's ethical theory.
July 13, 1999
Added Religion is theCause of Violence by William Edelen to the SecularWeb's Feature SectionIt is religion that, historically, has alwaysproduced violence. From Moses to the Crusades, Henry VIII, Salem, Hitler,Kosovo. Today, in our own time, it is those countries without religionthat are the LEAST vilolent. [Goto the full story.]Added Murphy'sLaw: Ethan Allen by JohnPatrick Michael Murphy to the Freethoughtsection of Faithand Reason in the Modern Documents section of our Library.
Ethan Allen was a freethinker who thought Judeo-Christian-Islam-anitywas a calamity. He is a nother of the founders the religious right doesn'tspeak about when they tell us of our "Christian nation."
July 12, 1999
Added T.J. Walker'sRadio Interview of Internet Infidels, Inc. President Jeffery Jay Lowder(July 12, 1999) (Off Site) (16 minutes Real Audio file)NOTE: You will need a Real Audio player to listen to this interview.To download a Real Audio player on your system, please go to https://real.com
T.J. Walker talks to Lowder about the history and purpose ofInternet Infidels, Inc.; the meanings of terms 'atheism' and 'agnosticism';Pat Robertson; whether we should ignore the Radical Religious Right; MargaretDown ey's battle against discrimination by the Boy Scouts of America; whetherhaving "In God We Trust" printed on all U.S. currency really matters; whatthe Secular Web has to offer; how the Internet offers freethinkers a levelplaying field in the marketplace of ideas; the fact that nontheists arethe last minority in the USA which it is politically correct to hate; howfreethinkers can support the Secular Web.
July 2, 1999
Added the July Newsletter to the Newsletters for 1999.In thismonth's issue of ii, we feature Pat Robertson's gold fever as h e embracesyet another dictator, reorganizes the CC, and claims that Scotland is controlledby a gay-lesbian conspiracy. Also, Falwell warns of a feminist "demoniclegend", syndicated columnist Tom Teepen weighs in on prayer in schools,the "See Change" campa ign, upcoming II debate, and oh so much more!Added the July web.scan.
Each month mathewdredges the bottom of the net t o bring to you strange religious claims,flim-flam schemes, pop-culture memes gone awry, and the downright superstitious.This month mathew examines the secret religious origins of breakfast cereal,the weird science of Nikola Tesla, eternal life rings, tele portation devices,the reanimation of decaying corpses, and how to build your own UFO. Canyour browser handle the upgrade to web.scan?