CelebAtheist site

critter: Speaking of tsunamis, you might be interested in this article, entitled "Tsunami and Theodicy," by David Hart, writing in "First Things" (March 2005): http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=166 It's about the most sensible article I've seen on the problem of evil. vjtorley

That is a very small list. Notice the number of people most others would consider truly messed up. A list of celebrity theists or deists would be orders of magnitude larger. Yet it isn't a popularity contest. The majority doesn't win on ultimate truth questions. The truth wins no matter how many are for or against it. If one doesn't believe men have walked on the moon, does that make it any less true? So if one doesn't believe there is a God and there is, will their unbelief change anything of the existence of God? If there were no God would belief make God exist? No in all cases. No one can change the ultimate truth. As for atheists, they now claim lack of belief rather than active denial of any God (since they know they cannot win an argument on that latter basis). Yet this ploy fails as "lack of belief" does not an atheist make. Does your pet fish 'lack belief'? If so is your fish an atheist? Hardly. As soon as you claim to not believe you've made a commitment to a well defined position, a choice. That is not a mere lack of belief. Borne

Are scientists like Steven Weinberg really considered celebrities? Did anyone else notice David Duchovny's name under the "ambiguous" heading and immediately think of the poster in Agent Mulder's office that said "I want to believe", or do I just need an X-Files fix? Barb

Prof Dembski: thanks, but could you let us know when you find the specific web sites where they list the celebrities, and quote the sources that show they don't believe in: the easter bunny, the tooth fairy, santa claus, the fsm, pink elephants, etc, etc; funny how much time and thought they're spending on this particular "non-existent" concept; with 1 website per non-existent, they'd never do anything else; also, where are the quotes from each of these same people where they explain how they *do* know what the difference is between good and bad; if it's in their own hearts and minds, does that imply that majority rules? or would they hold out against the whole world for a principle (likely not) es58

nullasalus,I agree. I've been looking at some of these, and many of them completely lack conviction. This website loves to latch onto any sign of skepticism. Bantay, you're definitely right about the insecurity. I know Billy Corgan is under "ambiguous" but he really doesn't belong under this URL at all. Berceuse

Bantay:

I don’t see the FSM on that list. Does anyone know if, like my dog..and a few inanimate items laying around the house….the FSM is an atheist who just doesn’t have a belief in (g)God?

Your question makes no sense. The FSM is a god and, therefore and obviously, he must believe in himself. Ramen. crater

Nullasalus, Thanks for the info! I'm still a bit confused about the title, but at least I have that for me to try and comprehend its meaning. lol Domoman

I apologize if this comment is a bit off-topic. What's interesting to me in perusing the list is the disproportionality of men (344; 86%) to women (56; 14%). This tracks well with other surveys, so it's not a matter of celebrity status. Other sources have reported that approximately 7 times more men than women identify as atheists.⁽¹⁾ I find this interesting from a psychological⁽²⁾ or sociological perspective. So, is atheism a largely male-oriented pastime, or is there something else going on here? (1). The Cambridge Companion to Atheism (2). Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism TCS

critter: I believe it does. Since I am a creationist I believe the world has changed a lot. That includes a radical change of the environment and the degeneration of live. I think this is about looking for (good) design in a broken and damaged world. critiacrof

Do the distorting effects of sin in our hearts and evil in the world include tsunamis? critter

I was curious too - provocative book title, Mr Dembski. Found this: "The End Of Christianity by William Dembski is scheduled for release in October. “Theodicy attempts to resolve how a good God and evil world can coexist. The neo-atheist view in this debate has dominated recent bestseller lists through books like The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins), God Is Not Great (Christopher Hitchens), and The End of Faith (Samuel Harris). And their popularity illuminates a changing mental environment wherein people are asking harder questions about divine goodness. Surprisingly, these books please intelligent design champion William Dembski, because ‘They would be unnecessary if Christianity were not again a live issue.’ Here, Dembski brings the reader to a fresh understanding of what “the end (result) of Christianity” really means: the radical realignment of our thinking so that we see God’s goodness in creation despite the distorting effects of sin in our hearts and evil in the world.” I am very interested to see how one of the leading proponents of intelligent design attacks the issue of theodicy in light of the neo-atheists." Consider me tremendously interested. nullasalus

Hello Mr. Dembski, I had a question. Why are you calling your book "The End of Christianity"? Domoman

Would you expect an less from celebrities? NZer

Took me a while to find, but yes, Stalin was on the list, but you had to navigate to find it. BTW, UD might want to check the spam filter again, the folks in the PT-mafia seem to be flagging comments they don't agree with as spam, triggering Akismet to generate false positives. William Wallace

The whole concept of that web page just makes atheists look terribly insecure. Then you look at the names on the list and they go from insecure to desperately insecure. Some of the names make me laugh. H.P. Lovecraft? - First rate dysfunctional weirdo recluse Gore Vidal? - celebrated liberal pederast Francis Crick? - probably the best of the lot but as an ID supporter he undermines the basic cosmology that most atheists hold to. Jehu

I don't see the FSM on that list. Does anyone know if, like my dog..and a few inanimate items laying around the house....the FSM is an atheist who just doesn't have a belief in (g)God? Bantay

Well they say 'celebrities', but they'll really take whoever they can so long as they were noted for something other than killing a whole lot of people (However, Joseph Stalin is on the list.) And even for a lot of the guys they have on their list the placement is questionable. They place Emo Philips on the 'Apparently skeptical of theism or religion' list - if you look at the entry they use to justify it, it's rather, uh. Lacking. nullasalus

I'm always struck by these sorts of lists and the sort of people on them. Is Larry Flynt really someone you want to be advertising as your co-religionist ? (in a good way). Or Woody Allen for that matter. Or Angelina Jolie (what a pillar of moral virtue). Not to mention the motley assortment of lefty celb idiots. Jason Rennie