Atheism seems to be on the table these days here at UD and a few points need clarification. First up, what is Atheism? The usual dictionaries are consistent: atheism n. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods. [French athéisme, from athée, atheist, from Greek atheos, godless : a-, without; see a-1 […]
Atheism
Getting the facts right on “unbelief”
Researchers: “only minorities of atheists or agnostics in each of our countries appear to be thoroughgoing naturalists.”
Atheists suffer apocalypse anxiety too, it seems
Reviewer: Routledge suggested the behaviour of religious doomsday fretters was similar to atheist political activists. ‘I’m increasingly seeing a similar sort of fatalism on the secular left,’ he continued.
Darwinian philosopher on finding meaning in life without God.
Via Wintery Knight, we learn what give an atheist Darwinian philosopher a sense of self-worth.
Making a mess of understanding eternity
Perhaps this is why the raging Woke would prefer to smash things rather than study.
Disproofs of God’s existence are falling on hard times these days
Omnipotent means the power to do any possible thing. Christians, for example, say that God “became man and suffered for us under Pontius Pilate.” So the answer to McGinn’s questions (“does he have the power to sneeze or digest food or pick his nose”) is yes, though it requires incarnation in a human body.
Michael Egnor: Jerry Coyne confirms a hypothesis about secular religion
He notes: Coyne rants that Staddon’s essay should never have been published. In other words, he responds to the observation that atheism is censoriously thuggish by… being a censorious thug.
Jerry Coyne vents about David Klinghoffer
He tells readers, “The “Darwinian Perspective,” or at least the atheistic one, hadn’t at all proved terribly corrosive. Indeed, people found it liberating.” ENST editor Klinghoffer disagreeswith that.
Researchers: Rise in “religious Nones” masks growth in evangelicalism
Atheists have also grown from 1.6% of the adult population to 3%, which is a significant increase. But the smaller the starting number, the easier it is for any increase to be significant. It;s the mushy middle that is shrinking.
At Quillette: Is secular humanism a religion?
A key principle seems to be that “Humans are not exceptional” (despite the evidence). The main prophets of the religion would appear to be legacy mainstream media.
Logic & First Principles, 16: The problem of playing God (when we don’t — cannot — know how)
In discussing the attempted brain hacking of monkeys, I made a comment about refraining from playing God. This sparked a sharp reaction, then led to an onward exchange. This puts on the table the captioned issue . . . which it seems to me is properly part of our ongoing logic and first principles reflections. […]
Logic spaghetti: Who created God?
Tapscott: What are the most difficult questions to answer? Solid candidates are those which by virtue of how they are posed eliminate the only logical and correct answers. (Introducing mathematician John Lennox)
Atheist public intellectual John Gray separates the atheist wheat from the chaff
Graham McAleer: This book should put to rest the canard that atheism is free thinking, and oh so much more broad-minded and gentle than what is on offer from the dull and cramped-spirited God-fearing types.
Templeton winner: Atheism is inconsistent with the scientific method
Marcelo Gleiser: “Atheism is a belief in non-belief. So you categorically deny something you have no evidence against.”
Neuroskeptic: Atheists are NOT genetically damaged
Of course, the claim is nonsense but then those of us who have listened to rubbish about the God gene and such can’t help hiding a giggle. Hey, given that it’s Hate Your Local Atheist Week anyway, how about “Atheists have mutant genes, don’t live as long ” 😉