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Still Don't Think Theism is a Mind Disorder...Part Deux
2008-01-15 10:35:00 Since there have been so many things that I wanted to address in the comments, plus the fact that it got long as hell, I decided to post it here. Enjoy. Quote: No atheism here. Submitted by Fenriz on January 13, 2008 - 2:37pm. Religion is different from illegal drugs because it is societally protected. Even if religion is destructive, it won't carry the same stigma as drugs because too many people support it. Your analogy is more effective with tobacco and alcohol, which are both traditionally accepted features of our culture despite the harms they can inflict. Because they are so ingrained in our culture, we won't get rid of them regardless the problems to which they contribute (though tobacco could be teetering on the brink of extinction). I agree that it is considered taboo to critique religion too harshly, but is that respect deserved? Would we not be better off as a society if events such as these didn't happen? Some people will find other reasons to eng...
Still Don't Think that Theism is a Mental Disorder?
2008-01-13 07:45:00 Wow. A whole barrage of nonsense came at us in the past two weeks or so. First off...a man cuts off his own hand after seeing the Mark of the Beast on it. With a circular saw. And then microwaves it. And then calls the authorities. A quote from one of the sherriff's deputies states, "That kind of mental illness is just sad." I couldn't agree more. Now, I know what you guys are going to say--"It's not BECAUSE of religion." Actually, I don't think that a case could be made either way. Was he likely vulnerable to delusional behavior? Yeah, I'll concede that one. The fact that religion is unique in its ability to seep into the crevices of your mind so pervasively that this theme plays out in our society over and over again isn't addressed by that statement, though. How do the appeasers and framers answer that? Maybe it only manifests itself in those already prone to mental illness, but isn't that akin to excusing and perpetuating a belie...
Preaching social apathy in living room seminaries
2007-12-21 18:53:00 The above case of Al-Huda and its effect on upper class Pakistanis highlights a problem theism can cause. It can make believers as Aneela puts it "content with their lot": the idea that, indulging in religious practices is good(hence lowering motivation for contributing to the solution of social problems) while at the same time nullifying the guilt of not doing anything concrete about, or even highlighting social issues such as (as in this case) gender and economic inequality.
The problem(s) with religion?
2007-12-06 16:52:00 This comic illustrates the difference between a Muslim/Christian and a nut. The following illustrates how theists feel after apostatizing:
Arguing against Theists; an effort in?
2007-12-04 07:02:00 This picture hilariously demonstrates the problem with arguing against theists about the existence of god:
Puppets, Popoli & The Open Theism Debate
2007-11-24 14:55:00 I’m sure my astute readers are all up to speed on the open theism debate. Then again, some of you probably aren’t. And I haven’t really ever debated the issue, so I had to do some homework too. The Issue Open Theism is the belief that God is in a sense bound by time. ...
Atheism or Anti-Theism Taught In The Classroom?
2007-11-20 23:46:00 We seem to hear a lot about ?separation of church and state? and about how we need to keep religion and Christianity to ourselves or in the privacy of our own homes, but interestingly Scholastic would like to introduce the concept of The Golden Compass: Language Arts Lessons & Activities to our children through their teachers.Check out the advertisement:[http://content.s-cholastic.com/browse/unitplan.j-sp?id=284]Welcome Teachers! We hope you enjoy this language arts program featuring The Golden Compass, the soon-to-be-released film based on the multi-award-winning novel by Philip Pullman. You?ll find turnkey, skill-building materials on symbolism and characterization that help students understand the relevance of literary themes in their lives. The lessons and activities, while connected to the book and film, can be taught independently to supplement any language arts curriculum.Here are some SparkNotes concerning the book:[http://www.sparknotes.com-/lit/hisdarkmaterials/summary.h-t...
Why atheism or theism is not a choice
2007-11-09 00:00:00 Religions, particularly the theistic ones, place huge emphasis on belief. Those who believe will be saved; those who do not will be doomed. The natural implication of this is the idea that we can control our beliefs. A so-called good person believes, and a so-called bad person does not. However, in my opinion, we cannot ...
Why Non-Theism is a More Moral Alternative
2007-10-21 17:56:00 Why There Really Is No God - On the podcast Point of Inquiry, a half-hour interview with Edward Tabash. Edward Tabash is a constitutional and civil rights lawyer, and explains himself as one who grew up theistic. Growing up, he says he quickly realized that (for various reasons that he mentions in the ...
By: Migrations
Humanist Draws Line Between Atheism and Anti-theism
2007-10-01 18:14:00 ?While atheism is the lack of belief in any god, anti-theism means actively seeking out the worst aspects of faith in god and portraying them as representative of all religion. Anti-theism seeks to shame and embarrass people away from religion, browbeating them about the stupidity of belief in a bellicose god.? - Greg M. EpsteinWould this not mean that there are atheists, and then there are atheist extremists, aka anti-theists?As in many atheists? blogs which I have seen (not all), there has been the use of terms such as moderate Christians and Christian extremists (labeled as fundamentalists). In following suit, there must also then be moderate Atheists and Atheist extremists. For there is the atheist which lives their life with a ?lack of belief in any god?, then there is the atheist which appears to actively spend their life speaking, writing, blogging, and ranting against every religious thing that takes place.The definition of moderates seems to be, they may concern themselves ...
Dawkins on "atheism takes as much faith as theism"
2007-09-07 19:09:00 Other people have already mentioned this review of Hitchens’ “god is not Great” by Richard Dawkins, so merely telling you about it is fairly useless. However, I just have to share this bit with anyone who didn’t read the full article: The onus is not on the atheist to demonstrate the non-existence of the invisible unicorn ...
By: Way of the Mind
India - God-driven or God-forsaken?
2007-08-05 11:58:00 The words “God Lives in India” have been bandied about by numerous people, always referring to Sathya Sai Baba (who has proclaimed himself as God, Deity of All Deities). It is a film title, a song title, a book title and so on. Sai Baba has stated that God never incarnates as the Full Avatar anywhere ...
Sai Baba (Baa-Baa Black Sheep) a misunderstood ?Second Coming?
2007-08-03 09:48:00 After almost 30 years of Mission (24 -12 72, in Bangalore), Sathya Sai Baba gave the first of a series of annual Discourses on Jesus Christ. . The Discourse culminates in a preposterous claim that Jesus announced Sai Baba’s future Advent from the Cross. This is still taken seriously by devotees and the Sathya Sai Organization ...
BBC Beyond Belief, Atheism with AC Grayling
2007-07-18 15:00:00 AC Grayling defines atheism on the BBC and discusses naturalism with Ernie Rea and others. The audio file in real media format is available here. Linda Woodhead professor of religious studies at Lancaster University joins in the discussion and says: “I’m just an average kind of Briton” I always worry when someone describes themselves as average. It’s normally ...
Spread the Word on Atheism
2007-07-16 20:00:00 Have you ever wondered what it would be like if atheists went door to door? Well, John Safran gave it a go in Utah of all places, with very amusing results.
By: A Load of Bright
Understanding Atheism
2007-07-11 11:21:00 I haven’t written anything about atheism so I’ll address the situation right now. I personally believe that atheism is one of the simplest concepts in the world. Atheism is the school of thought that denies the existence of a supreme being (most commonly referred to as a god). It’s fairly straight-forward and is ...
By: Atheista
Why Atheism?
2007-07-09 23:57:00 I’ve been asked this question a few times, not only on this blog but also in one of my favorite blogging communities, 9rules. I wanted to quickly to clarify my position. First, what is atheism? I won’t delve into lots of dictionary definitions because ultimately they say very much the same thing. Simply put, atheism ...
Arguments Against Arguments for Atheism: The Views of Sam Harris
2007-07-05 21:17:00 An article refuting many of the claims made by Sam Harris in his books The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reasonand Letter to a Christian Nationcan be found in the latest edition of Biola Connections, the alumni magazine of Biola University. The article, with contributions by Christian scholars Douglas Geivett and ...
By: Prudent Musings
The Poverty of the New Atheism Movement [Speaking Science 2.0]
2007-06-26 15:41:00 Over at Framing Science, as an atheist, I describe what I find so troubling about the Dawkins/Hitchens PR campaign: It has radicalized a New Atheist movement of complaints and attacks that is almost completely devoid of a positive message about what it means to live life without religion. Long before the New Atheist movement, sociologists began to identify an increase in the number of Americans who report “no religion” in surveys. What this growing segment of Americans needs is not a set of leaders who employ a form of “us vs. them” binary reasoning to add further division and polarization to the country, but leaders who set an agenda focused on community life and social responsibility. We need leaders who encourage atheists to work together with religious Americans to solve collective problems such as poverty and climate change. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/128-13462...
(ESPN's) "Tony (Kornheiser) Is Extremely Neurotic" - Joe Theisman On New ?M
2007-06-23 21:04:00 Wow. I can understand that he's upset, but calling someone -- specifically ESPN's Tony Kornheiser "extremely neurotic" is a bit much. Well, it's one thing to say that in private conversation, but another to just hall off and make the comment before a media person. But Joe had a lot to say in this interview covered by MetroBostonNews.com . He dished more on Kornheiser saying "?Monday Night Football? cannot be an extension of ?Pardon The Interruption,? because the game is too important." The entire article by Christopher Price of Metro is below.....Theismann UnpluggedAnalyst sounds off on the Pats, Belichck and ?Monday Night Football?Former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann has never been shy about expressing his opinions. So when Metro caught up with him yesterday, it was no surprise the former Redskins quarterback and ?Monday Night Football? analyst let fly on a number of topics, including what he thought about the Patriots? offseason moves, Bill Belichick?s management style, w...
Quote of the Day: Joe Theisman
2007-06-19 16:18:00 “Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein.” Joe Theismann, Former quarterback
Positive Atheism
2007-06-15 00:19:00 Atheism is Positive! Many people in the world seem to view atheists as being something cold, too dispassionate, and latently morose. This perception has always furrowed my brow. As an atheist I can get caught up in the debates and heated discussions regarding how faith is wrong and its power wide. Here, though, I want to show some positive aspects of atheism. True, atheism promises no afterlife. There is no eventual justice, fairness, resting spot, or meeting of old dead friends and relatives. We do offer, however, the truth. The truth is something worth finding, something worth going after. If all we are looking for is comfort, then various drugs can supply that. That is all they offer however: baseless comfort. I’ve always found a certain satisfaction from looking life squarely in the eye and living to my fullest extent. With atheism and the one life that people in this world are given, they can do with it whatever they want! You can do whatever it is that fulfills YOU! If ...
Atheism is today?s featured article on Wikipedia
2007-06-08 11:07:00 This doesn’t happen every day. Why not go and read the article in full? Whether you’re an atheist or not, you’re bound to learn something new (as the article is very detailed — it was because of that that it was eligible to be a featured article). BTW, thanks to overcaffein8d for emailing me about ...
By: Way of the Mind
Dealing With Atheism: More Than One Way
2007-06-07 00:00:00 Faith and Skepticism Faith and Skepticism ?I Doubt, Therefore I Am?by Melinda Selmys was an interesting article on insights into atheism. One observation I completely agree with: Atheists are, for... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit MyWebsite.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]
By: TrueGrit
Atheism - a unifying force!
2007-06-02 21:14:00 Agnostic Atheism is a blog of ex-Christians, pretty much like our own little blog here. You can even call their blog our “cousin site”. They have the same issues with Christianity as we have with Islam. Apart from the immense ideological similarities we share, we also have other interesting - tactical - similarities. For one thing their blog, ...
News & Current Events :: Teachers Rebel Over Atheism Promotion
2007-05-25 17:06:00 Author: Eric Subject: Teachers Rebel Over Atheism PromotionPosted: Fri May 25, 2007 11:06 am (GMT -4) Teachers Rebel Over Atheism Promotion District mandates handouts that violate religious beliefs Bob Unruh Some teachers in the Albemarle School District in Virginia are rebelling against their managers' orders to hand out to students as young as kindergarten a promotion for a summer camp that advocates for "Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists, Brights, or whatever..." A representative of the teachers talked to WND only on condition that a name and school not be used, and said such advertisements provided by the district to hand out to children violate the teachers' religious beliefs. It was the same school district that WND earlier reported was distributing publicity about a "Pagan Christmas ritual" being held in the community. The newest brochure advertises Camp Quest. "Camp Quest is the first residential summer camp in the history of ...
Asimov, Atheism, and Death
2007-05-25 02:23:00 Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism. – Isaac Asimov Copyright © ...
By: Way of the Mind
Asymmetric reply-Richard Harris: Ten myths and ten truths about atheism
2007-05-20 20:00:00 My buddy Noel from Magnasquids brought this Richard Harris column to my attention. Along with Richard Dawkins, he's the atheist "it" boy at the moment. I'll do five today and five tomorrow. And, here we go: 10 myths -- and 10 truths -- about atheism By Sam Harris, SAM HARRIS is the author of "The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason" and "Letter to a Christian Nation." December 24, 2006 SEVERAL POLLS indicate that the term "atheism" has acquired such an extraordinary stigma in the United States that being an atheist is now a perfect impediment to a career in politics (in a way that being black, Muslim or homosexual is not). According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 37% of Americans would vote for an otherwise qualified atheist for president. Atheists are often imagined to be intolerant, immoral, depressed, blind to the beauty of nature and dogmatically closed to evidence of the supernatural. Even John Locke, one of the great patriarchs of the Enlightenmen...
By: Asymmetric
Heliocentrism = Atheism / Anti-American? Gee?
2007-05-20 16:31:00 Like several other bloggers, I wonder if this post on Blogs 4 Brownback, Heliocentrism is an Atheist Doctrine, is a joke. On one hand, it is quite well written in terms of language, and of course the premise is ridiculous, which suggests that this is a new Shelley the Republican. It can also serve as ...
By: Way of the Mind
Is Atheism Dishonest?
2007-05-16 07:29:00 No. Next question, please? If only it were that simple. Bruce Walker, in his article Militant Atheism and Mendacity (subtitle: How the rise of atheism is destroying truth) warrants - although doesn?t necessarily deserve - a more detailed response. The hidden horror of atheism is a greater loss than just the grave which faces us ...
By: A Load of Bright
Educating the Public About Atheism
2007-05-13 15:17:00 We atheists can learn a great deal from other social movements that have helped to reduce bigotry and encourage equitable treatment. Civil rights, women's suffrage, and gay rights all contain valuable lessons, but it seems to me that the plight of the GLBT community may have the most to teach us. We share many things, but one of the most important may be the issue of our visibility.Just as many Americans used to (and some still might) claim to have never known a homosexual person, many now claim to have never encountered an atheist. They may acknowledge the existence of atheists in some distant blue state but not in their heartland community. And yet, we are there. Like many in the GLBT community, many of us try to conceal our lack of belief because we fear the consequences of revealing it.What we can learn from the gay rights movement is that one of the key steps to improving our situation is to increase our visibility. Increasing numbers of us are "coming out," but one area where...
My atheism and a song concerning it
2007-05-13 11:50:00 I have a song which is quite new called The Outfidel which I played at a session at folk club on Friday night. It displays my atheism and may be offensive to some religious individuals who are sensitive that way. I suppose that my singing of it will alienate some people to my music ...
Does Atheism encourage what it disavows?
2007-05-11 07:41:00 Madeleine Bunting has a column in the Guardian this week that's worth a read.She claims that the "new" atheism may have taken on some of the narrow minded and bigoted characteristics of the fundamentalist religion it so despises."But I also raise the concern that his (Dawkins) form of atheism is mimicking the kind of intolerant bigotry we've seen in the past from the religious. As one person put it, it's payback time - atheists are simply giving back what religions have handed out for centuries. Well, exactly. And what's the point of that?"For the most part, she goes along with the atheist position that Christian fundamentalism needs to be challenged and agrees that intelligent design is "hocus pocus". Where she claims to differ however, is on tactics. What her tactics precisely are, she doesn't outline in any great length.Ms Bunting comes across as a down-to-earth and civil human being, so I presume her preferred tactics have to do with polite reasoning and other discursive st...
By: Aidan Maconachy
Atheism
2007-05-11 00:24:00 In a previous post we talked about on what religion the Church of Integrity is based. The church is not only inspired by the religions mentioned in that post but also on Atheism. We gave a short hint about this relation whe we added the Atheist Blogroll. In this post we'll go more in depth into how atheism influenced us.The atheist movement is on a rise. We believe there are many different reasons why people become atheists. Many are frustrated with how religion seems to bash and pervert science as some religious groups have done with the theory of evolution. In the Church of Integrity we of course base our world view on science so you shouldn't end up with any frustrations like that here. Others are frustrated with fundamentalism which we want to avoid at all costs. Yet others have fundamental issues with many religions because they require unconditional belief. We don't require unconditional belief, in fact we encourage people to question the world around them. Yet others are t...
Off-Beat: Investigator finds reasonable grounds for claim of atheism firing
2007-05-06 00:15:00 LEWISTON, Maine –An investigator for the Maine Human Rights Commission has found reasonable grounds for a manager’s claim that he was fired from his job at DeCoster farms because he’s an atheist. Cacy Cantwell says Austin “Jack” DeCoster told him before he was fired that they might have to “part ways” because Cantwell didn’t believe in ...
By: What a Weenie!
Atheism: A Rough History Of Disbelief
2007-05-05 17:06:00 In this first ever television history of disbelief, Jonathan Miller goes on a journey exploring the origins of his own lack of belief and uncovering the hidden story of atheism.
By: Current Era Blog
Upcoming documentary on atheism/agnosticism!
2007-05-02 19:16:00 See promotional clips of the show here. Download a press release for the show here. Special Note: “A Brief History of Disbelief” is not being aired exclusively by PBS, and it is not being carried on a national feed. Your local public television station may be airing the show on a different day and time ...
Joe Theismann Opens Mouth and Inserts Foot Yet Again?Shocker!
2007-05-02 07:04:00 > "The only thing I was disappointed in with the young man, and I hold his agents responsible for this, was to me, when you walk out on stage in front of millions and millions of people, that's a job interview. You don't go to a job interview chewing gum. And I felt like he could have
By: A Wikia Wiki
Joe Theismann Opens Mouth and Inserts Foot Yet Again?Shocker!
2007-05-02 07:04:00 > "The only thing I was disappointed in with the young man, and I hold his agents responsible for this, was to me, when you walk out on stage in front of millions and millions of people, that's a job interview. You don't go to a job interview chewing gum. And I felt like he could have
By: A Wikia Wiki
Richard Dawkins on CNN, defending Atheism [Digg]
2007-05-02 00:02:00 Watch his interview on CNN as he demolishes the religiously motivated misinformation spread by those who hate atheists, agnostics and atheism.
Symbols of Atheism: Pick Your Favorite!
2007-05-01 17:34:00 Unlike muslims, roman catholics and jews, Atheists don’t have the luxury of having a symbol to identify with. Due to the inherent nature of Atheism as a school of thought that does not have a rigid and hierarchical structure akin to other religions, graphical representations of the philosophy will not gain overnight popularity. This is the ...
By: Atheista
Censorship, Personal Safety, and Unorthodox Atheism
2007-05-01 12:13:00 Convinced that atheists have nothing to fear from believers and that to suggest otherwise is just being paranoid? I want to draw your attention to a disturbing account over at Unorthodox Atheism.After Reed lent his copy of Dawkins' The God Delusion to an atheist friend, the friend's father found the book, took it so that his son could not read it, and contacted Reed in what sounds like a threatening manner. Picturing Reed obsessively checking his locks and actually sleeping with a baseball bat makes me sad. It makes me sad for we atheists who must always consider scenarios like this before speaking our minds, and it makes me sad for open-minded Christians who strive to practice tolerance.I think that Reed handled this difficult situation extremely well. It is a good thing he had the foresight to alert personnel at his school since his friend's father actually showed up to demand that he be punished for distributing atheist literature. Evidently, the father refuses to acknowledge ...
[NFL] Top 10 Most Gruesome sports injuries: #2 Joe Theismann (plus BONUS in
2007-04-14 00:47:00 [Sportscolumn is running down the ten most gruesome sports injuries. Here’s #2] If you haven’t seen the Joe Theismann injury by now, then you must have been living under a rock for the past 22 years. After all, it is the granddaddy of all of sports injuries and gets referenced after almost ...
[NFL] Top 10 Most Gruesome sports injuries: #2 Joe Theismann
2007-04-13 23:36:00 [Sportscolumn is running down the ten most gruesome sports injuries. Here’s #2] If you haven’t seen the Joe Theismann injury by now, then you must have been living under a rock for the past 22 years. After all, it is the granddaddy of all of sports injuries and gets referenced after almost ...
JAWS to replace Joe Theismann on MNF
2007-04-03 16:32:00 <img align="right" src="http://images.bucem.c-om/images/admin/Ronald.jpg"-; border>I'm a little late with this news, but <a href="http://sports.espn.g-o.com/nfl/news/story?id=2812834-">ESPN</a> the WorldWide Leader in sports, other than College Baseball, has announced they have replace Joe Theismann in the Monday Night Football telecast with X's and O's man Ron Jaworski.<p> <i>Jaws joins Tony Kornheiser (from PTI) and Mike Tirico in the booth for Monday Night Football Telecasts. I didn't necessarily dis-like Joe Theismann, but I can't say I'm sad to see him go either. He was to "matter-of-fact" for me with his opinions. I'm waiting for the day when Paul Maguire returns to the booth. I just loved the guys emotion for the game. I don't need someone telling me the in's and out's of the game; I just need someone that can either spark my interest when the 4th quarter begins at 1...
By: Buc'Em
Theismann?s weighing offer to do college football
2007-03-27 21:55:00 Joe Theismann says he has been offered a job doing college football for ESPN/ABC but is weighing his options. Read More: ESPN.com news services
By: NFL Connection
Theismann is out
2007-03-27 02:13:00 I was listening ESPN radio two hours ago as they were discussing about the change in “Monday Night Football” broadcast. Joe Theismann will no longer be with Toni Kornheiser and Mike Tirico in the booth. I was surprised. I thought Theismann was good enough as an analyst. He got the voice and he has been their ...
By: Pabaon Sports
No More Theismann
2007-03-26 23:20:00 ESPN is changing the booth for Monday Night Football, finally ridding themselves of Joe Theismann. The former Redskins QB was unfortunately the worst color commentator I've ever heard in football. I didn't like Dennis Miller in the booth, but Tony Kornheiser was a great addition last year despite not having a great football background. Despite this he soon proved more knowledgeable than Theismann although he never took control from his counterpart, always differing in disagreements. Theismann will be replaced by ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, also a Super Bowl quarterback with the Eagles. "Jaws" is respected comentator and has done a great job breaking down game tape for Sportscenter and NFL Live.
By: Goodnight Canada
[NFL] Theismann goes job hunting
2007-03-26 17:50:00 Who would have thought that one day would make such a difference. Well, the move from Sunday Night Football to Monday Night Football caused Joe Theismann to get fired from his 19 year gig at ESPN. Looks like Ron “Jaws” Jaworski will be taking over for Theismann in the booth and join Mike Tirico and ... |
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