Where the Rubber Hits the Road

Here’s a First: Wealthy Atheist Establishes University Chair to Study Atheism – Aleteia.org – Worldwide Catholic Network Sharing Faith Resources for those seeking Truth – Aleteia.org

If Atheism Is True, Does Life Still Have Meaning? | Strange Notions

'What has happened to contemporary atheism? Until a few years ago, atheism resided in a pragmatic space of irreligiousness and indifference, assisted by the modern turn of events which rendered philosophical discourse on the existence of God dogmatically impossible by definition. Today, we are witnessing a double turn. The first involves a return to theoretical atheism, assisted by references to scientific discourse. After the classic seasons of suspect teachers (Marx, Nietzsche, Freud), today it is the turn of neo-darwinism and neuroscience to furnish arguments for the belief that God does not exist. A God whom some authors prefer to write with a lowercase “g”. The second and more interesting change perhaps, is atheism as a new form of morality. In this case too, historical antecedents can be cited. In the modern age, there is Pascal’s debate with erudite libertinism or Sartre’s celebrated pamphlet on atheism as humanism. The new apologetics of atheism privileges the reference to ...

The best birthday gift I received all day! An intelligent submission from a friend of 'Road'. Thank you Doug! Some time ago Father Tim wrote a blog on why atheists are angry.  He postulated that a fear of death made many atheists angry. This caused me to contact him to discuss what he had written and offer my own observations on the subject. He very kindly offered to post my reply on his blog and I do appreciate that. I fear many of the things I will say may be unpalatable to the people who read this, and for that I am sorry, but I think they need to be said.  If you do feel anger at my words and comments please look at why these words offend you and who is to blame. The only other thing I ask is that you read my words in full and understand that they are written by a person who is trying to make the world we all live in a better place, regardless of our beliefs or lack of them.

I am not particularly afraid of death, I have, on several occasions been very close to death -...

"In recent years, Sam Harris has become a leading figure in the rational scrutiny of religions and religious cultures, earning himself a place as a prominent "New Atheist," along with Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens. In The Moral Landscape , he pushes his agenda a step further, examining the nature of morality from a secular viewpoint and offering prescriptions for change. In particular, he contests the moral credentials of religion, argues against popular understandings of free will, and savages moral relativism. Though The Moral Landscape contains much technical material from philosophy and neuroscience, Harris makes it accessible. He has an enviable gift for vivid phrasing and clear exposition of difficult concepts, and he undoubtedly has much to teach us. Many passages are timely and convincing. That said, however, morality is a tricky phenomenon, and I am left with reservations." To read the rest of the article, click ...

A NYT columnist (Charles M. Blow) writes about the generational difference between his personal faith convictions and those of his son. It is an instructive vignette that helps to shed light on a process that is only now really making its presence felt: that the Gen X'ers and after are shedding the personalist conception of a god concerned with their welfare. It makes for interesting reading. Religion and Representation - NYTimes.com

AlterNet: Why Are Believers So Hostile Toward Atheists?

What is an atheist? Most people would say that an atheist is one who believes there is no God... but they would be mistaken. A person who believes that God does not exist is an anti-theist, not an atheist. An atheist is properly described who does not believe that God exists. The difference is hard for believers to comprehend but it is an essential difference. An anti-theist has made a decision of 'faith'. He states definitively that he 'believes' that God does not exist. An atheist makes no such decision but simply asserts that he does not believe in the existence of God. Many atheists are anti-theists, but one need not necessarily be an anti-theist to be an atheist. Most of the articles that have been directed at 'atheists', which attribute to them a 'belief' that God does not exist ends up offending many who bristle at the allegation that they 'believe' anything about God. “Atheism is no more a 'belief' than not collecting stamps i...

Another blog article discussing my National Post column. Thanks to 'Rebecca65' for the link! The whole purpose of this blog and my National Post columns are to get people talking about these issues. It is heartwarming to see that my desire is coming to fruition, even when the remarks and comments do not agree with what I hold to be true. Bad diagnosis : Pharyngula

An excellent counter argument to my 'grumpy atheists' column. My thanks to 'Rationalist1' (a poster on the Holy Post and definitely not a 'grump'!!) for the link! Why Religious People Are Scared of Atheists | | AlterNet

Why is it that so many in the atheist community cannot bring  themselves to get past their anger whenever they engage in discussions? The language of many of their contributions in public debate is laced with invective and dripping with sarcasm and bile. There are exceptions of course, but they tend to fall more into the category of being the 'exception that proves the rule' when compared to the hostility of many of today's atheist posters. Comment offered by the theists in the public square is often depicted as being 'malicious' or 'venomous' and intended to enslave the 'feeble minded and weak' by those who post. Nothing could be further from the truth. Venom is something that is oriented to death. Christians are oriented in a 180 degree different direction. We speak not to the culture of death  that grips our world but rather for the culture of life and light which ends with the gift of eternal life. For example, the Catholic Church in its hum...

Charlie Lewis of the Holy Post has offered another opinion piece on the relationship between atheists and believers. You can read it here . Among the numerous comments that have been generated, Charlie responds to one poster in a manner that succinctly brings a light to the reason why we believers demand that our voices be heard in the public square. I share it in the hopes that it might generate a discussion here on his assessment. A thoughtful reader wrote that atheists would stop getting angry at religious people when we "stopping trying to cram things down his throat." I took the time to respond to him even though I'm pretty certain nothing would ever change his mind. Here's what I wrote: "Please take the time to read what I'm writing to you. And then tell me what you think. Your idea is that religious people are trying to jam views down your throat. Who are these people? I know they're not most mainstream Protestants and not Catholics...

What a remarkable coincidence! The day after I post a story setting out the argument that atheism could be considered a religion, here's a another post from the Ottawa Citizen stating that 'consumerism' has obtained the status of a 'religion' among today's citizens. I am sincerely trying to understand the arguments made here by Lady Janus and on the Holy Post by 'Rationalist1'. Their point is nuanced and I am having trouble accepting it, but I keep on reading and searching for material such as the Citizen story to help me clarify and refine my logic so that I can decide for myself whether my initial assertion about 'atheism' as a community of belief - for believing that something exists or does not exist seems essentially to me to be the same act.  It is a statement of belief. It is a statement about the essential nature of creation. It is a statement about all that is important regarding the human condition. It bears even to the issue of wha...

What constitutes a 'religion'? RELIGION: (Noun) 1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. 2. a specific, fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects 3. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience The above definitions, taken from Dictionary.com, focus attention on the essence of what constitutes this universal human phenomena called 'religion'. One might think that the pantheon of religions would contain a relatively static number of belief systems, but as was recently demonstrated in Britain with the acceptance of Druidism, 'new' religions are continuously added to the list. In other parts of the world, partisan...

The National Post religion blog (The Holy Post) has published an article written by Jackson Doughart, a student of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island and a member of the Canadian Secular Alliance in which he states that B16 misrepresented what 'secularism' actually is. In the comment threads that follow (still the best discussion in the MSM on the subject of religion and life) someone stated that atheists did not have a set of beliefs whereas theists killed people with their beliefs. It got me to thinking. Soon I was typing away at a version of the '10 Commandments' for atheists. It is a pretty rough first draft and I'm most certainly open to suggestions as to how they could be improved. Yet it should serve to provoke an interesting conversation. Let me know what you think. 1. Thou shall not believe in any God beyond natural selection, and personal choice and autonomy 2. Thou shall not permit the spending of any tax revenues on an...