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Showing posts with the label atheists

Applying 'logic' to the question of the existence of God?

An 'Angry Atheist' responds to the challenge to explain why he's angry!

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 -...

Morality without Religion?

Fr. Dwight Longenecker Morality without Religion?  Fr. Dwight Longenecker Can you be a moral person without religion? Yes and no. It all depends on what you mean by 'moral' and what you mean by 'religion'. What most people mean by 'moral' in our society is "Try to be a nice person. Be normal. Have relatively good manners. Don't do any of the big bad ones like killing someone or stealing or being a pervert. Be involved in a good cause of some sort--like the soup kitchen or saving the Amazonian rain forest." Morality for the post Christian masses doesn't really have anything to do with a set moral code or particular rules to follow. It is more a sense of 'feeling that you are a moral person'. Part of this feeling 'moral' is tolerance of everyone else and outrage at hypocritical Christian type people who try to force their version of 'morality' on others. So can you be 'moral' in this way without be...
For all those who keep asking why theists don't believe in Thor... here's the trailer for a movie about this mythical super hero. Personally, I'm looking forward to the release of 'The Green Hornet'!

Bad diagnosis : Pharyngula

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

If they walk like a duck, and quack like a duck....

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...

Will Muslims win the coming battle for the West!

Mecca Demographics alone points out that there is a coming confrontation between Muslims and the West. With birthrates throughout the western world having fallen below replacement levels while Muslims continuing for at least the first generation of their arrival as immigrants into western countries. This demographic reality has created a great deal of disquiet among Christians and the 'chattering classes'.  IMHO, Christians should have confidence in the forces of western secularism rather than fear the 'Islamification' of culture, as seems to be the opinion of a significant percentage of frightened western citizens. Consider that as recently as the 1960's, Christian values and religious standards were enshrined as the dominant societal consensus. In one generation, these same preeminent values have been wiped from the public square. Though seemingly blind to the horrendous consequences wrought upon children and women's interests by the sexual revolution, se...

Another civil exchange of the challenge the Church faces in today's cultures

A welcome follower of this blog is a person who writes under the handle of "reddog". Recently he responded in the threads of the BlueWave link to the threat atheism poses to freedom of religious expression. I follow with my response. Your comments are always welcome! Fr. Tim ---------------------------------------------- "Atheism poses no threat to freedom of religion. It's the freedom itself that threatens organized religion. Most people will always possess some type of spiritual beliefs. Once they can believe anything they want without the coercion of a dominant religion, they do. Cafeteria style. They borrow from friends more than model after priests. JPII was an attractive and charismatic figure, he helped the RCs regain some ground, though the faith of those that came back was diluted and had a lot of ecumenical pollutants. Benny 16 is back to the model of a self loathing, closeted, Gay, that RCs suffered through with Paul 6. No help there. Priests no ...

An interesting exchange between a theist and an atheist.

by Advokat Nov 25 2009 4:51 PM Fr. Tim: I disagree with just about every posting I have ever seen from you, reject the entire premise of your belief system, and am generally very skeptical of any statements built on a foundation that includes any notion of 'god' or other fictions, I too am sickened by the story that you posted. (Baby Gabriel case) That said, this case does not raise 'right to die' issues. This is not a case of a competent mind expressing a wish to be allowed to die, and it was intellectually dishonest for you to have raised it in this context. The case that you have raised instead highlights the horrors associated with allowing accountants to make medical decisions. Disgusting? Absolutely. But really irrelevant to the 'dying with dignity' movement. As a 'slippery slope' argument the case is unpersuasive - although, notwithstanding your 'That which is permitted..." quote, in my experience this kind of argument usual...

Is the Church a force for good? Fr. Richard John Neuhaus answered this question in 2007 debate

Fr. Tim Finnigan posts at The Hermeneutic of Continuity a link to letters to the editor in The Catholic Herald that followed a debate between Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens vs Ann Widdecombe and Archbishop Onaiyekan on the topic: "Is the Church a force for good?" in which the theists "lost". http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/letters/index.shtml#l06112009" Aside from the excellent points made in these letters, I was reminded of a debate in New York sponsored by The Economist Magazine (2007) on a the related topic: "Religion and Politics should always be kept seperate" in which my late friend, Fr. Richard Neuhaus bested his opponents. I participated in a CBC television program that was inspired by his performance. A link to an abridged Youtube posting this 15 minute documentary is posted below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFwMZKtHiaE Further, here is a link to a text article which summarizes RJN's argument: http://www.politics...