Clipmarks | Antara's 'atheists' clips

New Sam Harris :)

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:57:27 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: Sam writes about the recent "belief" surverys he conducted....

Clip Source: newsweek.washingtonpost.com

According to a recent Pew survey, 21 percent of atheists in the United States believe in “God or a universal spirit,” and 8 percent are “absolutely certain” that such a Being exists. One wonders if they were also “absolutely certain” they understood the meaning of the term “atheist.” Claiming to be an atheist who believes in God is like claiming to be a happily married bachelor. Rarely does one discover nonsense in such a pristine state. Still this hasn’t stopped many people from concluding that there is a schism in the atheist community.

Tags: sam harris, atheism, religion, belief, conclusions

Heathen Tv

Fri, 23 May 2008 00:47:05 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks:

Clip Source: heathen.tv

Tags: heathens, infidels, rabblerousers, interesting

Rational Response Squad !

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:09:21 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: Good fun

Clip Source: www.rationalresponders.com

We're your friendly neighborhood atheist activists! If this is your first visit here, you should create an account and join us on our forums. (Make sure you read the rules first!) You can find the most active topics by using the Recent Posts link on the left. Your name and password will give you access to any of the RRS Network sites listed to the right.

Curious about who we are? Check out the Our Team page. Wondering what our purpose is? Click here to see our list of Irrational Precepts--ideas and things so ludicrous that they should be eradicated from the face of the earth...peacefully, of course.

If you enjoy your stay here, please consider subscribing or donating to support our work and the maintenance of the community. Subscribers receive a slew of extra benefits, including our exclusive Extra Special Gooey Feeling Inside that can only be gotten here.

Tags: atheists, rational response, brian sapient

The Dawn of the Apatheist

Thu, 08 May 2008 18:01:28 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: Article by Jonathan Rauch......food for thought

Clip Source: www.theatlantic.com

The greatest development in modern religion is not a religion at all—it's an attitude best described as "apatheism"

It came to me recently in a blinding vision that I am an apatheist. Well, "blinding vision" may be an overstatement. "Wine-induced haze" might be more strictly accurate. This was after a couple of glasses of Merlot, when someone asked me about my religion. "Atheist," I was about to say, but I stopped myself. "I used to call myself an atheist," I said, "and I still don't believe in God, but the larger truth is that it has been years since I really cared one way or another. I'm"—that was when it hit me—"an ... apatheist!"

That got a chuckle, but the point was serious. Apatheism—a disinclination to care all that much about one's own religion, and an even stronger disinclination to care about other people's—may or may not be something new in the world, but its modern flowering, particularly in ostensibly pious America, is worth getting excited about.

Tags: religion, atheists, faith, who really cares, lol

For those touched most by 9/11, a turning point in faith

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:14:39 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: rest of article:

Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest who ministered to rescue and recovery workers, says there were no atheists at Ground Zero — suddenly everyone had a spiritual life, no matter how tortured or confused.

Jay Rosenbaum, a Long Island rabbi, says he was almost overwhelmed when he arrived at Ground Zero on Sept. 12. But later, he conducted a simple prayer service in vestments that included a hard hat, combat boots and a prayer shawl. “Our mission is to look not only at the devastation there,” he said in his impromptu sermon, pointing to the shell of one tower, “but the devotion here” — the dusty, exhausted, rescue workers around him.

“It was one of the most affirming moments of my life,” he says now. “I felt this was something I was worthy of doing.”

To others, 9/11 seems to belie the notion of an all-loving, all-powerful God. Sam Harris began writing The End of Faith, his best-selling attack on religion, the day after the attacks.

Jonathan Miller, who wrote

Clip Source: www.samharris.org

By Rick Hampson, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — The pope’s pilgrimage to the site of the World Trade Center revives a question asked by many of those traumatized by the terrorist attacks, including the faithful, the faithless and those in between: Where was God on Sept. 11, 2001?

On Sunday, two dozen 9/11 survivors, victims’ relatives and rescue workers will accompany Benedict XVI to Ground Zero, “the scene of incredible violence and pain” — in the words of the prayer the pope will recite in the pit where the twin towers stood.

PHOTOS: How 9/11 tested their faith

Many whose lives were changed that day are still coming to terms spiritually with 9/11. Some have taken comfort from their faith; others have found it lacking. Some have a stronger faith, a different faith or no faith at all.

Tags: 9/11, faith, sam harris.org

Reply from An Atheist-Theologian

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:01:45 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: Excellent article addressing the Christian apologists who would try and claim that people not versed in Theology "don't get" what is "really" being said.

Rubbish says Mark Barratt, who himself has a degree in this very area. The New Atheists are bang on..

Rest of Article here:

http://richarddawkins.net/article,1816,Are-the-New-Atheists-avoiding-the-real-arguments,Edmund-Standing-ButterfliesAndWheelscom

Clip Source: richarddawkins.net

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. According to Williams, in their discussions of Christianity, the religion critiqued by Dawkins, Hitchens and others is not a religion he recognises as his own, and these authors are arrogantly and erroneously trying to tell Christian believers 'I know what you mean' when in fact they don't, which is apparently 'annoying' him. The basic claim from Williams and others is that these atheist writers simply haven't taken the time to properly study what it is they are writing against, and they should study some theology and address the 'real arguments'. Given the fact that I have studied theology and attained a BA in Theology & Religious Studies with First Class Honours, I presume Williams would not claim that I have no idea what I'm talking about, yet I still concur with the conclusions of Dawkins and Hitchens.

Tags: atheists, religion, apologetics, debunked

Fair Game with Faith Salie

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:59:37 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: Sam Harris interview

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/fairgame/.jukebox?action=viewMedia&mediaId=663157&podcastId=2743

Clip Source: www.publicbroadcasting.net

Christmas is over so we can finally talk to atheists again. We have Sam Harris, who helped kick off the atheist publishing craze with his book The End of Faith. He's also a neuroscientist, and is out with a new study about how brains process belief. Or don't. And we'll talk with Andre Royo, who plays the drug-addicted informant, Bubbles on HBO's The Wire. We'll ask him about winning the world's first ever "Street Oscar." Then, on the heels of Huckabee's negative ad against Romney, we present another Great Moment in Presidential Smears. Plus, music from Blitzen Trapper.

Moderates Storm The Religious Battlefield

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:57:11 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/moderates-storm-the-religious-battlefield/

Clip Source: www.samharris.org

Most recently, these champions of godlessness emphatically (and correctly) argued that nonbelievers have the same rights under the Constitution as believers do. The strength of their arguments forced Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to concede the point. “Obviously in this nation our religious liberty includes the right to believe or not believe,” Romney told NEWSWEEK in December, after a speech he made on religion lit up the Internet like a pinball machine. In a solid tactical maneuver, Romney had allied himself with believers of all faiths against the creep of secularism. It’s a testament to the power of the atheists that he had to answer to them at all.

The 10 Biggest Religion Stories

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 01:48:23 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: #4 | The Pope and Latin Mass

Benedict XVI relieves priests of having to get their bishop’s permission to celebrate mass in old-school Latin. To many, it is an unwelcome return of church élitism. Others sink happily back into it.

#5 | The Slow-Motion Episcopal/Anglican Train Wreck

The Episcopal Bishops’ meeting in New Orleans fails to stem the ongoing defection of conservatives over the church’s positions on gays, or the likelihood of a worldwide Anglican split over the same issue.

#6 | Green Evangelicals

Global warming, along with poverty and torture, have become hot issues to a maturing conservative Christian movement.

#7 | The Roar of Atheist Books

There may or may not be more atheists, but there are more atheist authors--and readers want to give them a hearing.

#8 | Another Blow to a Megachurch

A year after Ted Haggard resigned as pastor of Colorado’s New Life Church--having admitted to “immorality” involving a gay escort--a gunman kills two congregants in

Clip Source: www.samharris.org

The 10 Biggest Religion Stories

By DAVID VAN BIEMA
Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007

Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith

Letters Mother Teresa wrote to her confessors describe the agony of not being able to sense her beloved God for half a century. “The silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see,” she wrote. These revelations raise the question of whether her spiritual “dryness” made her a greater saint or some kind of self-deceiver.

#2 | Faith Stalks the Campaign Trail!

Hillary tells Rick Warren about her White House prayer group! Mitt explains how he’s a Mormon! Huckabee is an actual preacher!

#3 | The Rev. Jerry Falwell Dies

His death, along with that of the ultra-right-wing Rev. James Kennedy, marks the start of the literal passing of an order. Warren’s conciliatory and less political style characterizes the next one.

Tags: sam harris.com

The Atheists wrong turn

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:03:04 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/atheisms-wrong-turn/

Clip Source: www.samharris.org

In the penultimate chapter of his best-selling book The God Delusion, biologist and world-renowned atheist Richard Dawkins presents his view of religious education, which he explains by way of an anecdote. Following a lecture in Dublin, he recalls, “I was asked what I thought about the widely publicized cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland. I replied that, horrible as sexual abuse no doubt was, the damage was arguably less than the long-term psychological damage inflicted by bringing the child up Catholic in the first place.” Lest his readers misunderstand him, or dismiss this rather shocking statement as mere off-the-cuff hyperbole, Dawkins goes on to clarify his position. “I am persuaded,” he explains, “that the phrase ‘child abuse’ is no exaggeration when used to describe what teachers and priests are doing to children whom they encourage to believe in something like the punishment of unshriven mortal sins in an eternal hell.”

Tags: sam harris, richard dawkins, damon linker, atheism, religion

Mind, Matter or God?

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:51:47 GMT

clipped by: Antara

Clip Source: www.samharris.org

Mind, Matter, or God?

By Barry Boyce

Dec 2007 / Jan 2008

As the so-called new atheists go toe-to-toe with religious literalists, where do Buddhists and other contemplative practitioners stand?

Mind, Matter, or God?

« Back

Tags: sam harris, buddhism, religion, dialogue

Philosophers without Gods

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 01:30:32 GMT

clipped by: Antara
clipper's remarks: From book blurb on site:

Atheists are frequently demonized as arrogant intellectuals, antagonistic to religion, devoid of moral sentiments, advocates of an "anything goes" lifestyle. Now, in this revealing volume, nineteen leading philosophers open a window on the inner life of atheism, shattering these commonstereotypes as they reveal how they came to turn away from religious belief. These highly engaging personal essays capture the marvelous diversity to be found among atheists, providing a portrait that will surprise most readers. Many of the authors, for example, express great affection for particular religious traditions, even as they explain why they cannot, in goodconscience, embrace them. None of the contributors dismiss religious belief as stupid or primitive, and several even express regret that they cannot, or can no longer, believe. Perhaps more important, in these reflective pieces, they offer fresh insight into some of the oldest and most difficultproblems facing the h

Clip Source: books.google.com

Tags: google books, louise antony, atheism, female philosophers