Clipmarks | Socratoad's Agnosticism, atheim, religion collection

Atheist Prayer

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 13:12:44 GMT

clipped by: Newfman
clipper's remarks: Atheist or not, some of these statements make sense!

Let us take responsibility for our own actions, inactions, strengths and frailties and not project them onto ghosts, spirits, stars, portents and gods unseen.

Let us have the courage to accept that one person's faith is another person's bloody-minded pig-headed refusal to accept the obvious.

Let us have the wisdom to accept that if our ancestors had fared differently in wars our communities would be holding different absurdities up as sacred truths, and the willingness to accept those absurdities would be seen as the badge of social trustworthiness or even the right to be allowed to draw breath.

Let us accept that the difference between a prophet and a madman is not what they say but whether the crowd accepts the story and tells their children to believe it.

Let us have the courage to accept that wanting to believe in something with every fibre of our being does not and cannot make it true.

Truth needs no help, no believers, no bowed heads and no amens.

Tags: religion

Debaptism 2.0

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:26:24 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.wired.com

MILAN -- Disgruntled Italian Catholics are increasingly turning to the internet to leave the Church by getting "debaptized" -- but typically, the Pope isn't making the process web friendly.

Cyberspace is one of the few places lapsed Catholics can get a copy of the formal letter called "actus defectionis" that is required by Church officials to leave the faith.

One such letter, downloaded 30,000 times, is the main attraction at the Italian Union of Rationalists and Agnostics, or UAAR, website.

The 2,000-member group, which won a David-and-Goliath legal battle over debaptism in 2002, has no brick-and-mortar office. It relies on e-mail and the occasional phone call to keep things moving.

"We see a traffic spike every time the Pope says something unpopular," said UAAR site manager Raffaele Carcano, who is also a banker, adding that the site recently hit new heights during a recent fray over civil unions.

Tags: religion, baptism, debaptism, atheism, rationalists, agnostics

Reply to Katie Couric, re: “No Atheists in foxholes”

Tue, 29 May 2007 12:26:22 GMT

clipped by: TheCatWhisperer
clipper's remarks: Well written article from an atheist who was in fox holes.

read the full article for more...

Clip Source: freeforum.wordpress.com

A response from retired Master Sergeant Gid L. White. After Katie Couric declared that there were no atheists in foxholes on a TV newscast:

Dear Miss Couric,

While there is nothing wrong highlighting in the program the role that religion has played in the American Armed Forces, I find your mindless parading of that silly old aphorism, “there are no Atheists in foxholes,” to be thoughtless and downright offensive to the families of uncountable numbers of atheists, and I include Agnostics, who gave their lives wearing the uniform of the American Armed Forces. Yes, there are, and always have been Atheists, both draftees and volunteers on the battlefield, many of whom bare the scars of war or are ironically buried below white crosses in battlefields throughout the world.

I’m in a position to know. After initially being nominated to WestPoint, I enlisted in the United States Army as a Private in 1964, where I served 21 years on active duty retiring as a Master Sergeant in 1985.

Tags: atheism, fox holes, army, armed forces, us, katie couric, religion

Low caste Indians seek to convert

Sun, 27 May 2007 16:17:59 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Thousands of tribal and Dalit Hindus in India have gathered in Mumbai to convert en masse to Buddhism.

The ceremony, at which ten of thousands are expected to embrace the Buddhist faith, is being billed as the largest religious conversion in modern India.

The converts hope to escape the rigid caste system in which their status is the lowest.

Right-wing Hindus have often opposed conversion, pushing some Indian states to restrict legal changes of faith.

The Dalits, once known as Untouchables, hope the conversion will give them dignity and equal rights.

"Once they convert themselves to another religion, the minimum they will get is treatment as human beings," Arun Khote of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights told the BBC.

The conversion is expected to be the largest in modern times

Tags: hindu, buddhism, india, religion

Full list of articles in Atheism - BBC

Sat, 26 May 2007 17:03:22 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Full list of articles in Atheism

People

Rites and Rituals

Types

Tags: atheism, bbc

Angry Atheists Are Hot Authors

Fri, 25 May 2007 07:45:13 GMT

clipped by: MomLes
clipper's remarks: These guys have many good points, but fundamentalist atheists are just as dangerous as fundamentalists of any other religion. And I always want to ask them, "Which particular god don't you believe in?" - because God is unimaginably more than we can imagine.

Clip Source: www.beliefnet.com

The time for polite debate is over. Militant, atheist writers are making an all-out assault on religious faith and reaching the top of the best-seller list, a sign of widespread resentment over the influence of religion in the world among nonbelievers.

Christopher Hitchens' book, "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," has sold briskly ever since it was published last month, and his debates with clergy are drawing crowds at every stop.

The writers see themselves in a battle for reason in a world crippled by superstition. In their view, Muslim extremists, Jewish settlers and Christian right activists are from the same mold, using fairy tales posing as divine scripture to justify their lust for power. Bad behavior in the name of religion is behind some of the most dangerous global conflicts and the terrorist attacks in the U.S., London and Madrid, the atheists say.

Tags: atheism, fundamentalism, books

Some Common Myths About Hinduism Shattered

Tue, 22 May 2007 23:39:25 GMT

clipped by: sohil
clipper's remarks: I fully encourage people to read the rest at the source.

Clip Source: hinduism.about.com

The most obvious misconception about Hinduism is that we tend to see it as a religious faith. To be precise, Hinduism is a way of life, a dharma. Dharma does not mean religion. It is the law that governs all action. Thus, contrary to popular perception, Hinduism is not a religion. Out of this misinterpretation, has come most of the misconceptions about Hinduism.

Words like Hindu or Hinduism are ananchronisms. They do not exist in the Indian cultural lexicon. People have coined them to suit their needs in different points of history. Nowhere in the scriptures is there any reference to Hinduism.

Hinduism does not have any one founder, and it does not have a Bible or a Koran to which controversies can be referred for resolution.

Consequently, it does not require its adherents to accept any one idea. It is thus cultural, not creedal, with a history contemporaneous with the peoples with which it is associated.

Much More than Spirituality

A Common Faith of the Indian Subcontinent

Tags: hindu, hinduism, india, myths, history, culture, religion, ancient history, life

The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity

Sun, 13 May 2007 13:29:25 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead
clipper's remarks: An interesting look at the invention of Christianity.

Clip Source: www.positiveatheism.org

The Problem of Paul

excerpt from: The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity

The following, then, are the propositions argued in the present book:

1 Paul was never a Pharisee rabbi, but was an adventurer of undistinguished background.

2 Jesus and his immediate followers were Pharisees.

Jesus believed himself to be the figure prophesied in the Hebrew Bible who would do all these things. He was not a militarist and did not build up an army to fight the Romans, since he believed that God would perform a great miracle to break the power of Rome.

When this miracle did not occur, his mission had failed.

3 The first followers of Jesus, under James and Peter, founded the Jerusalem Church

4 Paul, not Jesus, was the founder of Christianity as a new religion which developed away from both normal Judaism and the Nazarene variety of Judaism.

Jesus himself had no idea of it, and would have been amazed and shocked at the role assigned to him by Paul as a suffering deity.

Tags: religion, christianity, judaism, bible

How I really feel, this sums it up!

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:48:13 GMT

clipped by: Mushinronjya
clipper's remarks: Religion needs to be questioned and dismissed. We need to stop "not talking about it", and start bringing it up whenever possible... except at work, if you can help it.

Clip Source: www.solopassion.com

Dear Sir,
It seems many people are confusing respect for free religious expression with respect for every individual religion.

I unreservedly respect and support the right of my neighbour to choose his philosophy, be that anything from Objectivism to the worship of a centuries-dead carpenter or desert raider.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that I respect the philosophy he chooses – and in fact just like his freedom to choose his philosophy, my freedom to publicly criticise it is one of the fundamental human rights upon which Western civilization is built.

Yours sincerely,
Duncan Bayne

Tags: atheism, atheist, mushinronjya, mushukyou, mushuukyou

Atheism Not a Religion

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 15:59:00 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Here's a clip from a worthwhile article to read that addresses the popularity of referring to atheist who speak up as fundamentalists. Maybe it'll open some eyes.

Clip Source: www.secularism.org.uk

But as honorary associate A.C. Grayling has written: “It is worth pointing out an allied and characteristic bit of jesuitry employed by folk of faith. This is their attempt to describe naturalism (atheism) as itself a ‘religion’. But, by definition, a religion is something centred upon belief in the existence of supernatural agencies or entities in the universe; and not merely in their existence, but in their interest in human beings on this planet; and not merely their interest, but their particularly detailed interest in what humans wear, what they eat, when they eat it, what they read or see, what they treat as clean and unclean, who they have sex with and how and when; and so for a multitude of other things, like making women invisible beneath enveloping clothing, or strapping little boxes to their foreheads, or iterating formulae by rote five times a day, and so endlessly forth; with threats of punishment for getting any of it wrong.

Tags: religion, atheism, opinion

Atheism - BBC Reference Site

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 04:24:22 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Atheists are people who do not believe in a god or gods (or other immaterial beings), or who believe that these concepts are not meaningful.

Some atheists put it more firmly and believe that god or gods do not exist.

Features

Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins is one of the most famous scientists in Britain, has authored many popular books, and is a vocal pro-humanist.
Reasons
This article is an indepth look at some of the reasons why people choose atheism, and some of the most influential atheist thinkers and their arguments.

Full list of articles in Atheism

Tags: atheism, reference, bbc

A Case Against God - Johnny Skeptic

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 04:18:01 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: johnnyskeptic.com

If I believed that the God of the Bible exists, I would reject him. He 1) says that killing people is wrong, but kills some of his most devout and faithful followers with hurricanes, or allows them to be killed with hurricanes, which as far as I and many other people are concerned is exactly the same thing, 2) makes people blind, deaf, and dumb, reference Exodus 4:11, 3) punishes people for sins that their ancestors committed, reference Exodus 20:5, 4) ordered the death penalty for a Jew who killed a Jew, but not for a Jew who killed a slave, reference the Old Testament, 5) killed Ananias and Saphira over money, reference the New Testament, 6) could easily have made many personal appearances and told everyone in the world that slavery, colonization, and the subjugation of women are wrong, but refused to do so, 7) tells people to be merciful, but endorses unmerciful eternal punishment without parole

Tags: atheism, agnosticism, rationalism, skepticism, religion, god

Dalai Lama - Buddhist guide to life

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:32:25 GMT

clipped by: missmelq
clipper's remarks: Did't have quite enought room to get the last couple mentioned....

Clip Source: www.missico.com

Dalai Lama

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

Tags: buddhism, psychology, philosophy, religion, guide to happiness

Jesus for the Non-Religious By John Shelby Spong

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 04:32:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: astore.amazon.com

Writing from his prison cell in Nazi Germany in 1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young German theologian, sketched a vision of what he called "religionless Christianity." In this book, John Shelby Spong puts flesh onto the bare bones of Bonhoeffer's radical thought. The result is a strikingly new and different portrait of Jesus of Nazareth—a Jesus for the non-religious.

Spong challenges much of the traditional understanding that has for so long surrounded the Jesus of history, from the tale of his miraculous birth to a virgin, to the account of his cosmic ascension into the sky at the end of his life. Spong questions the historicity of the ideas that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that he had twelve disciples, and that the miracle stories were meant to be descriptions of supernatural events. He also speaks directly to those contemporary critics of Christianity who call God a "delusion" and who write letters to a "Christian nation" and describe how Christianity has become evil and destructive.

Tags: religion, books, spong, jesus

The Atheist Terrorist

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 04:54:48 GMT

clipped by: laceym
clipper's remarks:

Theists who sell hate for a living like to use the term to refer to people who write books challenging religious beliefs and who file court briefs, as if these are somehow comparable to bombs and guns. They love to use the word 'militant' because it feeds fear to the listener. These people understand how politically useful fear can be.
But theirs is a rhetoric of hate - a quest for power through deception and manipulation.
The proof is found in the absurdity in saying that people who write books against violence and who file court briefs are 'militant'. Anybody who says such a thing must love promoting fear over truth.
In spite of this rhetorical fear-mongering, it violates no principle of logic or nature for an actual militant atheist to exist.
All it takes is one person learning the wrong lessons as he reads and hears what others say, a particular set of ideas that striking a particular mind in the wrong way, and we get a story like the one that started this blog entry[/qu
Clip Source: atheism.about.com
An increasing number of religious theists — primarily Christians, I think — have been complaining about so-called "militant" atheists. Apparently, all that's necessary to be a "militant" these days is a willingness to publicly and unapologetically say what you think, even when your opinions and ideas are unpopular. I'd like to know when militancy was defined down to include any dissent from and critique of powerful, ruling ideologies.
Clip Source: atheistethicist.blogspot.com
One Sunday afternoon as you go about your chores you hear about a news flash. Some guy went into one of these megachurches with automatic weapons and grenades and began killing as many people, cursing the 'fundies' as he did. The news quickly discovers that he was a militant atheist, contributing heavily to atheist forums where he constantly ranted against religion.
This person would actually qualify as a militant atheist.

Tags: atheism