Clipmarks | Atheism Clips

An Old Myth Investigated

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:49:51 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: This clip is from a short piece explaining very well why, as Cline points out, freedom of and freedom from are two sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other. Interested people might benefit from linking to the original and reading it in its entirety.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

What is Freedom From Religion?

Freedom of Religion Requires Freedom From Religion

Conservatives insist that the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, and argue against strict separation of church and state. Too often, though, conservatives seem to have a flawed understanding of what freedom from religion really entails and fail to realize that freedom from religion is crucial to religious liberty in general.

It is evident that a person misunderstands the concept of freedom from religion when they say that promotion of the idea is part of an effort to eliminate religion from the public square, to secularize America, or to deny religious believers a voice in politics. None of this follows from a belief that people have a right to be free from religion.

Tags: constitution, government, religion, atheism

A Bit of Rationalism

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:37:59 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: It's always positive to point out what is myth and what is reality. Often they are confused, especially by people who depend so much on myth. The attached clip offers a bit of sunshine to brighten up those dark corners of peoples brains.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

Myth:

Atheists are angry at God because they think He should have done something for them in their pasts.

Response:
The idea that atheists are angry in general is itself already quite popular, but the myth that atheists are angry specifically at God for not having done what they want may be more popular. This combines the idea that atheists are angry, that they are prideful enough to think that they know better than God, and that they are rebelling against what God wants for the world. Atheists are thus attacked from a variety of convenient directions, except for the fact that the claim is all wrong.

The most obvious reason why everyone should recognize that this myth is false is the simple fact that you can't be angry at God unless you believe that God exists. This means that anyone who is angry at God must be a theist, not an atheist — an atheist is a person who doesn't believe in any gods at all. Atheists therefore cannot be angry at any gods.

Tags: atheism, religion, logic, rational

A question science can't answer?

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:49:55 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

"Can anybody think of a question science can't answer?"

"Is there a God?" shot back a boy near the window.

"Good," said Mr. Campbell, an Anglican who attends church most Sundays. "Can't test it. Can't prove it, can't disprove it. It's not a question for science."

I despise that chicken-hearted answer. There are two reasonable ways to address that. One is to accept the usual open-ended, undefined vagueness of the god entity and point out that the reason it can't be answered is that it is a bad question — it's not even wrong. Science doesn't answer it, but then no discipline can, because it's a garbage question like "what color are invisible elephants?" If that's what window-boy intends with his petty little gotcha, he deserves to have the inanity of his idea disparaged.

The other approach

pin the question down. What god? What actions has it taken in the natural world? How does it influence us specifically? Then you can tackle that god with science by testing the purported effects it has

Tags: religion, science, atheism, god

Dawkins on Agnosticism

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:19:53 GMT

clipped by: seaj11

Clip Source: dir.salon.com

It's said that the only rational stance is agnosticism because you can neither prove nor disprove the existence of the supernatural creator. I find that a weak position. It is true that you can't disprove anything but you can put a probability value on it. There's an infinite number of things that you can't disprove: unicorns, werewolves, and teapots in orbit around Mars. But we don't pay any heed to them unless there is some positive reason to think that they do exist.

Tags: dawkins, religion, evolution, agnosticism, atheism, logic, philosophy

Militant Atheist, a slanderus slur we shouldn't abide anylonger.

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:39:39 GMT

clipped by: Karzdan
clipper's remarks: A gross misuse of the word 'Militant'. Just because we think, and question your beliefs. Doesn't make us 'militant'. It takes acts of violence against you.

I think, therefor I am!
Join other rationalist at; www.atheistthinktank.net

Clip Source: www.atheistrev.com

You Might be a Militant Atheist if...

The slur du jour aimed at atheists appears to be that of "militant atheism." While we in the atheist community know full well that there is no such thing as a militant atheist, the Christians who use this phrase remain willfully ignorant or are simply so used to distorting reality that it no longer bothers them. Make no mistake - this is a form of anti-atheist bigotry and should be treated as such. Atheists need to have a plan for responding to the charge of militancy. To do so, we must understand the accusation, why we are seeing it, and what it reveals about those making it.

Applications of the "Militant" Label

Richard Dawkins was greeted with accusations of "militant atheism" when he published The God Delusion. Based on the book's title, even many Christians who never read the book could assume that it was an attack on their god-belief. That was all it took. Dawkins dared to criticize their religious beliefs; this made him "militant."

Tags: atheism, atheist, militant, extremism, religion, slander

Groups Wants Atheists Included In DNC Interfaith Service

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:11:47 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.gazette.com

Democratic National Convention's Aug. 24 interfaith service in Denver is supposed to be about unity.

But to a Washington, D.C., coalition that supports nontheistic views, it's about division.

The Secular Coalition Group, a lobbying organization for church-and-state separation, is pushing to get an atheist on the speaker list, and contends the service is divisive because it alienates nonreligious Democrats at a time when the party needs to unite to support the presumptive nominee, Sen. Barack Obama.

"We can all hold different beliefs," said the group's executive director, Lori Lipman Brown, "but we can still come together as patriotic Americans."

Natalie Wyeth, a convention spokesperson, said Wednesday that everyone, regardless of belief, is welcome at the public service, but would not address if an atheist would be added to the speaker list.

Tags: democrats, obama, atheism, interfaith

Online Game: Life of an Athiest

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:39:11 GMT

clipped by: Efrain Alvarado

Clip Source: www.americanpapist.com

Here's a find.

A simple online game called "Athiest."

Go ahead, play it once (don't spend too much time trying to memorize the keys, that's not the point).

And if you're in a rush, this is the point.

(as in, there is no point.)

Clip Source: grahammilton.com

Tags: atheism, catholic tips, notable links

Science, faith and everyday miracles

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:27:10 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "An Einstein letter that sold at an auction in May leaves little doubt of his atheism. "The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish," he wrote in 1954, a year before his death."
"And yet Einstein is famous for a number of teasingly "spiritual" quotations - "I cannot believe that God plays dice with the cosmos," for one - that suggest he is a theist. A growing body of Einsteinologists believes the physicist was using such God language metaphorically to express a human impulse for finding meaning and comfort in the clock-like workings of the universe. As he wrote in 1931:"

Clip Source: www.jpost.com

Science, faith and everyday miracles

Not a week goes by that I don't read something that increases my sense of wonder. Just this week I read that California scientists have developed a mini-microscope that eliminates the need for lenses - and space. It functions at the level of a micron, or one one-100th of the width of a human hair. I doubt I will ever "use" such information, but it is the kind of fact that puts me in mind of Einstein. "There are only two ways to live your life," he famously said. "One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." And by miracle, I don't mean something supernatural (and I don't think Einstein did, either). I mean a moment that puts you in awe of the universe and its workings.

EINSTEIN IS a good example of a scientist who probably rejected the notion of a supernatural God but nevertheless found the coldly materialistic language of science inadequate to describe his sense of wonder.

The Boogey Man is Gonna Get Ya!

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:53:11 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: According to the review of this new book it seems the author is rehashing the same old discounted arguments over what he dubs the "New Atheism". Using fear and misdirection it seems once again to be a weak attempt to defend the indefensible by a christian apologist.

Clip Source: www.towersonline.net

In “Atheism Remix: A Christian Confronts the New Atheism” (Crossway), Mohler engages the central arguments of four contemporary atheists, whom he calls “The Four Horseman of the Atheist Apocalypse:” Oxford University scientist Richard Dawkins, Tufts University philosopher Daniel Dennett, author Sam Harris and pundit Christopher Hitchens.

Mohler, who serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, chose Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens because “they are four figures who have especially come to embody the New Atheist movement.”

The new atheism is marked by:
· An unprecedented new boldness.
· A clear and specific rejection of the Christian God of the Bible.
· An explicit rejection of Jesus Christ.
· Arguments grounded in science.
· A refusal to tolerate even moderate and liberal forms of theism.
· An attack on the toleration of any form of religion.
· A questioning of the right of parents to instill religious beliefs in their children.

Tags: christian, religion, book, atheist

Theistic Sanity

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:05:02 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: It's not often that I agree with religious leaders but when I do it deserves to be pointed out. The point that Benedict makes of refuting the claim that evolution promotes atheism is of course correct. Although many, particularly in the States, believe otherwise. Unfortunately, the persons that fall into this category are also people that are the least informed on the subject.

Clip Source: zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

Subsidized atheism

I marvel at writers who refer to "evolutionists and their precious little theory." After 150 years, the Theory of Evolution is one of the most broadly accepted theories in all of science. How can any so-called educated person characterize the teaching of biological evolution as taxpayer-subsidized atheism?

Read below what an ultraconservative Christian spiritual leader has to say about this so-called controversy.

Pope Benedict XVI, 24 July 2007

This antithesis is absurd because, on the one hand, there are so many scientific proofs in favour of evolution which appears to be a reality we can see and which enriches our knowledge of life and being as such.

Now consider the lack of credibility of anyone who calls evolution atheistic. I doubt any sane person of whatever religious persuasion would call the pope an atheist. Does accepting the scientific theory (fact) that the earth travels around the sun and not the other way around make a person an atheist?

Tags: creationism, evolution, religion, atheism

Partisan Gaps Over Evolution and Atheism

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:45:21 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes
clipper's remarks: Source:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/108226/Republicans-Democrats-Differ-Creationism.aspx

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

Partisan Gaps Over Evolution and Estimates on Atheism

A Gallup survey out this week reveals a wide partisan gap in perceptions of evolution. Specifically, 60% of Republicans say humans were created in their present form by God 10,000 years ago, a belief shared by only 40% of independents and 38% of Democrats.

In other words, it's very easy for citizens to convert climate change, stem cell research, or evolution into just one more wedge issue like abortion, taxes, or gun control that help define what it means to be a Republican or Democrat. The political packaging of science for electoral gain is the unfortunate outcome of a lot of different forces, with both Republican and Democratic leaders to blame.

the proportion of Americans who believe that evolution has occurred with God playing no part has edged up slightly over the past 15 years to roughly 14%.

Tags: evolution, religion, atheism, usa, politics, poll, gallup, survey, god, stats

Miltant Atheism on the March!

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:20:54 GMT

clipped by: laceym
clipper's remarks: Al is back!
This label of the militant atheist for nonviolent authors and speakers is asinine mudslinging. So stop using the term already, or else…

Please watch the whole thing before inserting the standard "But Stalin..." BS.

Clip Source: coffeeghost.net

Added to the long list of atheist and agnostic atrocities are: writing best-selling books, vocally claiming disbelief in gods, public speaking engagements, making pro-atheist Internet videos

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Clip Source: coffeeghost.net

So I’m a bit confused about the term “militant atheist”

It’s kind of weird because “militant” has a very clear definition of violence and war and physical force, and this is all completely absent in the recent rise of atheism in our culture. Out of our entire langauge, it’s a very odd word to choose

I don’t think calling Richard Dawkins and others “militant atheists” is a fitting label, especially because we know what militant islam and militant christianity looks like:

Tags: militant, atheism, islam, christianity, double standard

Post Rapture Pet Care

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:15:55 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Brilliant! Why didn't I think of this.

Clip Source: www.craigslist.org

Your Pets Will Not Be Flagged For Removal By Jesus During the Rapture

"No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don't know. Only the Father knows."

(Matthew 24:36)

Have you ever thought about what will happen to your pets after Jesus comes back to claim the souls of the saved during the Rapture and deliver them to heaven to enjoy ever lasting life?

I am here to offer you pet care service for after the rapture. As an atheist, I will surely still be here on this earth post rapture and would love to look after your pets for a small fee and make sure they are still well taken care of after you and your family have been raptured. You will be able to look down on them from heaven and see them being well cared for by me and living happy, healthy lives. Do not let my atheism scare you! I am a moral and loving pet owner and would never do harm to any animal.

Tags: rapture, christianity, pet care

False Premises

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:24:13 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: I often come across people attempting to argue that atheism is some sort of a creed or even a religion. This clip touches on why this simply isn't the case. The article itself goes into much greater detail.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

Atheism Has to be a Creed. It Just Has to Be!

One of the more popular myths about atheism is the idea that it's some sort of ideology, philosophy, religion, or creed. Some religious theists just can't understand how atheism can be anything less than that; in fact, some are so much in denial about what atheism is that they will go to great lengths to insist that it must involve some set of beliefs, assertions, and ideas about the world which is analogous to their own.

It is not true that "atheism requires additional beliefs in order to be a livable creed" because atheism is not any sort of creed and the only people who try to treat it as such are religious apologists like Alan Roebuck who refuse to engage actual atheistic belief systems like humanism, Objectivism, existentialism, Buddhism, etc. Instead, they only choose to attack "atheism," which I put in quotes because instead of attacking atheism as it really exists, they attack a Straw Man

Tags: atheism, atheist, religion, theists

Atheist Quotes

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:07:07 GMT

clipped by: Badman

Clip Source: atheistblogger.com

The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality. - George Bernard Shaw

Faith means not wanting to know what is true. - Friedrich Nietzsche

I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. - Frank Lloyd Wright

We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes. - Gene Roddenberry

To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today. - Isaac Asimov

A man is accepted into a church for what he believes and he is turned out for what he knows. - Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. - Seneca the Younger

Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. - Anonymous

Tags: god, atheism, religion, death, heaven.