Clipmarks | Atheism Clips

Intelligence linked to atheism

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:09:48 GMT

clipped by: deusdiabolus

PEOPLE with high IQs are less likely to believe in God, according to a new study.

A leading psychology professor at Ulster University said many more "intellectually elite" people in the UK, especially univeristy academics, identified themselves as atheists than the national average.

Prof Richard Lynn said a decline in religious beliefs over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, the Telegraph reported.

A survey of Royal Society fellows, the independent academy of science in the UK, found that only 3.3 per cent believed in God - at a time when 68.5 per cent of the general UK population described themselves as believers.

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 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

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

What is Autocosmology

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:24:50 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: humanknowledge.net

Autocosmology is a synthesis of metaphysical naturalism, ontological materialism, epistemological empiricism and positivism, mental functionalism, theological atheism, axiological extropianism, political libertarianism, economic capitalism, constitutional federalism, biological evolutionism, evolutionary psychology, and technological optimism. Autocosmology is the worldview asserted by this text.

Tags: autocosmology, metaphysical, worldview, knowledge

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

Bring on an atheist prime minister

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:21:46 GMT

clipped by: breweruk
clipper's remarks: Excellent comment piece in the Guardian today by AC Grayling.

Clipped a few sentences, but the article is a must read.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Atheist leaders are not going to think they are getting messages from Beyond telling them to go to war.

Atheist leaders will be sceptical about the claims of religious groups to be more important than other civil society organisations in doing good,

Atheist leaders are going to be more sceptical about inculcating sectarian beliefs into small children ghettoised into publicly funded faith-based schools

Atheist leaders will, by definition, be neutral between the different religious pressure groups in society,

Atheist leaders are more likely to take a literally down-to-earth view of the needs, interests and circumstances of people in the here and now,

Atheist leaders will not be tempted to think they are the messenger of any good news from above, or the agent of any higher purpose on earth.

Tags: atheism, politics, religion, church of england

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

Solzhenitzyn's Insights

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:15:57 GMT

clipped by: Efrain Alvarado

Clip Source: www.nobelpreis.org

Clip Source: www.freerepublic.com

half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of older people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened

I have spent well-nigh fifty years working on the history of our Revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up some sixty million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.

And if I were called upon to identify briefly the principal trait of the entire twentieth century, here too, I would be unable to find anything more precise and pithy than to repeat once again: Men have forgotten God...

Tags: god, atheism, communism, solzhenitzyn, nobel, peace

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

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.

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

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

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