Frank Turner is an alternative folk musician who is fairly famous over here in the UK. If you want to read a cracking interview with him, I interviewed him about a year ago on his politics and religion.
Tag atheism
Tristan Vick (Advocatus Atheist) and myself are editing a book of deconversion anthologies entitled Beyond an Absence of Faith. It has been, unfortunately, on the backburner for a whole since our workloads have been phenomenal. There are a potential couple of exciting additions to the anthologies of such accounts to add, and then we are there. This is the Foreword that I have pencilled in. Let me know what you think:
I am exceptionally grateful that John Loftus thought of me when shortlisting potential contributors to his latest anthology Christianity Is Not Great. Not only that, but my chapter on atheological morality, which I wrote a few months ago for him, was one of the chapters used in the proposal to Prometheus Books. And they have just accepted the project! Fantastic! Here is what John has just announced:
[Just to remind readers that the book I have recently edited, written by contributor Aaron Adair, called The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View. is out now in all formats from a variety of sellers. It is a great book, and one which Richard Carrier has said is “awesome”. Please support our work by buying it! It’ll make an awesome Christmas present! Over to Aaron’s launch piece for those who missed it – JP]
Nearly two millennia ago, a story was told of a wondrous star in the heavens, beaming forth to proclaim the birth of an infant, destined to rule. Coaxing priests from an eastern kingdom to travel in search of this infant, the object led them to their destination and allow for the worship of the savior of the world.
Or so the story goes. But did it really happen, and if so, what was this magnificent star? A comet? An exploding star? An astrological portent? Something more bizarre?
So there was an interesting comment on another one of my posts the other day that was entirely, every word, inane, insane, irrational nonsense. It was so good (bad) that I thought I would post it.
Of course, atheism, as a lack of belief in God or a positive belief that God does not exist, MUST cause these characteristics necessarily. Drivel. Enjoy:
Well, it depends on your definition of highbrow, of course. But please check out the video of myself, Counter Apologist and Justin Schieber from Reasonable Doubts discussing the Evidential Problem of Evil, going through a ton of arguments and interesting points. It was really enjoyable and we hope you get out as much enjoyment as we did! Hopefully it won’t be the last.
As reported here, the House of Lords recently had what can only be described as a fascinating debate. Whilst some non-UK visitors to this blog may not be able to access the video, thanks to Chris Street at HASSNERS (where you can find the transcript with really useful notes and comments), here is the full transcript from Hansard:
From the Rationalist Association:
A new YouGov survey suggests the decline of religious belief in Britain will continue for some time
New data published this week by the polling organisation YouGov shows that Britain’s youth are continuing to reject religious belief in large numbers.
The Australian Labor Party have ousted their PM ahead of the elections which they will probably lose. This upsets me. I have always admired Gillard. Forthright and a good leader, in my books. And an atheist, too.
When interviewed in 2010, she said:
“I think it would be inconceivable, if I were an American, for me to have turned up at the highest echelon of American politics being an atheist, single, and childless.”
I was listening to a local radio station the other day. It is called Jack FM and is an interesting radio station in that it has a really large playlist compared to other stations and plays more music throughout the day as it only appears to have DJs for the breakfast show. The rest of the time it is just music and adverts.
As I reported the other day, the Girlguides have dropped the pledge to God from their vow. Now it appears that the Scouts are doing similarly, as the Telegraph reports:
The movement has bowed to pressure from atheists and, from later this year, will offer an alternative promise for those joining without a religious faith.
Currently, all Scouts are expected to promise to “do my duty to God” – with alternative wording for Muslims, Hindus and people of other faiths. Those who cannot do so as a matter of conscience are able to join only as associate members.
This was an article from The Spectator, a British conservative magazine. Thoughts? I love the remark made by one…
The New Scientist reports:
It’s well known that religious faith can help believers cope with stress and anxiety, by providing them with a sense of meaning and control at times of uncertainty. It now seems that a “belief” in science and a rationalistic outlook might do the same for the non-religious.
A team of psychologists led by Miguel Farias at the University of Oxford asked 52 rowers to fill in a “belief in science” questionnaire just before taking part in a competitive regatta. They gave the same test – in which participants had to score statements such as “science is the most valuable part of human culture” – to a similar number of rowers at a training session. The questionnaire also assessed self-reported stress levels and degree of religious belief.
Russ chimed in on my Why I Am An Atheist post, in response to Randal Rauser’s request for a paragraph or two on my reasons for my worldview.
Johno, does Rauser think he is going to refute all the “Why I Am An Atheist(or not a Christian)” paragraphs that you and the others wrote?
If he thinks he can do that why does he not just produce evidence which supports his claim that his god exists while it also refutes other’s claims, ancient or contemporary, that their god exists?
Randal Rauser, with whom I have had a radio debate about the Nativity, is running a series on his blog asking atheists why they are atheist (or not Christian). He has asked several atheist bloggers and authors, including myself, to produce a paragraph. Justin Schieber, Counter Apologist and Ed Babinski did a little more than that, so I added a tiny bit extra to mine, but it still remained more concise than theirs! See what you think – it is hard to be super concise:
The new leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has been making plenty of news since taking over in March. Not only is it the case that he may have exorcised demons in public very recently (very old school), but now he seems to have blessed the infidels (not-so old school).
In his Wednesday sermon, he stated the following:
An atheist state lawmaker tasked with delivering the opening prayer for this afternoon’s session of the House of Representatives asked that people not bow their heads.
Democratic Representative Juan Mendez, of Tempe, instead spoke about his “secular humanist tradition” and even quoted author Carl Sagan.
This is interesting, though the numbers are inaccurate given that the census has become voluntary, and, as such, the completion rate for the census was very low.
OTTAWA – A nation of non-believers?
The new National Household Survey suggests we could be becoming so.
Countries with the best standard of living are turning atheist. That shift offers a glimpse into the world’s future.
Religious people are annoyed by claims that belief in God will go the way of horse transportation, and for much the same reason, specifically an improved standard of living.