Atheism
"We are all atheists about most of the
gods that societies have ever believed in.
Some of us just go one god further."
Richard Dawkins
British geneticist & science popularizer
Atheism
"We are all atheists about most of the
gods that societies have ever believed in.
Some of us just go one god further."
Richard Dawkins
British geneticist & science popularizer
Categories
Posted 2007 May 21 @ 08:35 - filed under Atheism.
Dr Augustine Schutte's lecture series Fundamentalism or Atheism: The possibility of religion in a scientific and secular culture, arranged by the Centre for Christian Spirituality, is currently being presented at the US Dept. of Theology.
Part 1 and Part 2 are available online, and both parts have newly-added commentary.
(2007.06.11: Parts 3-5 being transcribed, please stand by...)
Posted 2007 October 12 @ 08:52 - filed under Atheism.
From the Templeton Foundation, the "first in a series of conversations about the 'Big Questions' the John Templeton Foundation is conducting among leading scientists and scholars."
Larry Kraus is a good read as always. Peter Atkins remains admirable; he writes: "Theologians typically focus on questions that they have invented for their own puzzlement." I'd humbly submit he should add "philosophers", too.
Posted 2007 May 01 @ 00:16 - filed under Atheism.
The Afrikaans daily Die Burger has an excellent week-end supplement, By, in which Mike of Cape Town recently asked 12 questions about issues of faith. The reactions last week were interesting. Here's my views.
Posted 2007 March 30 @ 10:13 - filed under Atheism.
Now here's a bit of rubbish that I heard about recently – there is apparently a campaign underway to unleash a "prayer revolution" in South Africa by establishing a "30 Second Kneel-Down" activity – in schools.
The 30KD project is explained here. The "impact", the website says, may be up to "150 hours of prayer per school per year". Huh? The point being?
Take this nonsense out of the classroom, please. At home, parents can make their kids kneel down, crawl about, run around in circles or do whatever behaviour their god demands of them – but not in a public school. Sies.
Posted 2007 March 30 @ 13:26 - filed under Documented.
Friends, let me be the first to share the news with you! On Tuesday, March 20, I was ordained! Yes, I know you're shocked and probably in disbelief (oh naughty, naughty!) but it's the Gospel Truth.
Along with a close friend, I became Reverend Auke Slotegraaf, "having all the rights and privileges to perform all duties of the Ministry", in the Universal Life Church Monastery.
Share in my excitement, take a look at my ordination credentials, and send me your tithes soonest.
Posted 2007 February 04 @ 11:50 - filed under Sexual Urgency.
Every February the streets of Stellenbosch erupt in colour, noise and a wonderful sense of novelty when the students of the University of Stellenbosch put on a street parade through the dorp.
Of course, it also brings the weirdos out of the woodwork, as this sex-besotted message shows.
It seems reasonable to assume that the author of this missive had performed a Q-sort on his religious priorities: the list is headed by "religious phonies" and has "misc. heathen" tacked on at the end. It then appears that child killers aren't as bad as adulterers. Which is hardly surprising.
And exactly what are "sex perverts", that they rate second only to false prophets? They can't be adulterers or fornicators. I wonder if this is a polite term for homosexuals?
It never ceases to amaze me how small a concept of God you must have, if you think God is truly concerned about someone's willy. Oops, garbage-mouth!
Posted 2006 December 06 @ 09:30 - filed under Atheism.
Much of the misunderstanding and apprehension that religious people have of atheists (people without belief in gods) is the assumption that non-believers necessarily reject morality, spirituality and meaning in life. Nothing could be further from the truth. more
Posted 2006 October 21 @ 18:48 - filed under Atheism.
Poetry is an art form I'm no good at. In this essay, I explore poetry, death and meaning. Or do I? more
Posted 2006 October 19 @ 11:25 - filed under Atheism.
Some thoughts on the claim that science cannot deal with ethics and morality, and two interesting papers on the naturalistic fallacy. more
Posted 2006 September 03 @ 09:05 - filed under Atheism.
Having effectively exorcised God from the ‘hard’ sciences, the Catholic Church now has God lurking in psychology and neuroscience ... and continues to interfere with our study of the natural world by providing supernatural “explanations” for things best left to science. more
Posted 2005 December 20 - filed under Atheism.
This past Sunday a mood came over me to do some BS (Bible Study). Keeping in mind that the Bible is the Inerrant Word of God, I chose for my reading the gospel of Matthew, 27:45 to 28:6, which recounts the events around the crucifiction and resurrection of Jesus. As i tried to make sense of it all, the words of Vicky Pollard from Little Britain kept intruding: "no but, yes but, no but". Read my essay to learn about the gross error in Matthew's story, or as Vicky would have put it: "this fing wot you know nuffin about". more
Posted 2005 September 29 - filed under Atheism.
Two years ago, Shophar Christian Church (one of our local fundamentalist churches), in cahoots with the Answers in Genesis organization, presented a talk by a Dr Carl Wieland in the hall of the Stellenbosch-Sentraal NG Church. If you've never been to a show like this, and aren't familiar with the kind of tactics used by creationists who would like to style themselves as scientists, read my account of the event. more
Posted February 15 - filed under Atheism & Humour.
The quaint idea of a fiery hell – where all those who, once exposed to Jesus but don't buy it, will go – is very much underplayed in contemporary Christianity. In fact, some people grow up in a Christian home and think it's all about John 3:16 – love, cuddles and Elysian fields.
Want that it were so! Instead, the Fires of Hell are still very much alive, stoked by the righteous to scare the bejesus out of those who don't share their fantasy. No happy otherworld for you, Virginia.
The recent fires on Table Mountain galvanised more than just the local inhabitants and the fire department. The nice people of the “Chris†ian Lifestyle” Church in Camps Bay, at the foot of Table Mountain, erected a bill-board to share their particular brand of good news. Pity they don't spell so good.
Posted 2006 October 28 @ 08:33 - filed under Atheism.
The documentary film Jesus Camp was released earlier this year in the USA. It's an inside look at an evangelical Christian Bible camp, "Kids on Fire Summer Camp", run by pastor Becky Fischer, in North Dakota, USA.
From the fragments I've seen, it's disturbing. Evangelical Christianity reveals starkly a key truth about religion, a truth that is less in-your-face in more moderate Christian denominations: Religion does not bring people together, but divides them. Ultimately, Christianity is about who goes to Heaven and who doesn't. more
Posted 2006 August 01 - filed under Atheism.
One of the delightful ways atheists have of tormenting believers is through the logical puzzle known as the Paradox of the Stone. more
Posted 2006 June 23 @ 16:03 - filed under Atheism
I am deeply suspicious of the motives of folk who claim, as did the late Stephen Jay Gould, that science and religion occupy non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA) – i.e. that each rules over its own domain and as such cannot be in conflict. more
"If history and science have taught us anything, it is that passion and desire are not the same as truth." — E O Wilson
Posted 2006 February 21 - filed under Atheism.
Today's BS (Bible Study) takes a look at killer reptiles in the Bible. Take for example this passage, from Mark Chapter 16: “and these signs shall follow them that believe … they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them”.
I'd also like to point out that, being "of them that believe not", should any Christian wish to obey the commands of their Bible and demonstrate their venom-immunity, I can readliy get hold of a Dendroaspis angusticeps and am available Monday-Friday and over weekends (oh, and there is a Mediclinic two blocks from my house). more
Posted 2005 October 02 - filed under Atheism
I'm fond of pointing out, when asked if I believe in God, that I'm not superstitious. This invariably leads to a discussion concentrating on definitions and clear meanings. more
Posted 2008 February 02 @ 16:50 - filed under Atheism.
The organization that last year opened a US$27-million creation museum in Kentucky has started its own "peer-reviewed" scientific research journal.
On January 9, Answers in Genesis, a Christian ministry run by evangelical Ken Ham, launched Answers Research Journal (ARJ), a free, online publication devoted to research on "recent Creation and the global Flood within a biblical framework".
From: NATURE news, published online 23 January 2008. doi:10.1038/451382b
Posted 2007 December 06 @ 18:32 - filed under Atheism.
Posted on 2007 April 23 @ 09:45 via HM - filed under Motivation.
For a full-colour motivational poster, suitable for printing, framing and hanging in your office or home, click here. The caption to this handsome poster has "CHRISTIANITY" written in large friendly-blue letters, and commences with "The belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who was..."
Posted 2007 April 02 @ 08:27 - filed under Atheism.
Newsweek did a poll on March 28/29 (1004 respondents, 18+) and found that a third of college graduates accepted the Biblical creation story as, well, fact. Amazing. Roughly half of the people polled answered "No" to this question:
"Is evolution well-supported by evidence and widely accepted within the scientific community?"
Well done, America.
And 91% of those surveyed said they believe in God.
In the under-30's group, 62% said they knew an atheist. Interestingly, the poll also revealed that just 3% of the nation were actually atheist.
The MSNBC story is here.
Posted 2007 April 02 @ 09:10 - filed under Old Bands.
A photograph of an angel, taken in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, has been making news in the Daily Mail.
This appears to be the first photograph of an angel taken by a retired policeman; the full Daily Mail article can be enjoyed here.
Does anyone else remember the trippy "Angels in the Architecture" by Brian Eno? (Did anyone see his recent exhibit in Cape Town?) Before the days of iPods & CDs, I listened to "Angels" (and also "Ummagumma") and pretended to feel "real deep, man." Because I stubbornly refused to take drugs, however, the music never really did it for me.
In the past, drug users such as Sherlock Holmes may have enjoyed it more. Holmes' creator, Conan-Doyle, is well-known for his interest in photographing fairies – which are kinda like angels, I guess. While I don't know what the current Pope thinks about angels, we do know what the Pope thinks about fairies. The mind reels.
(PS: More fairy pictures here.)
(Daily Mail World News, 2007 March 30)
Posted 2007 March 19 @ 11:27 via BD - filed under Atheism.
"Man's destiny is to know, if only because societies with knowledge culturally dominate societies that lack it. Luddites and anti-intellectuals do not master the differential equations of thermodynamics or the biochemical cures of illness. They stay in thatched huts and die young."
Edward O. Wilson
Posted 2007 March 16 @ 12:30 via JvdP - filed under Atheism.
• For brilliant satire and a freshest take on "needling the faithful circuit", visit MrDeity.
• Well-known arch-mage and uber-sceptic James Randi's website, with a weekly newsletter, is always worth a visit.
Posted 2007 March 05 @ 22:32 - filed under Quiz.
Curious? Then take the quiz at the Humanist Society of Scotland's website and find out. And when you do, let me know what your results were.
Posted 2007 March 05 @ 22:18 - filed under Alternative foods.
Hanging over my kitchen sink is a plastic Jesus on His cross, like some kind of holy confectionary (you know, man-on-a-stick). An alternative holy snack may be on the cards: Mary-style pizza. The observant Catholics at an elementary school in Houston, USA, say that a stunning likeness of the Virgin (*cough*) Mother appeared to the faithful as a stain in an oven dish, which has since been installed in a shrine. The full story with video is on the ABC Eyewitness News website. Houston, we have a problem.
Posted on 2007 February 18 @ 20:11, via Wilbur - filed under Atheism.
Two interesting Richard Dawkins items: the BBC's William Crawley on "Man of the Year 2006" and "Thank You, Richard Dawkins" at cosmicvariance.
Posted on 2007 February 13 @ 08:04 - filed under Atheism.
Over at the Edge, Daniel Dennett is kicking H. Allen Orr's ass (or is that, beating his dead horse?). Orr wrote a review of Richard Dawkins' God Delusion (New York Review of Books, 2007 Jan 11) and sprouted bits of nonsense that Dennett takes him up on. Now, Dennett has issued a challenge – will Orr rise to the occassion? Find out more at Open letter to H. Allen Orr .
Posted 2007 February 11 @ 23:10 - filed under Poppers.
Televangelist Ted Haggard said in a sermon on Sunday, 2006 October 29:
"Father, we pray that lies would be exposed. We pray that deception would be exposed. We pray that wisdom would come upon our electorate... and, Lord, that we would be a model for the whole world."
Pastor Haggard, of course, made headline news soon afterwards when he was caught with certain illegal substances as well as enjoying the services of a prostitute. This makes me think of other American trash like Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, and of course South Africa's self-appointed spokesman for God, Pastor Paul, two-timing adulteror, liar, and founder of the "His People" church in Goodwood. What was He thinking?!
image lifted from Nathan Bond's TART Remarks, February 12
interviews and more on YouTube
Posted 2007 January 30 @ 13:10, via Bruce - filed under Atheism.
Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan engage in an (ongoing) e-mail debate, on beliefnet.com; this link takes you to the debate hosted on Richard Dawkins' website. A good read.
Post-ed 2007 January 13 @ 00:49 via Hugo - filed under Important Information.
Billed as the "Postal Service of the Saved", the Post-Rapture Post offers a unique service that, as my correspondent points out, is sure to be loved by both atheists and True Believers alike.
Posted 2007 January 09 @ 10:02 - filed under Atheism.
If you're one of those free spirits who do not labour under the delusion that you have A Soul, you can now convert your (Bright) belief into something tangible and delish – take the Blasphemy Challenge and get a free The God Who Wasn't There DVD documentary. Fire up your webcam and head on over to The Blasphemy Challenge.
Posted December 06 @ 11:45 - filed under Atheism
"Why won't God heal amputees?", is the question asked at this website, where it is described as "the most important question we can ask about God."
Posted 2006 November 14 @ 10:50 - filed under Atheism.
Kauffman, complex-systems researcher and theoretical biologist, has an excellent essay, "Beyond Reductionism", published today on Edge.
Subtitled 'Reinventing the Sacred', the essay is thought-provoking and presents a cogent vision of what philosopher R R Centore has called non-reductionistic materialism. Kauffman writes:
The two cultures, science and humanities, remain firmly un-united. And equally important, we have been subtly robbed of our deep capacity for spiritualism. We have come to believe that spirituality is inherently co-localized with a belief in God, and that without such a belief, spirituality is inherently foolish..."
To my way of thinking, 'subtle robbery' is putting it mildly. Religion has brutally high-jacked spirituality and keeps it hostage – together with morality – in order to appear to remain relevant.
You don't need a transcendent reality, populated by gods, in order to experience awe and wonder. You just need a telescope under a starry sky.
Posted 2006 February 02 - filed under Psychology, & Atheism.
Spirituality is a concept often high-jacked by religion, with the suggestion that only religious people can be spiritual. This misunderstanding extends to morality, when it is believed that atheists cannot be moral.
Michael Shermer (of the Skeptics Society) presents his view on finding spiritual meaning and purpose in a scientific worldview in a new book, The Soul of Science. He writes:
"Spirituality is a way of being in the world, a sense of one’s place in the cosmos, a relationship to that which extends beyond ourselves. There are many sources of spirituality; religion may be the most common, but it is by no means the only. Anything that generates a sense of awe may be a source of spirituality. Science does this in spades."
Posted 2005 August 10 - filed under Psychology, & Atheism.
Who are you? What are you? Do you have a soul? If you're like me, a philosophical kinda guy, you've no doubt thought deeply about life, the universe, and such.
I've found a very useful tool that's helped me to straighten out my thinking, and I'd like to share it around. Take the Personal Beliefs Scale and see for yourself. more
Updated 2006 Nov 23 @ 10:15 - filed under Psychology.
BBC4's Melvyn Bragg, on his show In Our Time, discusses altruism this evening. One of his guests will be Richard Dawkins. Going to be a good one :-) After the broadcast, the MP3 can be downloaded from the In Our Time website.
Posted 2005 November 24 - filed under Psychology & Atheism.
Speaking in tongues has been practised for many centuries – is it sent from God? Is it of the devil? Need it be a religious experience at all? Or is it the babble of insane people? I researched and present a literature review of the psychology of glossolalia, and also a personal testimony, by Denise M., of what it's like to speak in tongues.
Keywords: Atheism
This website is licensed under an attribution-noncommercial 2.5 creative commons license and is © 2005-2007 Auke Slotegraaf.
Words of wisdom: "Snakes and monkeys are subjected to the demon more than other animals. Satan lives in them and possesses them. He uses them to deceive men and to injure them." – Martin Luther, German leader of the Protestant Revolution.
DOES GOD EXIST?
A theist has faith in God's existence, accepting it as true without overwhelming evidence. An atheist is without belief in any kinds of gods, because (a) there is no good evidence for the existence of the supernatural, (b) certain formulations of God's nature are contradictory or render him/her/it redundant, (c) and psychological evidence overwhelmingly points to gods as all-too-human fictions.
OTHER VIEWS
Religion to me has always been the wound, not the bandage.
"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." – Oscar Wilde
"Idiots, the lame, the blind, the dumb, are men in whom the devils have established themselves: and all the physicians who heal these infirmities, as though they proceeded from natural causes, are ignorant blockheads." – Martin Luther, highly respected Protestant church leader.
"What shall we do with...the Jews?... set fire to their synagogues or schools and bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them." – Martin Luther (again)
THE WORDS OF GOD
There are distinct differences between the Protestant and the Catholic bibles: there are seventy-two books found in Catholic editions, forty-five in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New.
The much later Protestant Bible usually lacks the so-called Apocryphral Books of Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, and i, ii Machabees, as well as sections of other texts, notably Esther 10:4-16:24, and Daniel 3:24-90; 13:1-14:42, which are not found in the Jewish Torah.
DAILY READING
Assoc. for Psychological Science
Social Science Statistics Blog
Earth Science Picture of the Day
QUOTES
God made me an atheist. Who are you to question his wisdom?
SOUTHERN SKY TALK
Your 90-second guide to what's cool in the heavens above. Southern Sky Talk is a free monthly astronomy podcast that describes the best sights in the southern skies. Get your free copy while stocks last.
Kauffman, complex-systems researcher and theoretical biologist, has an excellent essay, 
