Science's Campaign to Prove Prayer Works (1988–2006)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
PAUL KURTZ in MEMORIAM Paul Kurtz, Philosopher, Humanist Leader, and Founder of the Modern Skeptical Movement, Dies at Eighty-Six TOM FLYNN
Jan Feb 13 2_SI new design masters 11/29/12 11:26 AM Page 5 [ PAUL KURTZ IN MEMORIAM Paul Kurtz, Philosopher, Humanist Leader, and Founder of the Modern Skeptical Movement, Dies at Eighty-Six TOM FLYNN Paul Kurtz, founder and longtime chair At NYU Kurtz studied philosophy of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, under Sidney Hook, who had himself the Council for Secular Humanism, and been a protégé of the pragmatist philoso- the Center for Inquiry, died at the age pher John Dewey. The philosophy of of eighty-six on October 20, 2012. He Dewey and Hook, arguably the greatest was one of the most influential figures American thinkers in the humanist tra- in the humanist and skeptical move- dition, would deeply in fluence Kurtz’s ments from the late 1960s through the thought and activism. Kurtz graduated first decade of the twenty-first century. from NYU in 1948 and earned his PhD Among his best-known creations are in philosophy at Columbia University in the skeptics’ magazine SKEPTICAL IN- 1952. QUIRER, the secular humanist magazine Free Inquiry, and the independent pub- Academic Career lisher Prometheus Books. Kurtz taught philosophy at Trinity Col- Jonathan Kurtz, Paul’s son, told SI that lege from 1952 to 1959. He joined the his father had a “‘joyous’ last day, joking, faculty at Union College from 1961 to laughing, etc. He then died suddenly to- 1965; during this period he was also a ward bedtime. There was no suffering.” A visiting lecturer at the New School for joint CFI/CSI/CSH statement marked Social Research. -
CFI-Annual-Report-2018.Pdf
Message from the President and CEO Last year was another banner year for the Center the interests of people who embrace reason, for Inquiry. We worked our secular magic in a science, and humanism—the principles of the vast variety of ways: from saving lives of secular Enlightenment. activists around the world who are threatened It is no secret that these powerful ideas like with violence and persecution to taking the no others have advanced humankind by nation’s largest drugstore chain, CVS, to court unlocking human potential, promoting goodness, for marketing homeopathic snake oil as if it’s real and exposing the true nature of reality. If you medicine. are looking for humanity’s true salvation, CFI stands up for reason and science in a way no look no further. other organization in the country does, because This past year we sought to export those ideas to we promote secular and humanist values as well places where they have yet to penetrate. as scientific skepticism and critical thinking. The Translations Project has taken the influential But you likely already know that if you are reading evolutionary biology and atheism books of this report, as it is designed with our supporters in Richard Dawkins and translated them into four mind. We want you not only to be informed about languages dominant in the Muslim world: Arabic, where your investment is going; we want you to Urdu, Indonesian, and Farsi. They are available for take pride in what we have achieved together. free download on a special website. It is just one When I meet people who are not familiar with CFI, of many such projects aimed at educating people they often ask what it is we do. -
Living Without Religion the Ethics of Humanism
Spring 1989 Vol. 9, No. 2 $4.00 41( Living Without Religion _The Ethics of Humanism Abortion in Can We Historical Achieve Perspective Immortality? Vern and Bonnie Bullough Cryonics and Other Technologies Carol Kahn Steven B. Harris TE Also: Ted Bundy, Pornography, and Capital Punishment Soviet Atheism and Psychoanalysis Under Perestroika, by Adolf Grü The Gospels as Literary Fiction, by Randel Helms Free Inceirf, SPRING 1989, VOL. 9, NO. 2 ISSN 0272-0701 Contents 3 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 10 ON THE BARRICADES 62 IN THE NAME OF GOD EDITORIALS 4 Eupraxophy, Ethics, and Secular Humanism, Paul Kurtz and Tim Madigan / Abortion in Historical Perspective, Vern and Bonnie Bullough / The Morality of Unbelief, Tom Flynn / Humanism and the Roots of Morality, Tim Madigan / More On Belief and Morality, Tom Franczyk HUMANIST ETHICS 14 Can We Achieve Immortality? Carol Kahn 19 Many Are Cold But Few Are Frozen: A Humanist Looks at Cryonics Steven B. Harris 25 Humanist Ethics: Eating the Forbidden Fruit Paul Kurtz 30 Scientific Knowledge, Moral Knowledge: Is There Any Need for Faith? Bernard Davis 37 The Inseparability of Logic and Ethics John Corcoran 41 A Theory of Cooperation Leon Felkins ARTICLES 46 Glossolalia Martin Gardner 49 The Study of the Gospels as Literary Fiction Randel Helms 52 Soviet Atheism and Psychoanalysis Under Perestroika Adolf Grünbaum 54 On Ted Bundy, Pornography, and Capital Punishment Vern Bullough, Paul Kurtz 58 An Atheist Handles Life Harry Daum BOOKS 56 Abortion and the Law Mary Beth Gehrman / Books in Brief Editor: Paul Kurtz Senior Editors: Vern Bullough, Gerald Larne Executive Editor: Tim Madigan Managing Editor: Mary Beth Gehrman Special Projects Editor: Valerie Marvin Contributing Editors: Robert S. -
How Morality Evolved Doug Mann
HANNAH WALLACE: CRISIS IN TURKISH EDUCATION CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY February/March 2019 Vol. 39 No. 2 HOW MORALITY EVOLVED DOUG MANN LINDA KAY KLEIN Dissects the Christian Purity Movement F/M 17 $5.95 CDN $5.95 US $5.95 Tom Flynn | Faisal Saeed Al Mutar 03 Robert M. Price | S. T. Joshi Poetry by Max Jacob Published by the Center for Inquiry in association 0 74470 74957 8 with the Council for Secular Humanism For many, mere atheism (the absence of belief in gods and the supernatural) or agnosticism (the view that such questions cannot be answered) aren’t enough. It’s liberating to recognize that supernatural beings are human creations … that there’s no such thing as “spirit” or “transcendence”… that people are undesigned, unintended, and responsible for themselves. But what’s next? Atheism and agnosticism are silent on larger questions of values and meaning. If Meaning in life is not ordained from on high, what small-m meanings can we work out among ourselves? If eternal life is an illusion, how can we make the most of our only lives? As social beings sharing a godless world, how should we coexist? For the questions that remain unanswered after we’ve cleared our minds of gods and souls and spirits, many atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and freethinkers turn to secular humanism. Secular. “Pertaining to the world or things not spiritual or sacred.” Humanism. “Any system of thought or action concerned with the interests or ideals of people … the intellectual and cultural movement … characterized by an emphasis on human interests rather than … religion.” — Webster’s Dictionary Secular humanism is a comprehensive, nonreligious life stance incorporating: A naturalistic philosophy A cosmic outlook rooted in science, and A consequentialist ethical system in which acts are judged not by their conformance to preselected norms but by their consequences for men and women in the world. -
FI-AS-08.Pdf
COVER CENTERS FOR INQUIRY •• www.centerforinquiry.net/about/centerswww.centerforinquiry.net/about/centers CFI/BUENOS AIRES (ARGENTINA) Ormond Beach, Fla. 32175 DOMESTIC Ex. Dir.: Alejandro Borgo Tel.: (386) 671-1921 Buenos Aires, Argentina email: [email protected] CFI/TRANSNATIONAL Founder and Chair: Paul Kurtz CFI/CAIRO (EGYPT) CFI Community/ Ex. Dir.: Barry Karr Chairs: Prof. Mona Abousenna Fort Lauderdale PO Box 703, Prof. Mourad Wahba President: Jeanette Madea Amherst, N.Y. 14226 44 Gol Gamal St., Agouza, Giza, Egypt Tel.: (954) 345-1181 Tel: (716) 636-4869 CFI/GERMANY (ROSSDORF) Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Ex. Dir.: Amardeo Sarma CFI Community/Harlem CFI/AUSTIN Kirchgasse 4, 64380 Rossdorf, Germany President: Sibanye Ex. Dir.: Jenni Acosta Rossdorf, Germany Email: [email protected] PO Box 202164, CFI/INDIA (HYDERABAD) CFI Community/Long Island Austin, Tex. 78720-2164 Ex. Dir.: Prof. Innaiah Narisetti President: Gerry Dantone Tel: (512) 919-4115 Hyderabad, India PO Box 119 Email: [email protected] CFI/ITALY Greenlawn, N.Y. 11740 CFI/CHICAGO Ex. Dir.: Hugo Estrella Tel.: (516) 640-5491 Email: [email protected] Ex. Dir.: Adam Walker CFI/KENYA (NAIROBI) PO Box 7951, Ex. Dir.: George Ongere CFI Community/Miami Chicago, Ill. 60680-7951 President: Argelia Tejada Tel: (312) 226-0420 CFI/LONDON (U.K.) Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Ex. Dir.: Suresh Lalvani Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, CFI Community/Naples (Florida) CFI/INDIANA London WC1R 4RL, England Coordinator: Bernie Turner Ex. Dir.: Reba Boyd Wooden 801 Anchor Rode Ave. 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, CFI/LOW COUNTRIES Suite 206 Indianapolis, Ind. -
The Inquisi Ion Blasphemy Is Not Racism the Christian Fallacy the Bible and Rape Dinosaur Follies the Jesus Myth
VOL. 144 WORLD’S OLDEST FREETHOUGHT PUBLICATION SEPT.–DEC. 2017 FOUNDED BY D.M. BENNETT IN 1873 the inquisi ion blasphemy is not racism the christian fallacy the bible and rape dinosaur follies the jesus myth ADAM GOPNIK JOYCE ARTHUR CHRIS FINAN JAMES HAUGHT PAUL MCGRANE VALERIE TARICO PAUL KRASSNER Worse than all other mean acts are those performed by hypocrites contents under the cloak of purity and virtue. BLASPHEMY IS NOT RACISM 4 –D.M. BENNETT JOYCE ARTHUR WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT RAPE AND RAPE BABIES 10 VALERIE TARICO OFFICIAL EMBLEM OF THE SPANISH INQUISITION; TRANSLATION: PSALM 73. ARISE, O GOD, TO DEFEND YOUR CAUSE. THE INQUISITION 14 JAMES A. HAUGHT DEAR READER, The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition has been Macdonald writes: Christianity stands convicted of the CHRISTIAN FALLACY: the real truth mythologized by generations of artists, writers, and film- most infamous cruelty towards its opponents and its own ABOUT JESUS AND EARLY makers. Catholic apologists, however, have downplayed dissenters, and it is impossible that a religion responsible CHRISTIANITY 20 the church’s role in the centuries-long institution, often for such deeds, the inspiring and instigating power which PAUL MCGRANE blaming the torture and burning of heretics on “secular” moved human beings to such revolting blood-thirstiness, officials. The actual number of victims and deaths will can be a true system. HISTORIC MEANS OF GRACE 26 probably never be determined. But the sadistic spirit of The Inquisition is also the subject of The New Yorker EUGENE M. MACDONALD the Inquisition will undoubtedly last forever. -
Once and for All, Is America a Christian Nation? Kerry Walters | Susan Jacoby | Rob Boston Hector Avalos | David K
FI JJ C1_Layout 1 5/3/12 10:15 AM Page 1 GEORGE A. WELLS reviews Bart Ehrman’s Did Jesus Exist? CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY June/July 2012 Vol. 32 No.4 ONCE AND FOR ALL, IS AMERICA A CHRISTIAN NATION? KERRY WALTERS | SUSAN JACOBY | ROB BOSTON HECTOR AVALOS | DAVID K. CLARK | TIBOR R. MACHAN THE TRUE COST OF RELIGIOUS TAX EXEMPTIONS RYAN T. CRAGUN, STEPHANIE YEAGER, and DESMOND VEGA SHADIA B. DRURY TOM FLYNN GRETA CHRISTINA 07 | | P Z MYERS | OPHELIA BENSON Published by the Council for Secular Humanism 7725274 74957 FI June July cut_FI 5/2/12 4:36 PM Page 2 For many, mere atheism (the absence of belief in gods and the supernatural) or agnosticism (the view that such questions cannot be answered) aren’t enough. It’s liberating to recognize that supernatural beings are human creations … that there’s no such thing as “spirit” … that people are undesigned, unintended, and responsible for themselves. But what’s next? Atheism and agnosticism are silent on larger questions of values and meaning. If Meaning in life is not ordained from on high, what small-m meanings can we work out among ourselves? If eternal life is an illusion, how can we make the most of our only lives? As social beings sharing a godless world, how should we coexist? For the questions that remain unanswered after we’ve cleared our minds of gods and souls and spirits, many atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and freethinkers turn to secular humanism. Secular. “Pertaining to the world or things not spiritual or sacred.” Humanism. -
Scientism, Humanism, and Religion: the New Atheism and the Rise of the Secular Movement
SCIENTISM, HUMANISM, AND RELIGION: THE NEW ATHEISM AND THE RISE OF THE SECULAR MOVEMENT STEPHEN LEDREW A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIOLOGY YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO DECEMBER 2013 © STEPHEN LEDREW, 2013 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the New Atheism as a secular fundamentalism that is both a utopian ideology and a social movement. It situates New Atheist thought within the context of the historical development of atheist thought and outlines the features of the ideology it promotes. It also examines the New Atheism’s role in the secular movement through research on major movement actions, campaigns, and debates on goals and strategies. It argues that the New Atheism comes into conflict with two other movement discourses: secular humanism and libertarian rationalism. These ideological conflicts are propelling the movement away from the New Atheism’s aggressive critique of religion toward more a more accommodating and inclusive approach that emphasizes basic humanistic values. ii DEDICATION For the love and support they have given me all my life, I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Paul and Daphne LeDrew. In the final months of writing, during the most difficult time, they gave me what no one else could: the comfort of home. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks are due first and foremost to my supervisor, Ratiba Hadj-Moussa. Her contribution to this dissertation as a scholarly mentor cannot be measured, but just as importantly, without her support and guidance through the difficult times that emerge during the course of completing a graduate degree, I never would have achieved this goal. -
Education and Free Inquiry a Statement from the Academy of Humanism
Education and Free Inquiry A Statement from the Academy of Humanism Isaac Asimov Antony Flew Paul MacCready Brand Blanshard Stephen Jay Gould Ernest Nagel Vern Bullough Sidney Hook W. V. Quine Francis Crick Donald Johanson Richard Taylor Joseph Fletcher Paul Kurtz Edward O. Wilson Gerald Larue Sidney Hook Searching China, iIîarxism for and Jesus Human Freedom COMING SOON: TRE. REALLY REALLY T RUE ACTUAL TOMB 0 Also: Press Blackout on Criticism of the Bible • Sobriety Without Superstition • Evangelic Agnosticism • Is Child Abuse a Myth? SUMMER 1985, VOL. 5, NO. 3 ISSN 0272-0701 Contents 3 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 4 Education and Free Inquiry, A Statement From the Academy of Humanism 5 EDITORIALS 8 ON THE BARRICADES ARTICLES J ESUS IN HISTORY AND MYTH 10 Finding a Common Ground Between Believers and Unbelievers Paul Kurtz 13 Render to Jesus the Things that Are Jesus' Robert S. Alley 18 Jesus in Time and Space Gerald A. Larue 23 Biblical Scorecard: Was Jesus "Pro-Family") Thomas Franczyk 24 An Interview with Sidney Hook on China, Marxism, and Human Freedom 34 Evangelical Agnosticism William Henry Young 37 To Refuse to Be a God: Religious Humanism of the Future Khoren Arisian 41 The Legacy of Voltaire (Part II) Paul Edwards BOOKS 50 Arguing About Old-Time Christianity Antony Flew VIEWPOINTS 51 Child Abuse: Myth or Reality? Vern L. Bullough 52 A Humanist's Lack of Options Sarah Slavin 53 Sobriety Without Superstition James Christopher 56 IN THE NAME OF GOD 58 CLASSIFIED Editor: Paul Kurtz Associate Editors: Doris Doyle, Steven L. Mitchell, Lee Nisbet, Gordon Stein Managing Editor: Andrea Szalanski Contributing Editors: Lionel Abel, author, critic, SUNY at Buffalo; Paul Beattie, president, Fellowship of Religious Humanists; Jo-Ann Boydston, director, Dewey Center; Laurence Briskman, lecturer, Edinburgh University, Scotland; Vern Bullough, historian, State University of New York College at Buffalo; Albert Ellis, director, Institute for Rational Living; Roy P. -
One Year Later Harlan Ellison
ONE YEAR LATER HARLAN ELLISON CelebratingCelebrating Reason Reason and and Humanity Humanity SUMMER FALL 2002 • VOL. 22 No. 43 f 23> Paul KURTZ • Wendy KAMINER • Richard DAWKINS • Nat HENTOFF Christopher HITCHENS • Tom FLYNN • Jeannette LOWEN • Taner EDIS 7725274 74957 Published by The Council for Secular Humanism THE AFFIRMATIONS OF HUMANISM: A STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems. We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation. We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life. We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities. We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state. We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding. We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance. We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves. We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity. We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species. We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest. -
141St Anniversary Issue
D.M. Bennett: The Truth Seeker The biography of the founder of The Truth Seeker DEROBIGNE MORTIMER BENNETT (1818-1882) was nine- teenth-century America’s most controversial publisher and free-speech martyr. Bennett founded the New York free- thought periodical The Truth Seeker in 1873; his publications were censored and prohibited from newsstands long before the expression “banned in Boston” was heard. Bennett’s opposition to dogmatic religion and puritanical obscenity laws infuriated Anthony Comstock, the U.S. Post Offi ce’s “special agent” and self-proclaimed “weeder in God’s gar- den.” Based on original sources and extensively researched, this in-depth yet accessible biography of D.M. Bennett offers a fascinating glimpse into the secular movement during the Gilded Age. Roderick Bradford follows Bennett’s evolution from a devout Shaker to an unremitting skeptic and Ameri- ca’s most iconoclastic publisher. He chronicles the circum- stances that led to Bennett’s historically signifi cant New York City obscenity trial, his imprisonment in the Albany Penitentiary, and the monumental petition campaign for a pardon that went all the way to the White House. Bradford examines Bennett’s prominent role in the National Liber- al League and his association with leading suffragists, spir- itualists, birth-control advocates, and the founders of the Theosophical Society in India. “Roderick Bradford reintroduces a significant nineteenth-century reformer whom mainstream historians have unfairly neglected. D.M. Bennett was the most influential liberal publisher during America’s Golden Age of Freethought. Even more important, through his dogged opposition to morals campaigner Anthony Comstock—and the high price he even- tually paid for it—Bennett mounted a heroic defense of freedom of expression, in the process helping to shape twenti- eth-century free speech standards in ways that few appreciate today. -
Religious Skepticism, Atheism, Humanism, Naturalism, Secularism, Rationalism, Irreligion, Agnosticism, and Related Perspectives)
Unbelief (Religious Skepticism, Atheism, Humanism, Naturalism, Secularism, Rationalism, Irreligion, Agnosticism, and Related Perspectives) A Historical Bibliography Compiled by J. Gordon Melton ~ San Diego ~ San Diego State University ~ 2011 This bibliography presents primary and secondary sources in the history of unbelief in Western Europe and the United States, from the Enlightenment to the present. It is a living document which will grow and develop as more sources are located. If you see errors, or notice that important items are missing, please notify the author, Dr. J. Gordon Melton at [email protected]. Please credit San Diego State University, Department of Religious Studies in publications. Copyright San Diego State University. ****************************************************************************** Table of Contents Introduction General Sources European Beginnings A. The Sixteenth-Century Challenges to Trinitarianism a. Michael Servetus b. Socinianism and the Polish Brethren B. The Unitarian Tradition a. Ferenc (Francis) David C. The Enlightenment and Rise of Deism in Modern Europe France A. French Enlightenment a. Pierre Bayle (1647-1706) b. Jean Meslier (1664-1729) c. Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (1723-1789) d. Voltaire (Francois-Marie d'Arouet) (1694-1778) e. Jacques-André Naigeon (1738-1810) f. Denis Diderot (1713-1784) g. Marquis de Montesquieu (1689-1755) h. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) B. France and Unbelief in the Nineteenth Century a. August Comte (1798-1857) and the Religion of Positivism C. France and Unbelief in the Twentieth Century a. French Existentialism b. Albert Camus (1913 -1960) c. Franz Kafka (1883-1924) United Kingdom A. Deist Beginnings, Flowering, and Beyond a. Edward Herbert, Baron of Cherbury (1583-1648) b.