The Darwinian Delusion
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This Is a Remarkable and Timely Book: Intelligent, Funny, and Elegant.” – Michael Coren, Author, Broadcaster, and Journalist
“This is a remarkable and timely book: intelligent, funny, and elegant.” – Michael Coren, author, broadcaster, and journalist “Andy Bannister’s book is a breath, a gust, a positive whoosh of fresh air. Made me laugh, made me think, made me cry. The words bounce across the page. A sane Christian! Whatever next?” – Adrian Plass, author and speaker “Every atheist vs believer debate I’ve been to has made me want to gouge out my eyes with a spoon. Bannister’s book, however, is exactly what this sceptical believer needed.” – Drew Marshall, radio host “In a brilliant work that is as humorous as it is damaging to atheist arguments, Bannister demonstrates the consequences of implementing New Atheist arguments in real life (that is, out of the realm of stuffy office speculations). His work is a wild ride that takes the reader from stories to theory to end game. Writing with eloquence and imagination, he illustrates the supposed ‘safe ground’ of New Atheist thought as truly no ground at all.” – Professor Mary Jo Sharp, Houston Baptist University “Andy Bannister provides a set of powerful and accessible arguments that can be used by ordinary people in responding to the tsunami of atheist sound bites flooding public discourse in the West. His tongue- in-cheek humour gives a certain lightness which does not in any way undermine the rigour and force of the book’s arguments. This is not a negative study – though atheism is certainly taken to the cleaners – and it is also profoundly positive in presenting compelling arguments for the central claims of Christianity.” – Dr Peter Riddell, Professorial Research Associate, History, SOAS, University of London “A book that tackles heady things with humour and grace and in a way that ordinary people like myself can actually understand. -
Richard Dawkins' God Delusion
Richard Dawkins‘ God Delusion RICHARD DAWKINS’ GOD DELUSION PAWEŁ BLOCH FLAVIUS PUBLISHING HOUSE Original title: Urojony Bóg Richarda Dawkinsa © Copyright 2011 by Paweł Bloch All rights reserved Scientific consultation: Grzegorz Tomkowicz Revision: Krzysztof Szymczyk Translated by Anna Blicharz ISBN 978-83-932765-2-3 WARSAW 2014 Flavius Publishing House 26/10 Bartycka Street, Warsaw 00-716 [email protected] CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.............................................................................. 9 CHAPTER 1 SCIENCE AND GOD ...................................................................14 ‘The God Delusion’ ................................................................................. 17 Argumentation .......................................................................................... 19 Proving the non-existence ..................................................................... 24 The infinite regress .................................................................................. 25 ‘The teapot’ ................................................................................................ 26 Likehood and God ................................................................................... 27 Abstaining from the judgement ........................................................... 28 ‘The atheistic constant’ ........................................................................... 29 Logic, God and evolution ...................................................................... 30 The unproven statements...................................................................... -
The Ethics of Disbelief: What Does New Atheism Mean for America? an Honors Thesis for the Department of Religion Marysa E. Shere
The Ethics of Disbelief: What Does New Atheism Mean for America? An honors thesis for the Department of Religion Marysa E. Sheren Tufts University ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my deep gratitude to Laura Doane and the generous donors who make the Tufts Summer Scholars grant program possible, and to Professor Elizabeth Lemons, who served as my mentor throughout my completion of the program in the summer of 2011. That summer of research was the time during which this project first took root, and I am so grateful to those who have taken an interest and invested in my research on New Atheism. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Ethics of Disbelief: An Introduction....................................................................... 1-10 Chapters Chapter 1: THE “SECULAR” AND THE “RELIGIOUS”......................................... 11-29 Chapter 2: IS RELIGION INHERENTLY VIOLENT?.............................................. 30-51 Chapter 3: RELIGION, NEW ATHEISM AND AMERICAN PUBLIC LIFE .......... 51-77 Looking Forward: A Conclusion .......................................................................................77 Bibliography .................................................................................................................iv-ix iii The Ethics of Disbelief: An Introduction Journalists have used the term “New Atheism” to describe a 21st-century movement spurred by the success of several non-fiction books. These books, authored by hard-line secularists and consumed by millions, have made a particularly large splash in the United States over the past five years, sparking a national public debate about God and religion. In this introductory segment of my paper, I will explain what distinguishes New Atheism from other kinds of atheism, and will identify the factors that have led the American public and mainstream media to interpret New Atheism as a “new” social and intellectual innovation. -
The Evolution Deceit
About The Author Now writing under the pen-name of HARUN YAHYA, Adnan Oktar was born in Ankara in 1956. Hav- ing completed his primary and secondary education in Ankara, he studied arts at Istanbul's Mimar Sinan Univer- sity and philosophy at Istanbul University. Since the 1980s, he has published many books on political, scientific, and faith-related issues. Harun Yahya is well-known as the author of important works disclosing the imposture of evo- lutionists, their invalid claims, and the dark liaisons between Darwinism and such bloody ideologies as fascism and com- munism. Harun Yahya's works, translated into 63 different lan- guages, constitute a collection for a total of more than 45,000 pages with 30,000 illustrations. His pen-name is a composite of the names Harun (Aaron) and Yahya (John), in memory of the two esteemed Prophets who fought against their peoples' lack of faith. The Prophet's seal on his books' covers is symbolic and is linked to their con- tents. It represents the Qur'an (the Final Scripture) and the Prophet Muhammad (saas), last of the prophets. Under the guid- ance of the Qur'an and the Sunnah (teachings of the Prophet [saas]), the author makes it his purpose to disprove each funda- mental tenet of irreligious ideologies and to have the "last word," so as to completely silence the objections raised against religion. He uses the seal of the final Prophet (saas), who attained ultimate wisdom and moral perfection, as a sign of his intention to offer the last word. All of Harun Yahya's works share one single goal: to convey the Qur'an's message, encour- age readers to consider basic faith-related is- sues such as Allah's existence and unity and the Hereafter; and to expose irreligious sys- tems' feeble foundations and perverted ide- ologies. -
DAWKINS: the GOD DELUSION the Criticism of Religion Which Has Become a Polemic Without Limits
DAWKINS: THE GOD DELUSION The Criticism of Religion which has Become a Polemic Without Limits JAVIER MONSERRAT Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Dawkins bases his criticism of the religious on the consideration that Darwinism eliminates all rationality regarding the belief in God. Another grand contemporary biologist, Michael Ruse, considers that Darwinism and Christianity are compatible. In his book, «Can a Darwinist be a Christian?», he responds affirmatively and offers us the following characterisation of the radicalism of Dawkins, from whom he differs radically, «He is a man who takes his atheism seriously, so much so that, in contrast, the grand Scottish philosopher of the XVIII century, David Hume (who was described memorably as “the greatest gift of God to the unbelievers”), seems moderate». The biologist Richard Dawkins holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the «Public Knowl- edge of Science», at the University of Oxford. He studied zoology at Oxford and, after accessing academic life, he soon began to stand out within the framework of Evolution- ary Biology. His fundamental contribution consisted of contributing to the theoretical interpretation of the genes in evolutionary selection, through what we could call a «gene- tic» reading of traditional Darwinism. These ideas can be followed through the books of reference: The Selfish Gene (1976) and The Extended Phenotype (1982). For Dawkins the genetic-evolutionary mechanism is interactive with the environment as the medium are the «genes». Among other things, he introduced the concept of «meme» for the first time, therefore, the idea of «memetics» (see Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett). Apart from his contributions to Theoretical Biology, Dawkins became famous for his work in the scientific divulgation of Darwinism and as a critic of religion. -
Atheism, Agnosticism, and Nonbelief
ATHEISM, AGNOSTICISM, AND NONBELIEF: A QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF TYPE AND NARRATIVE By Christopher Frank Silver Ralph W Hood Jr Jim Tucker Professor Professor (Co-Chair) (Co-Chair) Valerie C. Rutledge David Rausch Professor Assistant Professor (Committee Member) (Committee Member) Anthony J. Lease A. Jerald Ainsworth Dean of the College of Health, Education Dean of the Graduate School and Professional Studies ATHEISM, AGNOSTICISM, AND NONBELIEF: A QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF TYPE AND NARRATIVE By Christopher Frank Silver A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee August 2013 ii Copyright © 2013 By Christopher Frank Silver All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Extensive research has been conducted in exploration of the American religious landscape, however recently has social science research started to explore Nonbelief in any detail. Research on Nonbelief has been limited as most research focuses on the popularity of the religious “nones” or the complexities of alternative faith expressions such as spirituality. Research has been limited in exploring the complexity of Nonbelief or how non-believers would identify themselves. Most research assumes nonbelievers are a monolithic group with no variation such as Atheism or Agnosticism. Through two studies, one qualitative and one quantitative, this study explored identity of Nonbelief. Study one (the qualitative study) discovered that individuals have shared definitional agreement but use different words to describe the different types of Nonbelief. Moreover, social tension and life narrative play a role in shaping one’s ontological worldview. -
Life: by Evolution Or Design? Quick Reference Companion Compliments of the Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness (IDEA) Center (
Life: By Evolution or Design? Quick Reference Companion Compliments of the Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness (IDEA) Center (www.ideacenter.org) A. How does the theory of evolution work? 1. Random mutations cause changes, or variation, in a population of organisms. 2. These different organisms then compete to survive and reproduce. 3. Those which are best able to survive and reproduce do so, and tend to leave the most offspring. This is called “natural selection.” 4. Over time, if some organisms survive and reproduce more than others, a species will "evolve." What does Evolution Claim? - All organisms are related through "common ancestry." - All organisms arose through the process of mutation and natural selection. - All organisms arose and persist because of the random chance processes of nature. Charles Darwin hypothesized his theory of evolution in 1859 The story of evolution: in The Origin of Species. Origin of the Universe Origin of Earth Pre-Biotic Synthesis (“primordial soup”) Bacteria First Cells DNA / Protein World RNA World Primitive Animals Fish Amphibians Reptiles* Mammals Humans Hominids Early Apes Monkeys Primates *Some reptiles are also said to have evolved into birds. B. Common Criticisms of evolution: 1. The “Origin of Life” (not exactly the “evolution of life,” but the chemical starting point of life): • Life has never been created in a laboratory, contrary to popular belief. • If life is ever created in the lab, how would we know it could or would happen that way in the natural world? Problems with the evolutionary "story" shown above: 1. Some scientists and textbooks claim that amino acids, nucleotides and other “building blocks of life” (pre-biotics) were present on the early earth. -
Creation Or Evolution Does It Really Matter What You Believe? THIS PUBLICATION IS NOT to BE SOLD
Creation or Evolution Does It Really Matter What You Believe? THIS PUBLICATION IS NOT TO BE SOLD. It is a free educational service in the public interest, published by the United Church of God, an International Association. page 1 Creation or Evolution Does It Really Matter What You Believe? © 2001, 2008 United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Scriptures in this publication are quoted from the New King James Version (© 1988 Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers) unless otherwise noted. 2 Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe? Society’s Dramatic Shift 3 Contents Society’s 3 Society’s Dramatic Shift Dramatic Shift The Bible was long accepted as a true and reliable account of our origins. hy has evolution become so widely accepted, and why But then Darwin’s theory of evolution took the world by storm, with predict- has the Bible come to be viewed with such hostility? able and tragic consequences—proof that what we believe does matter. What has changed? W Only a few generations ago laws prevented the 7 Science, the Bible and Wrong Assumptions teaching of the theory of evolution in some communities and regions in the United States. The Bible was commonly accepted as true and Although it’s rarely publicized, the evidence against evolution is mounting as a reliable account of our origins. But now almost the opposite is with accumulating scientific discoveries. What societal and cutural factors true. The Bible is banned from classrooms in American schools, and led to such widespread acceptance of Darwin’s theory in the first place? serious discussion of the biblical view of the creation of our universe and our human origins is forbidden. -
Evolution and Science FBC Student Notes.Pages
EVOLUTION AND SCIENCE David Cloud Way of Life Literature www.wayofife.org Copyright 2015 Tese studies are from An Unshakeable Faith: An Apologetics Course, 2015 edition. Outline Introduction History of Evolution Darwin Skeptics Today Natural Selection Mutations Billions of Years Ape Men Fossil Record Introduction THE FIERCE BATTLE Churches are losing the youth. An Answers in Genesis survey found that two-thirds of children and teens who regularly attend “conservative” churches are gone by college age. According to an email survey I took in 2010 the average number of youth who drop out of churches that responded is 50%. Titus 1:9-12; we must shut the mouths of the skeptics by refuting their error. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE To protect you Te frst use of apologetics not to convince the unbeliever but to protect the believer, his family, and fellow believers. 1 When we are grounded in apologetics, we are not confused when we hear arguments by evolutionists, atheists, new agers, and cultists, either in person, in print, on the radio or television, or on the Internet. When we visit natural history museums we can see through the error of the displays. Churches must prepare the people to face the onslaught of end-time skepticism and apostasy, but most churches aren’t doing this. Tere are two common failings: (1) churches not careful enough about salvation; (2) churches not serious enough about training and discipleship. It is time to put away more of the games and get serious about these things. To prepare you to help other believers Every believer is to be a teacher (Heb. -
The Origin of Mankind― a Torah Perspective
171 The Origin of Mankind― A Torah Perspective By: NATHAN AVIEZER Our Holy Torah begins with the creation of the world, culminating in the creation of mankind: Chapter 1, Verse 27: Elokim created man in His image; in the image of Elokim, He created him; male and female, He created them. However, the origin of mankind is described again in the second chapter of Bereshit: Chapter 2, Verse 7 – HaShem Elokim formed man from the dust of the earth, and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living being. What does the second chapter contribute to our understanding of mankind’s origin beyond what is written in the first chapter? Verse 2:7 also raises another question. Unlike every other item that was created or formed by G-d, the Torah tells us what materials were used to form Man, namely, “the dust of the earth.” What is the purpose of including this information? The beginning of verse 2:7 describes the physical nature of Man (“formed from the dust of the earth”). The second part of verse 2:7 describes the spiritual nature of Man (“He [G-d] blew the soul of life into his nostrils”). Thus, this verse expresses the dual nature of Man – the physical (“dust”) Nathan Aviezer is Professor of Physics and former Chairman of the Physics Department of Bar-Ilan University. He is the author of more than 140 scientific articles on solid state physics, was elected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society and is a Research Professor of the Royal Society of London. -
Summary of Spetner's Not by Chance
ee Spetner received the Ph.D. degree evolution is not random, they mean only regulatory changes evolutionists in physics from MIT in 1950 and that natural selection produces a non- have suggested so far, insertions Ljoined the Applied Physics Labora- random result from the random genetic and inversions, are ways of turn- tory at Johns Hopkins University the fol- variation. ing existing genes OFF and ON. If lowing year. He spent most of his career they turn ON a regulatory gene, The second requirement of NDT is they can bring into play a complex doing research and development on in- that the random mutations which fuel it formation processing in electronic systems, must also, on average, add information to function or a whole system of and in teaching information and commu- the genome. If evolution built up the functions, but the information nication theory. In 1962 he accepted a year’s must already be in the genome. complexity of life, then it must also have fellowship in the Department of Biophysics built up the information underlying that at Johns Hopkins where he was to solve Most evolutionists, on the other hand, complexity. problems in the extraction of signal from hold that a large evolutionary change oc- noise in DNA electronmicrographs. During A minority of evolutionists say that curs through a long chain of small steps that fellowship, he learned much about macroevolutionary change is more often a (cumulative selection). They maintain that biology. single, large, random change than it is a the mutations in these small steps are chain of small ones. -
Mary and Modern Atheism Peter A
Marian Studies Volume 64 Article 11 2013 Our Lady of Unbelievers: Mary and Modern Atheism Peter A. Huff Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/marian_studies Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Huff, Peter A. (2013) "Our Lady of Unbelievers: Mary and Modern Atheism," Marian Studies: Vol. 64, Article 11, Pages 132-147. Available at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/marian_studies/vol64/iss1/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Marian Library Publications at eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Marian Studies by an authorized editor of eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Huff: Our Lady of Unbelievers: Mary and Modern Atheism Oun Laov or IJNSELTEvERs: Menv Ai\rD MopnnN Anrnrsu Peter A. Huff, Ph.D.* 1-. Introduction The SecondVatican Council identi-fied atheism as"one of the most serious problems of our time."r HaJf. a century later' it remains one of the most dynamic forces in our experience. PopeJohn Paul Il,well acquaintedwith unbelief in all its forms, referred to atheism as"the striking phenomenon"of our histor- ical period.2 His successor, Benedict XVI, also a lifelong student of atheism, named "ideological rejection of God" and the'athe- ism of indifference" the two "chief obstacles" to the establish' ment of authentic humanism in contemporary culture.3Today, few would argue with the claim made by Lutheran theologian Gerhard Ebeling that we are living in the "age of atheism."a Ours is also the age of the New Evangelization.Vatican Il,the first ecumenical council to reckon seriously with the modern experience of the "eclipse of God," encouraged Catholics to enter into'osincere and prudent" dialogue with atheists and to counter modern unbelief with credible presentations of *At the time of thls presentation, Doctor Huff occupied the Besl chair at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.