Apatheism Is More Damaging to Christianity Than Atheism and Antitheism - Public Discourse
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Atheism AO2 Handout Part 1
Philosophy Of Religion / Atheism AO2 Atheism AO2 Handout Part 1 New Atheism successfully shows the incompatibility of science and religion. Evaluate this view. 1. New Atheists seem to argue that scientific theories are based only on evidence, whilst religion runs away from evidence. The claim is that atheism is rational and scientific while religion is irrational and superstitious. Faith is not an element of science since evidence for a correct conviction compels us to accept its truth. As Dawkins says “Faith is a state of mind that leads people to believe something – it doesn’t matter what – in the total absence of supporting evidence. If there were good supporting evidence, then faith would be superfluous…” However, Alister McGrath points out that such a view “fails to make the critical distinction between the ‘total absence of supporting evidence’ and the ‘absence of totally supporting evidence’.” It is true that some facts about the world have been proved (e.g. the chemical formula for water) but the bigger scientific questions such as is there a Grand Unified Theory that explains everything rely on answers based on the best evidence available but they are not certainties. In future years they may well change as new evidence is considered. As Gauch concluded “Science rests on faith”. Dawkins in his book “The God Delusion” does argue that the existence of God is a testable hypothesis and concludes that the hypothesis is falsifiable. Therefore the hypothesis is open to the scientific method. So here is a New Atheist proponent arguing that that the existence of God is a meaningful hypothesis. -
A Contextual Examination of Three Historical Stages of Atheism and the Legality of an American Freedom from Religion
ABSTRACT Rejecting the Definitive: A Contextual Examination of Three Historical Stages of Atheism and the Legality of an American Freedom from Religion Ethan Gjerset Quillen, B.A., M.A., M.A. Mentor: T. Michael Parrish, Ph.D. The trouble with “definitions” is they leave no room for evolution. When a word is concretely defined, it is done so in a particular time and place. Contextual interpretations permit a better understanding of certain heavy words; Atheism as a prime example. In the post-modern world Atheism has become more accepted and popular, especially as a reaction to global terrorism. However, the current definition of Atheism is terribly inaccurate. It cannot be stated properly that pagan Atheism is the same as New Atheism. By interpreting the Atheisms from four stages in the term‟s history a clearer picture of its meaning will come out, hopefully alleviating the stereotypical biases weighed upon it. In the interpretation of the Atheisms from Pagan Antiquity, the Enlightenment, the New Atheist Movement, and the American Judicial and Civil Religious system, a defense of the theory of elastic contextual interpretations, rather than concrete definitions, shall be made. Rejecting the Definitive: A Contextual Examination of Three Historical Stages of Atheism and the Legality of an American Freedom from Religion by Ethan Gjerset Quillen, B.A., M.A. A Thesis Approved by the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies ___________________________________ Robyn L. Driskell, Ph.D., Interim Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee ___________________________________ T. -
Pandeism - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Pandeism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandeism Pandeism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pandeism or Pan-Deism (from Greek: πάν pan "all" and Part of a series on Latin: deus meaning "God" in the sense of deism), is a term describing religious beliefs incorporating or mixing logically God reconcilable elements of pantheism (that "God", or its metaphysical equivalent, is identical to the Universe) and General conceptions deism (that the creator-god who designed the Universe no Agnosticism · Apatheism · Atheism · Deism longer exists in a status where it can be reached, and can Henotheism · Monolatrism · Monotheism instead be confirmed only by reason). It is therefore most Panentheism · Pantheism · Transtheism particularly the belief that the Creator of the Universe actually became the Universe, and so ceased to exist as a [1][2] Specific conceptions separate and conscious entity. Creator · Architect · Demiurge · Devil Sustainer · Lord · Father · Monad It is through this incorporation pandeism claims to answer Oneness · Mother · Supreme Being · The All primary objections to deism (why would God create and Personal · Unitarianism · Ditheism · Trinity then not interact with the Universe?) and to pantheism (how in Abrahamic religions did the Universe originate and what is its purpose?). (Bahá'í Faith, Christianity, Islam, Judaism) in Ayyavazhi · in Buddhism · in Hinduism in Jainism · in Sikhism · in Zoroastrianism Contents Attributes Eternalness · Existence · Gender 1 A pantheistic form of deism Names (God) -
Vision of Universal Identity in World Religions: from Life-Incoherent to Life- Grounded Spirituality – John Mcmurtry
PHILOSOPHY AND WORLD PROBLEMS – Vision of Universal Identity in World Religions: From Life-Incoherent to Life- Grounded Spirituality – John McMurtry VISIONS OF UNIVERSAL IDENTITY IN WORLD RELIGIONS: FROM LIFE-INCOHERENT TO LIFE-GROUNDED SPIRITUALITY John McMurtry University of Guelph,Guelph NIG 2W1, Canada Keywords: atman, breath, Buddhism, capitalist religion, civil commons, death, dream model, dualities, externalist fallacy, false religion, God, the Great Round, I- consciousness, idolatry, illusionism, integral yoga, invisible hand, incentives, Islam, Jesus, Krishna, Lao, life necessities/needs, life-coherence principle, prophets, sacrifice levels, self/self-group, social orders, spiritual ecology, structures of life blindness, suffering, Sufis, sustainability, Tantric, theo-capitalism, Vedas/Vedanta, war Contents 1. Understanding False Religion across History and Cultures 1.1 Spiritual Consciousness versus False Religion 1.2 Variations of Sacrificial Theme 1.3 The Unseen Contradictions 2. From Life Sacrifice for Selfish Gain to Offerings for Renewal of the Great Round 2.1. Sustainability of Life Systems versus Sustainability of Profit 3. The Animating Breath of Life: The Unseen Common Ground of the Spiritual Across Religions 4. Sacrificing Self to Enable Life across Divisions: The Ancient Spiritual Vision 5. What Is the I That Has a Body? Rational Explanation of the Infinite Consciousness Within 6. Counter-Argument: How Analytic Philosophy and Science Explain Away Inner Life 7. From the Soul of the Upanishads to the Ecology of Universal Life Identity 8. Reconnecting Heaven to Earth: The Inner-Outer Infinitude of Spiritual Comprehension 9. Re-Grounding Spirituality: From the Light-Fields to Universal Life Necessities 9.1. Why the Buddhist Reformation of Hinduism Still Does Not Solve the Problem 9.2. -
The Faith of the Unbeliever
The faith of the unbeliever From time to time we get the impression that our freewheeling Western world is being flooded by a new wave of apostasy. That impression is not quite correct. In reality, that apostasy has become a broad stream, moving unceasingly forward and widening constantly. Sometimes there is a turbulence of sorts in this stream, when the conflict between the Christian faith and unbelief suddenly flares up. This is the case, for example, when it is suggested that the Christians' practice of discriminating against non-Christians, solely because they do not abide by the law of God, should be forbidden. Thus a church may not dismiss a functionary because he is a practicing homosexual, for example. This is also the case when Christians are accused of being undemocratic because they ascribe authority to the Bible. In such cases the mass media can be invoked to stage a sharp confrontation, and the amusement industry is usually ready and willing to be mobilized in an effort to ridicule those foolish Christ-believers. Hatred of the Christian faith is not uncommon in our present society. Appreciation But, you may protest, it is not really that bad, is it? So what if there are some misplaced jokes, if there is a complete misunderstanding of what we are all about. Isn't there also appreciation? Appreciation of faithfulness, reliability, hard work... What, essentially, is the faith of the unbeliever? Unbelievers are people who believe that they can get by well, if not better, without the assumption that what believers call "their God" really exists. -
'Neuer Atheismus'
THOMAS ZENK ‘Neuer Atheismus’ ‘New Atheism’ in Germany* Introduction Matthias Knutzen (born 1646 – died after 1674) was some of the characteristics and remarkable traits of the first author we know of who self-identified as an the German discourse on the ‘New Atheism’. Here atheist (Schröder 2010: 8). Before this, the term had we can distinguish between two phases. The Ger solely been used pejoratively to label others. While man media initially characterised ‘New Atheism’ as a Knutzen is almost completely forgotten now, authors rather peculiarly American phenomenon. However, such as Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Friedrich it soon came to be understood to be a part of German Nietzsche , or Sigmund Freud are better remembered culture as well. and might even be considered classic writers in the history of the atheist criticism of religion. Whatever may be said about the influence of any one of these The making of a German ‘New Atheism’ authors, there is no doubt that Germany looks back The terms ‘New Atheism’ and ‘New Atheist’ were on a notable history in this field. About a decade ago, originally coined in November 2006 by Gary Wolf, Germany’s capital Berlin was even dubbed ‘the world an American journalist and contributing editor at the capital of atheism’ by the American sociologist Peter lifestyle and technology magazine Wired, in the art L. Berger (2001: 195).1 icle ‘The Church of the NonBelievers’ (Wolf 2006a).3 Given this situation, I am bewildered by the ex Interestingly, only two weeks later, the term ‘New pression ‘New Atheism’.2 Yet, undoubtedly, the term Atheist’ appeared in the German media for the first has become a catchphrase that is commonly used in time.4 In a newspaper article in Die Tageszeitung dat the public discourse of several countries. -
I. Definition of Atheism
1. THE MEANING OF ATHEISM i. Definition of Atheism The word ‘atheism’ is derived from the Greek: a meaning ‘not’ is conjoined with theos meaning ‘god’. So we may define atheism as follows: it is the belief that there is no God. Unfortunately definition of terms is rarely this straightforward and here too we find different shades of meaning. For example, there is: Constructive atheism Epistemological atheism Practical atheism Nihilistic atheism Axiological Atheism Reductionary Atheism and many others besides. We shall encounter some of these forms of atheism as we proceed Negative and through this book. I wish, however, to keep matters simple. So let us divide positive atheism atheism into two types: there is negative atheism and there is positive atheism. A negative atheist (sometimes also called a weak or implicit atheist) is somebody whoSAMPLE is simply devoid of any religious belief. When speaking of God to such a person, he or she has no idea what you are talking about, nothing comes to mind, and one is greeted with a blank stare. On these grounds, the writer George H. Smith, in his book Atheism: The Case Against God (1979), argues that young children, because they are ignorant of religion, must be classified as atheists.1 More usually, however, the term ‘atheist’ is applied to adults, to those who have never shown the slightest interest in the question of whether or not God exists, either through lack of education or more often through total indifference. Positive atheists, on the other hand, are not like this. These are people (sometimes also called strong or explicit atheists) who know something of religion and who for a variety of reasons reject its central claim that a god exists. -
The Origins of Religious Disbelief
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier’s archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Review The origins of religious disbelief 1 2 Ara Norenzayan and Will M. Gervais 1 Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada 2 Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 201 Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506, USA Although most people are religious, there are hundreds could current evolutionary and cognitive explanations of of millions of religious disbelievers in the world. What is religion accommodate and explain religious disbelief? Our religious disbelief and how does it arise? Recent devel- theoretical synthesis builds on current advances and high- opments in the scientific study of religious beliefs and lights several distinct but often converging mechanisms behaviors point to the conclusion that religious disbelief that promote religious disbelief. We argue that disbelief arises from multiple interacting pathways, traceable to arises from a combination of cognitive, motivational, and cognitive, motivational, and cultural learning mecha- cultural learning processes traceable to both the genetic nisms. -
Luke the Historian: the Gospel of Luke
TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication i The New American Standard Bible Update ii A Word From the Author: How Can This Commentary Help You? iii Guide to Good Bible Reading: A Personal Search for Verifiable Truth v Commentary Introduction to Luke......................................................... 1 Luke 1 ................................................................... 7 Luke 2 .................................................................. 32 Luke 3 .................................................................. 49 Luke 4 .................................................................. 60 Luke 5 .................................................................. 76 Luke 6 .................................................................. 87 Luke 7 ................................................................. 104 Luke 8 ................................................................. 113 Luke 9 ................................................................. 128 Luke 10 ................................................................ 144 Luke 11 ................................................................ 156 Luke 12 ................................................................ 171 Luke 13 ................................................................ 186 Luke 14 ................................................................ 194 Luke 15 ................................................................ 200 Luke 16 ................................................................ 208 Luke 17 ............................................................... -
Diversity Calendar
The University’s Calendar has been developed to celebrate the diverse nature of its community, promoting respect and understanding between different groups. “Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day.” Author Unknown By understanding and embracing difference we can help to create an environment based on the principles of dignity, fairness, equality and respect. INTRODUCTION The University’s award winning diversity calendar is a practical we do not recognise that there are many more faiths equally resource that includes details of all the main religious festivals as important. We also recognise that a large proportion of our and major national and international days of celebration or University community may have no religion or belief. memorial. It can help us to ensure that meetings and events are not planned when key sections of the workforce, student We are continually trying to improve the information we provide, population or customer base may not be able to participate. therefore if you have any constructive feedback or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We have focused on the six major world faiths currently represented within our community - Buddhism, Christianity, Thank you. Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. This does not mean NOMINATED CHARITY: GREATER MANCHESTER IMMIGRATION AID UNIT This year we asked people to nominate a charity for our Diversity Calendar. From all the entries chosen we have selected the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit. This is a voluntary organisation committed to challenging inequality and promoting the rights of refugees, migrants and other minority communities within the region. -
World Religions.Pdf
DedicatedTeacher.com < eBooks and Materials for Teachers and Parents > Thank you for purchasing the following book - another quality product from DedicatedTeacher.com To purchase additional books and materials, please visit our website at: http://www.dedicatedteacher.com/estore Please e-mail us at: [email protected] for further information about: • Using School or School District Purchase Orders • Purchasing Site Licenses for Materials • Customer Service To subscribe to our monthly newsletter - The DedicatedTeacher.com eNews - please visit: http://www.dedicatedteacher.com/newsletter Contributing Author Rabbi David J.B. Krishef Interdisciplinary Thematic Unit Editor Dona Herweck Rice Editor-in-Chief World Religions Sharon Coan, M.S. Ed. Grades 6-8 Illustrator Agnes S. Palinay Cover Artist Keith Vasconcelles Art Director Elayne Roberts Product Manager Phil Garcia Imaging Alfred Lau James Edward Grace Publisher Author Mary D. Smith, M.S. Ed. Gabriel Arquilevich Teacher Created Resources, Inc. 6421 Industry Way Westminster, CA 92683 www.teachercreated.com ISBN 13: 978-1-55734-624-7 ©1995 Teacher Created Resources, Inc. Reprinted, 2007 Made in U.S.A. The classroom teacher may reproduce copies of materials in this book for classroom use only. The reproduction of any part for an entire school or school system is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be transmitted, stored, or recorded in any form without written permission from the publisher. Table of Contents Introduction................................................................................................................................................4 -
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.