How to be an Atheist Apologist

The Secular Outpost: Sarcasm: How to be an Atheist Apologist

Hitchens, Falwell and Death

     What would Christopher Hitchens want others to say about him in his death? Would he want others to romanticize his life? Would he want his enemies and adversaries to say disingenuously kind things about him? Would you expect Hitchens, on his deathbed, to issue a worldwide apology for offending those with religious beliefs?

      As we remember Christopher Hitchens today, I can’t help but recall the performance he gave on the Hannity and Colmes Show back in May, 2007 upon Jerry Falwell’s death. Hitchens was unrepentant for his lack of sympathy for Falwell and when challenged that his harsh comments may actually cause harm and pain to Falwell’s grieving family, Hitchens buckled down even more and said, “He established a business, a racket in my opinion. He was a religious entrepreneur…He left the business to his children. It’s a hereditary job. Let that console them.”

      Hitchens told Hannity: “You invite me here to give my opinion of the departed, I give it to you, and then you say,‘Well, might that not upset his family?’ I said it while he was alive. Why might that not have upset his family, too?”

      For those of us that admired Hitchens we can take comfort in the fact that Hitchens immortality is found in the writings and commentaries he left behind. For those that despised Hitchens and his views I think it is safe to say that you do him no honor to sugar-coat what you believe to be true about him now. If he did not make a confession of faith in Jesus, you believe that Hitchens left this world of pain and suffering and entered and even more ferocious and eternal one. There’s no need to gloss over your belief. I don’t think Hitchens would have wanted it any other way.

50 Renowned Academics Speak About God

Steven Maitzen's Lecture Where He Argues That Morality is Impossible With God.

For hundreds of years morality and theism have gone hand in hand. In this lecture, Stephen Maitzen flips this commonly understood proposition on its head.  You can listen to his lecture here.

You can also read his paper "Ordinary Morality Implies Atheism" here.

Top Ten Signs You’re a Fundamentalist Christian

The following list is from Evil Bible.com.  I was also recently posted at Debunking Christianity.

10 – You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 – You feel insulted and “dehumanized” when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 – You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 – Your face turns purple when you hear of the “atrocities” attributed to Allah, but you don’t even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in “Exodus” and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in “Joshua” including women, children and trees!

6 – You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god that got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 – You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of the Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 – You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs – though excluding those in all rival sects – will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most “tolerant” and “loving.”

3 – While modern science, history, geology, biology and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in “tongues” may be all the evidence you need to “prove” Christianity.

2 – You define 0.01% as a “high success rate” when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 – You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity and church history – but still call yourself a Christian.

Check One Off for the Apologists!

According to the Debunking Christianity website, one of their own has converted back to Christianity.  Read about it here and see what you think.

Why Don't We Change our Mind More Often?

Here's a great quote that I came across today on Lesswrong.com from Robin Hanson (By the way, he's an econonmist so as an economics major I just want to say that I have an automatic bias in his favor!).

"Most abstract beliefs most people have make pretty much no difference to their actions. They hold those beliefs not to advise action but to help them think and talk about interesting topics, so they can win friends (and mates and employers) and influence people. For these purposes, changing their minds may well not usually be a good deal."

You can see the article he was responding to here:

http://lesswrong.com/lw/gq/the_proper_use_of_humility/