- As Tithing Declines, Atheists' Knowledge Grows
The Garden • September 29, 2010
As you've probably heard, the Pew Forum has released a study on American religious knowledge. And their top finding deserves to be heard far and wide: atheists and agnostics outscored every other religious group - even evangelicals!
On average, Americans correctly answer 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey by the Pew Research [...]
- The Connection Between Religion and Slavery
The Library • September 27, 2010
Last year, I wrote about whether Christianity deserves the credit for abolishing slavery. I have some additional evidence on that topic I'd like to mention.
I just finished reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the autobiography of the great American abolitionist. Born a slave in antebellum Maryland, Douglass taught himself to read at a [...]
- Another Response to the Theist's Guide
The Observatory • September 25, 2010
I've received another response to my essay "The Theist's Guide to Converting Atheists". This response, which can be viewed here, comes by way of an author calling himself Roq.
I am, at heart, a simple person, so it'll only take one thing for me to become an atheist.
When science can create a mass hallucination in a [...]
- Civil War Denialism: A Further Response to "The Jewish Prophecy of Exile"
The Library • September 24, 2010
I didn't notice until recently that Narabelad, the apologist for Judaism whose claims I addressed in "The Jewish Prophecy of Exile", has written a further reply to me. In this post, I'll address it briefly.
First, let me note that my correspondent has evidently conceded that his list of things that would make him an atheist [...]
- A Followup on the Pope Protest
The Rotunda • September 23, 2010
I've got a brief question for Julian Baggini, William Oddie, and everyone else - atheist or theist - who's bemoaned the lively protests of Pope Benedict's visit to the U.K.:
Do you believe the pope is not guilty of helping to protect child abusers (and if so, how do you respond to this evidence) - or [...]
- 2007Rapture.com: A Case Study in Failed Prophecy
The Loft • September 22, 2010
Since I've written recently about the rapidly approaching failure of Harold Camping's 2011 doomsday prediction, I thought it'd be amusing to take a look back at another prophetic misfire. Our case study is the website 2007Rapture.com, which for obvious reasons is now defunct - but the Internet Archive has snapshots that show how the author, [...]
- Protesting the Pope
The Rotunda • September 21, 2010
- The Language of God: Prelude to Cosmology
The Library • September 19, 2010
The Language of God, Chapter 3
By B.J. Marshall
Part 2 of this book, "The Great Questions of Human Existence," covers topics of cosmology, life on earth, and unpacking the human genome. Chapter 3 begins by tackling cosmology, but Collins throws in a little prelude - a little homage to science. We should keep in mind that [...]
- Naming Activist Fallacies
The Loft • September 17, 2010
Guest post by Scotlyn
[Editor's Note: Please welcome our newest guest author! Scotlyn is a long-time DA commenter who's been writing some really superb and well-thought comments lately. I thought it'd be interesting to extend the opportunity to write a guest post and see what else she has to say, and I wasn't disappointed.]
I am delighted [...]
- Switchers and Stickers
The Garden • September 15, 2010
The Chaplain over at An Apostate's Chapel posted about the latest poll by the Barna Group, which found that 1 in every 8 Americans is an ex-Christian. Meanwhile, about 3% of Americans were raised non-Christian but later converted. The Barna Group's press release described their finding in these terms: "The study underscores that the spiritual [...]
- Attention, Legal Scholars: Is This Constitutional?
The Rotunda • September 13, 2010
In my recent post on creeping fundamentalism in Israel, I included a picture but didn't explain why. I wanted to talk about it some more, because it seems to me that what it depicts is a possible constitutional violation, and I was hoping I could get opinions from people better versed in constitutional law than [...]
- The Language of God: Rusty Containers
The Library • September 12, 2010
The Language of God, Chapter 2
By B.J. Marshall
Chapter 2 reminds me of a Tim Minchin song, Storm, where one line goes "Keeps firing off clichés with startling precision / Like a sniper using bollocks for ammunition." The next theme Collins discusses in this chapter involves addressing all the harm done in the name of religion [...]
- Qur'an Burnings and Manhattan Mosques
The Rotunda • September 11, 2010
I haven't commented until now on this "Ground Zero mosque" - a ridiculous misnomer invented to inflame prejudice, since it's not at Ground Zero and it isn't a mosque - because, honestly, I don't think there's much that needs to be said. America still has the First Amendment, it still has freedom of religion, and [...]
- Book Review: The Naked Bible
The Library • September 10, 2010
(Editor's Note: This review was solicited and is written in accordance with this site's policy for such reviews.)
Summary: Entertainingly irreverent, but with a sharp point under the silliness - though I still haven't figured out why the Bible on the cover is wearing a bra.
It's always good to see fellow atheist bloggers breaking into the [...]
- Gender Desegregation Wednesdays
The Rotunda • September 9, 2010
By Sarah Braasch
In loving memory of my baby brother, Jacob Michael Braasch (01/28/86 – 02/02/10)
Kat and I were working on an English translation of a section of the French website for the women's rights organization, Ni Putes Ni Soumises (NPNS – Neither Whores Nor Submissives). We were struggling with the word mixité. We toyed with [...]
- Escaping Ultra-Orthodox Judaism
The Garden • September 7, 2010
I wrote in my previous post about the creeping spread of fundamentalism in Israel and how ultra-Orthodox Jews are constantly pressing for special privileges and greater political power, even though they're not willing to contribute to the upkeep of the state. The ultra-Orthodox are exempt from Israel's mandatory military service, and as many as two-thirds [...]
- Creeping Fundamentalism in Israel
The Rotunda • September 6, 2010
Israel, like America, is a modern secular democracy with a noisy religious minority that desires the creation of a theocracy. And as in America, religious fundamentalists in Israel exert political influence disproportionate to their numbers. But Israel's fundamentalist minority, the ultra-Orthodox or haredi Jews, have had some worrying successes lately in imposing their vision on [...]
- The Language of God: Joy and Wishful Thinking
The Library • September 5, 2010
The Language of God, Chapter 2
By B.J. Marshall
Collins continues on his theme of the universal search for the divine with an argument from emotions. He cites his beloved C.S. Lewis, who describes this in his book Surprised by Joy. Lewis relates how this search, this intense longing, is triggered by moments of joy, which he [...]
- Rebutting Reasonable Faith: The Atheists Are Multiplying!
The Library • September 3, 2010
Since I've been busy the past year and a half answering Lee Strobel's Case for a Creator, I haven't written any posts responding to William Lane Craig's "Reasonable Faith" columns. But I'm done with Strobel's book now - and Craig has avoided my fire for far too long!
Today I'll address question #170, in which Craig [...]
- Upholding Religious Freedom by Criticizing Religion
The Garden • September 1, 2010
Since this is becoming Accommodationism Week on Daylight Atheism, let me turn to the latest piece hushing atheists, written by Quinn O'Neill on 3 Quarks Daily. It plays a familiar tune, so I'll strike a few well-chosen notes of discord.
Suppose you could choose either to maximize human rationality or to maximize human happiness. For most [...]
