Category Archives: Atheism

Editor: I cannot sit idly by while a belief system gets completely misrepresented in The Times opinion section. The response from James Paulgaard (The Times, Feb. 17) brings into the debate a completely debunked point of atheistic governments committing atrocities, when those governments are wedded to no religion.

I must clarify this point, although it digresses from Robert Rocks original letter (The Times, Feb. 12). Atheism is simply a lack of belief.

Totalitarian regimes like the USSR and Cambodia of the 20th century simply replaced religion with leader worship. They still included faith in the dear leader and an unquestioning attitude towards their governments. A little critical thinking and a good look at their policies and practices clears this right up.

Until a society or country decides to raise their young for generations with an enlightenment attitude among the works of great thinkers like Spinoza, Einstein, Thomas Paine, Bertrand Russell, Phillip Larkin, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens, just to name a few, you cannot even know how a true atheistic society would be put into practice.

When you have rational thought and reasonable thinking combined with literature, science, philosophy and critical thinking put into place, you might have a good start. Even then, atheism is simply a lack of belief. Stalin and Hitler both had moustaches, but this doesnt mean than moustaches caused the genocide of millions of innocents.

This gets away from the debate of what right and influence does a private university have over its students sexual preferences and conduct? I for one am in favour of human rights for all. That being said, I dont believe a private university should be forced to hold views contrary to their belief doctrine.

While I am conflicted, in the end I do believe in basic human rights trumping discrimination. I respect a persons right to believe in whatever religion they happen to practise, just so long as it doesnt hurt others.

I would expect the same courtesies for those who lack belief, but I will not stand silent while certain people conflate and misrepresent a position I am proud to hold.

Zak Graham,

Langley

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Atheism is simply a lack of belief

Chapel H Shooting Atheism to blame? Sam Harris GlennGreenwald
Podcast/Page: Sam Harris http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-chapel-hill-murders-and-militant-atheism.

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Chapel H Shooting Atheism to blame? Sam Harris & GlennGreenwald - Video

Not content with the Communist Partys Marxist atheism, many officials in the Chinese regime seek out the friendship and services of Buddhist monks and Daoist mystics to help them through their tumultuous careers. The officials are in it for advice, good fortune, and even clemency for misdeeds.

While monks and Daoist cultivators of antiquity may have kept away from the chaos of the secular world, their modern counterparts, branded by official Communist ideology as superstitious, have turned the position into a profitable line of work.

According to the Hong Kong-based Phoenix magazine, Yang Weize, the ousted municipal Communist Party secretary in eastern Chinas city of Nanjing, maintained a close relationship with Buddhist abbot Shi Chuanzhen. Following Yangs downfall at the hands of the regimes disciplinary agency, Phoenix released a number of photos showing the party boss and Buddhist monk together.

Shi told the Southern Weekly, a Chinese newspaper, that officials would come to him for consultation about their troubled careers or lives, or seek advice for the auspicious scheduling of events such as weddings.

Other communist officials donated large sums of money to Xuanzang Temple, which Shi Chuanzhen heads, hoping to gain clemency for committing sinful deeds.

In Shis reception room at the Xuanzang Temple, photographs showing the abbot with local and central high-ranking Communist Party officials were hung up all over the walls, according to the Southern Weekly report. Yang Weize had also visited the temple.

Other officials who had made friends with Shi were also sacked, including former Nanjing Mayor Ji Jiangye and Feng Yajun, a member of a municipal committee.

Shi Chuanzhen is not just an abbot. He also serves as the deupty president of the regime-approved Nanjing Buddhist Association and is a member of the citys Political Consultative Conference.

Some famous Chinese monks have become key networkers among high officials, according to overseas Chinese language online media Duowei on Feb. 18. Many officials seek those famous monks to make connections with other high officials, seeking opportunities of promotion and wealth, the report said.

Qigong master Wang Lin, known for his magic power of producing snakes from empty washbasins, has been active in business and entertainment circles, according to mainland Chinese media.

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Chinese Communist Officials Turn to Monks for Advice

Scripture Discussion EP.1 Addressing Atheism
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Understanding Atheism | Session 4 | Asadullah Ali
A two day lecture presented by Asadullah Ali al-Andalusi on the subject of Understanding Atheism. Session 1: Introduction to Atheism Session 2: The Rise an...

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Christianity vs. Atheism - Dinesh D`Souza vs. Dan Bark
Eli Jafe conducts the JSO, Alex Ansky narrates with Baritone Colin Schachat, Tenor Avreimi Kirschenboim, the Zimrati`a and the Main Jerusalem Synagogue choir... Satan`s Counterfeit Christianit...

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Marketing Atheism
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Marketing Atheism - Video

From New World Encyclopedia

Atheism (from Greek: a + theos + ismos "not believing in god") refers in its broadest sense to a denial of theism (the belief in the existence of a single deity or deities). Atheism has many shades and types. Some atheists strongly deny the existence of God (or any form of deity) and attack theistic claims. Yet certainty as to the non-existence of God is as much a belief as is religion and rests on equally unprovable claims. Just as religious believers range from the ecumenical to the narrow-minded, atheists range from those for whom it is a matter of personal philosophy to those who are militantly hostile to religion.

Did you know?

"Positive" or "strong" atheism is the assertion that no deities exist while "negative" or "weak" atheism is simply the absence of belief in the existence of any deity

Atheism often buttresses its case on science, yet many modern scientists, far from being atheists, have argued that science is not incompatible with theism.

Some traditional religious belief systems are said to be "atheist" or "non-theist," but this can be misleading. While Jainism technically can be described as philosophically materialist (and even this is subtle vis--vis the divine), the claim about Buddhism being atheistic is more difficult to make. Metaphysical questions put to the Buddha about whether or not God exists received from him one of his famous "silences." It is inaccurate to deduce from this that the Buddha denied the existence of God. His silence had far more to do with the distracting nature of speculation and dogma than it had to do with the existence or non-existence of God.

Many people living in the West have the impression that atheism is on the rise around the world, and that the belief in God is being replaced with a more secular-oriented worldview. However, this view is not confirmed. Studies have consistently shown that contrary to popular assumptions, religious membership is actually increasing globally.

Atheism is a belief that is held for a variety of reasons.

Some atheists base their stance on philosophical grounds, arguing that their position is based on logical rejection of theistic claims. Indeed, many atheists claim that their view is merely the absence of a certain belief, suggesting that the burden of proving God's existence is upon theists. In this line of thought, it follows that if theism's arguments can be refuted, non-theism becomes the default position. Many atheists have argued for centuries against the most popular "proofs" of God's existence, noting problems in the theist lines of reasoning. Atheists who attack specific forms of theism often claim it as being self-contradictory. One of the most common arguments against the existence of the Christian God is the problem of evil, which Christian apologist William Lane Craig has referred to as "atheism's killer argument." This line of reasoning claims that the presence of evil in the world is logically inconsistent with the existence of an omnipotent and benevolent God. Instead, atheists claim it is more coherent to conclude that God does not exist than to believe that He/She does exist but readily allows the promulgation of evil.

A form of atheism known as "ignosticism," asserts that the question of whether or not deities exist is inherently meaningless. It is a popular view among many logical positivists such as Rudolf Carnap and A. J. Ayer, who claim that talk of gods is literally nonsensical. For them, theological statements (such as those affirming god's existence) cannot have any truth value, since they lack falsifiability. This refers to the fact that claims of transcendence and of metaphysical properties cannot be tested by empirical means and must therefore be rejected as null hypotheses. In Language, Truth and Logic, Ayer stated that theism, atheism and agnosticism were equally meaningless terms, insofar as they treat the question of the existence of God as a real question. However, despite Ayer's criticism of atheism as a concept (perhaps using the definition typically associated with strong atheism), ignosticism is still considered as a form of atheism in most classifications of religious thought.

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Understanding Atheism | Session 6 | Asadullah Ali
A two day lecture presented by Asadullah Ali al-Andalusi on the subject of "Understanding Atheism". Session 1: Introduction to Atheism Session 2: The Rise an...

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Understanding Atheism | Session 6 | Asadullah Ali - Video

Atheism is the Opiate of the few
Atheism is the best answer to the god question, however people use it as an answer to all of the problems that exist in the world today when it is really just a symptom of a much bigger problem....

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Atheism is the Opiate of the few - Video