"Atheists ought to stand for inquiry and doubt. They ought to stand for logic and sound empirical method as the only things capable of sorting true facts from false, to every reasonable person's satisfaction. They ought to stand for the humility to admit ignorance, and the wisdom to not assume too much, as well as the consequent political reality that finding common ground and negotiating differences is far wiser, and better for all, than maintaining adamant opposition on matters that do not even warrant an adamant opinion in the first place. The atheist ought to stand for using faith as justification for inquiry rather than belief. And the atheist ought to stand for happiness, and the understanding and accomplishment that are needed to achieve it. Above all, the atheist ought to stand for being a hero to himself and his fellow humans, rather than a villain. I believe that when the reasons for these values are truly understood, any man would hold to them and keep them, even if god himself appeared and ended all dispute as to his existence. Indeed, I believe an atheist ought to live her life so she can say with all sincerity, "even if God's existence were proven, I would change only my understanding of the facts, and not the values by which I guide my conduct and thought."
Richard Carrier
This quote is interesting. It says that athiests(many more are comfortable with calling themselves freethinkers) should not be afraid to stand up and say what they think. It is so politically incorrect to talk about religion in public. It might as well be the athiests.
Another great article I came across this week was from the Oxford University student newspaper entitled "Dawkins, Einstein and God."
Some excerpts from the article:
Einstein’s true thoughts on the supernatural: ‘The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.’
Einstein is often cited as a deist by a number of religious apologists looking for support from someone who knows what he’s talking about.
Those looking for a romantic, tantric love-in between religion and science are always reminding us that Einstein once said, ‘science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.’
Here's another insightful excerpt:
"As for Einstein and Hawking, the concept of Einsteinian religion is well understood. ‘God’ and ‘religion’ are certainly being used as metaphors to explain the deep mysteries of the universe and the enticing nature of science, not a supernatural creator.
In fairness, there are a number of very famous scientific icons who were deeply religious: Newton, Faraday and Kelvin for example. However, a 1998 Nature article by Larson and Witham showed that only 7% of members of the National Academy for Sciences believed in God.
Eminent modern day scientists who do believe in a personal God (such as Francis Collins, a leading figure in the human genome project) are anomalous and often the subject of bemusement. "
Very interesting....Hmmmm.
Richard Carrier
This quote is interesting. It says that athiests(many more are comfortable with calling themselves freethinkers) should not be afraid to stand up and say what they think. It is so politically incorrect to talk about religion in public. It might as well be the athiests.
Another great article I came across this week was from the Oxford University student newspaper entitled "Dawkins, Einstein and God."
Some excerpts from the article:
Einstein’s true thoughts on the supernatural: ‘The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.’
Einstein is often cited as a deist by a number of religious apologists looking for support from someone who knows what he’s talking about.
Those looking for a romantic, tantric love-in between religion and science are always reminding us that Einstein once said, ‘science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.’
Here's another insightful excerpt:
"As for Einstein and Hawking, the concept of Einsteinian religion is well understood. ‘God’ and ‘religion’ are certainly being used as metaphors to explain the deep mysteries of the universe and the enticing nature of science, not a supernatural creator.
In fairness, there are a number of very famous scientific icons who were deeply religious: Newton, Faraday and Kelvin for example. However, a 1998 Nature article by Larson and Witham showed that only 7% of members of the National Academy for Sciences believed in God.
Eminent modern day scientists who do believe in a personal God (such as Francis Collins, a leading figure in the human genome project) are anomalous and often the subject of bemusement. "
Very interesting....Hmmmm.
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