Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Austin Dacey

2011-11-02T13:28:45Z

Gonorrhea:

<nowiki>'''Austin Dacey''' is a philosopher and author who writes on the "intersection of science, religion, and ethics".[http://www.austindacey.com/about.html] In addition, he is a representative to the [[United Nations]] for the Center for Inquiry. In 2002, he obtained his doctorate in philosophy.[http://www.austindacey.com/about.html]

== See also ==

*[[Atheism 3.0]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.austindacey.com/ Austin Dacey]

[[Category: Atheism]]</nowiki>

Atomism

2011-11-02T13:28:22Z

Gonorrhea:

<nowiki>The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy declares concerning '''atomism''':
{{cquote|This atomist natural philosophy eschewed teleological explanation and denied divine intervention or design, regarding every composite of atoms as produced purely by material interactions of bodies, and accounting for the perceived properties of macroscopic bodies as produced by these same atomic interactions. Atomists formulated views on ethics, theology, political philosophy and epistemology consistent with this physical system. This powerful and consistent materialism, somewhat modified from its original form by Epicurus, persisted as the chief competitor to the teleological natural philosophies of the Peripatetics, Stoics and Platonists.<ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atomism-ancient/</ref>}}
== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category: Atheism]]</nowiki>

Atheist vs Secular

2011-11-02T13:27:29Z

Gonorrhea:

<nowiki>The words '''atheist''' and '''secular''' can be easy to confuse, but they have subtly different meanings. An atheist is one who does not believe in a god, and therefore an atheist institution (for example) is one that openly holds the position that there is no god. [[Richard Dawkins]] is an atheist, and the "Out Campaign" is an atheist institution.

Someone who is secular, by contrast, does not display any belief or religion, regardless of their actual views. A secular institution is one that does not allow religion of any form. The French and American public school systems are secular.

Atheism is protected by the [[First Amendment]] as freedom of expression. However, secularism prevents freedom of expression, and can therefore be said to be contrary to the First Amendment.

Note that many but not all secularists are atheists, and vice versa.

==Examples==
*School prayer: If someone chooses not to participate in [[school prayer]], they might be an atheist. If someone outlaws school prayer for all, they are secular.
*A librarian who does not read the [[Bible]] may be an atheist. A librarian who refuses to stock a copy of the Bible is likely secular.
*One who disagrees with Christian thought on the internet is an atheist. One who attempts to suppress it is secular.
== See also ==
*[[Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian]]
[[Category:Atheism]]
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]</nowiki>

Atheism and charity

2011-11-02T13:26:37Z

Gonorrhea:

<nowiki>[[Image:228130875 35181424e3.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Per capita]] [[atheism|atheists]] and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] in America give significantly less to charity than [[theism|theists]] even when church giving is not counted for theists.]]
Concerning the issue of '''atheism and charity''', charitable giving by [[atheism|atheists]] and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] in America is significantly less than by theists, according to a study by the [[Barna Group]]:
{{cquote|The typical no-faith American donated just $200 in 2006, which is more than seven times less than the amount contributed by the prototypical active-faith adult ($1500). Even when church-based giving is subtracted from the equation, active-faith adults donated twice as many dollars last year as did atheists and agnostics. In fact, while just 7% of active-faith adults failed to contribute any personal funds in 2006, that compares with 22% among the no-faith adults.<ref>[http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians Atheists and Agnostics Take Aim at Christians] ''The Barna Update'', 2007.</ref>}}

A comprehensive study by [[Harvard University]] professor Robert Putnam found that religious people are more charitable than their irreligious counterparts.<ref>[http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/Religious-people-make-better-citizens-study-says.aspx Religious people make better citizens, study says] by Pew Research Forum, May 13, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-15-column15_ST_N.htm Religious people are 'better neighbors'] by ''USA Today'', 11/14/2010</ref> The study revealed that forty percent of worship service attending Americans volunteer regularly to help the poor and elderly as opposed to 15% of Americans who never attend services.<ref>[http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/Religious-people-make-better-citizens-study-says.aspx Religious people make better citizens, study says] by Pew Research Forum, May 13, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-15-column15_ST_N.htm Religious people are 'better neighbors'] by ''USA Today'', 11/14/2010</ref> Moreover, religious individuals are more likely than non-religious individuals to volunteer for school and youth programs (36% vs. 15%), a neighborhood or civic group (26% vs. 13%), and for health care (21% vs. 13%).<ref>[http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/Religious-people-make-better-citizens-study-says.aspx Religious people make better citizens, study says] by Pew Research Forum, May 13, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-15-column15_ST_N.htm Religious people are 'better neighbors'] by ''USA Today'', 11/14/2010</ref>

Arthur C. Brooks wrote in ''Policy Review'' regarding data collected in the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey (SCCBS) (data collected by in 2000 by researchers at universities throughout the United States and the [[Roper Center for Public Opinion Research]]):
{{cquote|The differences in charity between secular and religious people are dramatic. Religious people are 25 percentage points more likely than secularists to donate money (91 percent to 66 percent) and 23 points more likely to volunteer time (67 percent to 44 percent). And, consistent with the findings of other writers, these data show that practicing a religion is more important than the actual religion itself in predicting charitable behavior. For example, among those who attend worship services regularly, 92 percent of Protestants give charitably, compared with 91 percent of Catholics, 91 percent of Jews, and 89 percent from other religions.<ref>Brooks, Arthur C., [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_200310/ai_n9340592/Religious faith and charitable giving] ''Policy Review'', Oct-Dec 2003, p.2.</ref>}}

ABC News reported the following:
{{cquote|...the single biggest predictor of whether someone will be charitable is their religious participation.

Religious people are more likely to give to charity, and when they give, they give more money: four times as much. And Arthur Brooks told me that giving goes beyond their own religious organization:

"Actually, the truth is that they're giving to more than their churches," he says. "The religious Americans are more likely to give to every kind of cause and charity, including explicitly non-religious charities."<ref>Stossel, John and Kendall, Kristina [http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=2682730&page=2 Who Gives and Who Doesn't?] ABC News, November 28, 2006</ref>}}

Given that atheistic [[evolution|evolutionary]] thinking has engendered [[social darwinism]] and given that [[Atheism and morality|the proponents of atheism have no rational basis for morality in their ideology]], the immoral views that atheists often hold and the low per capita giving of American atheists is not unpredictable.

== Atheism, uncharitableness and suicide ==

''See also:'' [[Atheism and depression]] and [[Atheism and suicide]]

A number of studies have confirmed that there is an inverse relationship to doing volunteer work and depression.<ref>http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-of-happiness/caring/caring-and-happiness-reviews/</ref> The [[Atheist Population|atheist population]] has a higher suicide rate than the general population. (see: [[Atheism and suicide]]).

==See Also==
*[[Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian]]
*[[Atheism and Mass Murder]]
*[[Atheism and Morality]]
*[[Atheism and sadism]]
*[[Abortion and atheism]]
*[[Atheism and deception]]
*[[Atheism and satanic deception]]
*[[Atheism, pederasty and NAMBLA]]
*[[Theory of Evolution, Liberalism, Atheism, and Irrationality]]
*[[Liberals and uncharitableness]]
*[[Barack Obama and uncharitableness]]
*[[Liberal politicians and uncharitableness]]
*[[Social Darwinism]]
*[[Atheism]]
*[[Morality]]

==External links ==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imuaiRO5mSQ&feature=sub Christians Give more to Charity than Atheists] ([[YouTube]] video featuring an audio clip of Dr. [[William Lane Craig]])

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Atheism]]
[[Category:Morality]]
[[Category:Charity]]</nowiki>

American Atheists

2011-11-02T13:25:18Z

Gonorrhea:

<nowiki>[[File:American Atheists.jpg|alt=American Atheists|thumbnail|275px|right|Nate Phelps spoke at the 2009 American Atheists convention.<ref>http://lifewithoutfaith.com/?p=183</ref>
 
 
(photo obtained from [http://www.flickr.com/photos/martystone/3435459032 Flickr], see [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en license agreement]) ]]
'''American Atheists''' is an American [[atheism|atheist]] group founded in 1963 by [[Madalyn Murray O'Hair]]. [[David Silverman]] currently serves as the President of the American Atheists organization. Members of the group have been noted for performing poorly in debates against Christians (see section on debates below). Though officially supporting the "civil liberties of Atheists" and the "total, absolute separation of government and religion,"<ref>http://www.atheists.org/about</ref> material found on their website suggests that they are hostile to religion and may be more anti-religion than pro-atheist (see 'Excerpts' section below).

== Excerpts from the American Atheists' Website ==

''For more information please see'': [[American Atheists - Excerpts from their website]]

In order to remain objective, this section of the article contains only direct quotes cited and taken from www.atheists.org. The following quotes may serve to display the general beliefs of the organization.

*“One might naturally suppose that low intelligence is the main cause of religiosity. After all, thinking is so much harder than believing - hence the great preponderance of believers over thinkers in all ages and cultures. But what can one say when members of that small coterie we identify as thinkers are also believers? Low intelligence is not necessarily the problem.”<ref>http://www.atheists.org/Why_is_Religiosity_so_Hard_to_Cure</ref>

*“The moment of silence idea is a method to inject forced prayer into the classroom.”<ref>http://www.atheists.org/youth_%26_family/questions_and_answers</ref>

*“It’s not the Christmas season, it’s the solstice season. And that’s why it’s not a war on Christmas. It’s a war on the solstice, and the Christians started it.”<ref>http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x529734</ref> ''Note, this is not not a quote from the website, it is a direct quote by David Silverman, President of American Atheists.''

*"...The rebellious churches don't want to hand over their share of the taxes. They just want to intrude even further into our political process."<ref>http://www.atheists.org/Keep_Politics_Out_Of_The_Pulpit_or_Lose_Tax-Exempt_Status:_Opinion_</ref> ''From an opinion article on the "politics in the pulpit" issue.''

==American Atheists organization's Performance in Debates against Christians==

===Madalyn Murray O'Hair debate with Dr. Walter Martin===
[[File:Frank Zindler.jpg|thumbnail|220px|right|The website [[TrueOrigin]] wrote concerning the [[William Lane Craig]] vs. [[Frank Zindler]] debate: "Dr. [[William Lane Craig]], tore his ignorant arguments to shreds so effectively that many atheists in the audience realised that Zindler had lost the debate. It was presumably to this debate that John Snowden was alluding when he wrote that a representative of the American Atheists, whom he used to support, lost a public debate to a “fundamentalist” (Skeptic 18(3), 1998)." <ref>http://www.trueorigin.org/noaig.asp</ref>
 
 
(photo obtained from [http://www.flickr.com/photos/martystone/3435210822/ Flickr], see [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en license agreement]) ]]
Madalyn Murray O'Hair did particularly badly in her debate with Dr. [[Walter Martin]].<ref>
http://defendingcontending.com/2009/01/01/debate-walter-martin-vs-madalyn-murray-ohair/</ref> For example, when she claimed [[Atheism and the Bible|there were supposedly were contradictions in the Bible]], Dr. Martin asked her to provide an example of one and Ms. O'Hair did not and could not offer even an alleged example of a Bible contradiction.<ref>
http://defendingcontending.com/2009/01/01/debate-walter-martin-vs-madalyn-murray-ohair/</ref> In addition, Ms. O'Hair was ill prepared in terms of defending against the issue of [[Atheism and mass murder|atheism and mass murder]].<ref>
http://defendingcontending.com/2009/01/01/debate-walter-martin-vs-madalyn-murray-ohair/</ref>

===Frank Zindler Versus Dr. William Craig Debate===

''see also:'' [[Frank Zindler vs. William Lane Craig debate]]

[[Frank Zindler]] is currently the editor of American Atheist Magazine and Director of American Atheist Press. In addition, Frank Zindler serves on the board of directors for the atheist organization American Atheists plus served as an interim president of the organization.<ref>http://www.atheists.org/about/Board_of_Directors</ref>

The website [[TrueOrigin]] declares concerning the debate between atheist [[Frank Zindler]] and Christian philosopher Dr. [[William Lane Craig]]:
{{cquote|

A leading light in the American Atheists. Isn’t it amazing how so many atheists love [[Theory of evolution|evolution]] and appear to be threatened by the massive scientific evidence for [[Creation Science|creation]]? Zindler took the atheism side in an Atheism v. Christianity debate in front of 7,500 people at Willow Creek Community Church, USA. His opponent, Dr William Lane Craig, tore his ignorant arguments to shreds so effectively that many atheists in the audience realised that Zindler had lost the debate. It was presumably to this debate that John Snowden was alluding when he wrote that a representative of the American Atheists, whom he used to support, lost a public debate to a “fundamentalist” (Skeptic 18(3), 1998).<ref>http://www.trueorigin.org/noaig.asp</ref>}}

== American Atheists and their challenges in terms of overweight leadership personnel ==

''See also:'' [[Atheism and obesity]] and [[American Atheists and their challenges in terms of overweight leadership personnel]]

[[Madalyn Murray O'Hair]], the founder of the American Atheists organization, was overweight.<ref>http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/229583104/</ref> One of the last pictures taken of Madalyn Murray O'Hair features O'Hair standing before a cake as can be seen [http://www.dallasobserver.com/content/printVersion/276262/ HERE]. As of December 28, 2010 the pictures of some of the members of their board of directors showed members who were facing challenges in terms of their body weight. <ref>http://www.atheists.org/about/Board_of_Directors</ref> The pictures of the American Atheists board of directors can be found [http://www.atheists.org/about/Board_of_Directors HERE].

Members of the American Atheists board of directors who are overweight as of December 28, 2010 include: [[Richard Andrews]], [[Monty Gaither]], [[Blair Scott]] and [[Ann Zindler]].<ref>http://www.atheists.org/about/Board_of_Directors</ref>

== Controversial Billboard ==

The American Atheists organization sponsored an aggressive and controversial billboard and an interview with [[Fox News]] occurred as a result of the billboard [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XEgkViLbTk VIDEO]. The president of American Atheists [[David Silverman]] has a degree in [[marketing]]. But despite his degree in marketing, according to fellow [[atheist]] and [[evolution|evolutionist]] [[PZ Myers]], Silverman was stuck defending a "badly designed, ugly" sign.<ref>http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/01/that_controversial_oreilly_int.php</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Freedom From Religion Foundation]]
*[[Christian apologetics|Evidence for Christianity]]
*[[Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian]]
*[[Essay: This year's best atheist debaters]] - [[satire]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.atheists.org/ American Atheists]
*[http://blog.al.com/living-times/2010/12/you_know_american_atheists_nat.html American Atheists' National Billboard Campaign comes to Huntsville]
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/atheists-conduct-de-baptisms/story?id=11109379 Atheists Break Out New Ritual Tool: The Blow-Dryer]
*[http://twitter.com/americanatheist American Atheists] - Twitter
*[http://www.atheistnexus.org/group/americanatheists American Atheists] - Atheist Nexus

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category: Atheism]]</nowiki>