Category Archives: Atheism

BY ALEX RYRIEBELKNAP PRESS272 PP.; $27.95

In his book Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt, author Alec Ryrie, a professor of the history of Christianity at Durham University in England, sets out to give a broad history of unbelief based not so much on logic as on emotionsmore specifically, anger and anxiety. This works on some levels, but on others Ryrie fails to draw a large enough picture of the emotional history. Still, he brings an enlightened and erudite touch to his argument after he confesses to being a believer with a soft spot for atheism.

Unbelievers begins in 1239 with the pope accusing Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, of being an atheist for calling Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad charlatans and deceivers. The pontiff also charges that one of Fredericks advisors had written a book called The Three Impostors arguing this same position.

As would be the case over the next five hundred years, the truth seems to have fallen far short of the charge. There is evidence that Frederick II may have been at least asking uncomfortable questions of his advisors, but whats more in evidence is that the pope and Frederick II were bitter political rivals. And there is (unfortunately) no evidence that The Three Impostors ever existed, although its rumored existence and changing authorship over five centuries was regularly repeated as evidence by accusatory officials. (Some enterprising Frenchmen did write a book with this title in the early 1700s, apparently hoping to benefit from its already infamous reputation.)

Emperor Frederick II being excommunicated by Pope Innocent IV

This outlines a problem Ryrie has to deal with throughout the bookthat the history of unbelief is one written by devout believers, so atheist is a term thrown about quite liberally as an attack against specific individuals with whom they had disagreements, and is used as a general bogeyman. The hard evidence of unbelief must be gleaned from those many instances where atheism is alleged but rarely admitted. In fact, most charged with atheism admit rather to different beliefs on the nature of God, not no belief at all.

Still, Ryries history is fascinating for the insights those trials and charges do provide. For instance, a recurring theme is the suspicion of doctors for harboring disbelief. This is due chiefly to their development of the scientific method through observation, correlation of symptoms with certain environmental factors (rather than with demons), and their reporting on those results, placing undue emphasis upon nature inopposition to faith. A seventeenth-century proverb states: where there are three physicians, there are two atheists.

Things really start to percolate during the Renaissance, especially with the discovery of previous lost manuscripts of Cicero, Pliny the Elder, and especially Lucretiuss On the Nature of Things. These works suggest a world view governed by nature or chance and the notion that there is no life after deatha truly revolutionary blow the church rightly saw as undercutting its whole theological system. That these ideas were even advanced became a source of concern to church authorities.

On the heels of the Renaissance came the Reformation, where questioning the church took on a new immediacy. Ryrie does a nice job of outlining how, while most of the Reformations push was to reform rather than reject, the types of questions being raised by reformers were inevitably taken farther than even those reformers meant them to go.

Ryrie hits his full stride as a storyteller in going through the many different forms of unbelief that came about in the period following the Reformation, especially in his home country of England. He is a capable writer with a good eye for the illustrative detail. Unfortunately, for those looking more for a history of atheism, almost all of the stories he tells are of people who still believed in God, although their God was very different from the God of either Catholicism or Anglican Protestantism. Things became especially vicious during the English Civil Wars of the mid-1600s, where each side, convinced that their interpretation of Christianity was correct, routinely accused the other of a sort of atheism, although both sides agreed that if you didnt take a side, you were definitely an atheist since anyone who had no opinion about the nations divisions evidently believed in nothing at all.

Later in the book, Ryrie starts to corral his historical review in favor of his thesis that most unbelief came about as a result of two things; either anxiety, brought on by the believer who tried to reconcile the word of God as read with the word of God as it was being preached, or anger at the obvious hypocrisy they saw around them in terms of corrupt priests and church officials, or religion being used by political forces for their own political ends.

While this is a useful construct, it also seems to leave out an even more fascinating strain that Ryrie usefully identifies in the introduction but leaves largely unaddressed throughout his main argument. In defining an atheist, he quotes the seventeenth-century essayist Thomas Fuller, who states that a practical atheist is not someone who thinks there is no God, but someone who thinks not there is a God. Within this small difference, a huge world of unbelief seems to dwell. A practical atheist doesnt deny God but rather finds the idea of God not to be a useful one. Instead, this persons ethics are shaped by their simple experiences in the daily world.

Its an idea that Ryrie does seem to come back to in his last few pages. Here he summarizes the world of the last century or so, and traces the Wests movement away from religion to a more generalized humanist ethic. This ethic, he argues, is based in a strangely perverse way on Adolf Hitler, who came to personify what humanism and ethics should NOT bea sort of negative definition. In doing so, society has left behind the Bible and religion as a guide to what ethics should be, adopting by default a stance that a practical atheist would recognize. This example of a negative figure whose views of ethics must be rejected is being retold today in fictional characters like Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, Darth Vader in Star Wars, and Voldemort in Harry Potter.

This is fascinating stuff, but not explored beyond a summary few pages. One gets the sense that if hed started off with this thesis, the interesting history he uncovered would have a different flow and nuance and would have given a more satisfying result. Still, this is a good book for the interested reader, and in examining the story of unbelief through the centuries we can explore a side of history that has largely been ignored.

Read the original post:
Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt - The Humanist

By NICHOLAS KOMUMore by this Author

Atheists have rejected census data showing that 700,000 Kenyans do not believe in deity insisting they are twice as many.

Following the release of detailed census data, Atheists In Kenya (AIK) now claims that the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) deliberately failed to count atheists and the actual number of non-religious Kenyans is 1.5 million.

According to the detailed report on the Kenyan population based on their religious beliefs, 755,750 Kenyans do not believe in any religion. That is about 1.6 per cent of the total Kenyan population.

Kilifi County leads in the number of nonbelievers with 146,669, more than double the number of atheists in Nakuru which stands at 67,640.

Nairobi has the third highest atheist population with 54,841 followed by Narok (45,617), Kiambu (30770), Kitui (23,778), Meru (20,985) and Mombasa (11,148).

However, AIK now insists that the data is inaccurate and that KNBS enumerators deliberately failed tally atheists during the 2019 census.

We find these statistics to be grossly inaccurate and not fit for purpose. We contend that we have well over 1.5 million atheists in Kenya, and the number is growing steadily. An independent survey of our members has revealed that some KNBS employees deliberately skipped asking whether one is an atheist during the 2019 census. We have evidence that many atheists were undercounted and miscounted, AIK said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement dated February 23 was signed by the group's President Harrison Mumia and recently elected Assistant Secretary Kio Kinuthia, questioned the statistics bureau credibility in the 2019 census. Now the atheists society is questioning the entire census data, terming it as inaccurate.

According to the 2009 population census report released by the same institution, the number of Kenyans who said that they were not affiliated to any religion was said to be 922,128.

We find it odd that the 2019 census report indicates that the number of atheists has declined by almost 200,000 in a span of 10 years, yet the population of Kenyans has increased by 10 million over the same period. This undermines the accuracy of not just the atheist data, but the entire KNBS 2019 census report," AIK said.

While Christianity and Islam are the predominant religions in Kenya, atheism has been attracting quite a following in the past few years.

This has, however, been a tough rise in popularity for the movement under the leadership of Mr Mumia, an Information Technology specialist.

AIK was registered on February 17, 2016 but, just two months later, it was suspended by Registrar of Societies.

The final census report shows there are 15,777,473 Protestants in Kenya, the majority religious group.

Catholics are 9,726,169 in total while 9,648,690 people attend evangelical churches.

About 3,292,573 go to African Instituted Churches, Orthodox (201,263) and other Christian (1,732,911).

Islam has a following of 5,152,194, while Hindu has 60,287. About 318,727 Kenyans are traditionalists.

Atheists in Kenya now wants a review of the census data by KNBS.

"We reject the figure of 755,750 atheists reported by the KNBS 2019 census report. We call for an independent review of how the KNBS collects, analyses, and reports census data," the society leadership said.

The rest is here:
Atheists dismiss census data, say they have1.5m members - Daily Nation

Atheists in Kenya have come up with a list of proposals which they want to be added to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report to help broaden the countrys democratic values.

The society acknowledged that it supports the BBI initiative. However, they are of the view that the report has not put into consideration certain factors that affect the secular, free thinkers and humanist organisations.

REMOVE GOD

For instance, they are demanding to have the word God expunged from the National Anthem, since not all Kenyans share a religious belief of a supernatural being.

They also want the word God erased from the constitution of Kenya.

The Preamble of the Kenyan Construction 2010 states:We, the people of Kenya Acknowledging the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation:

Kenyan identity and traditions should also be promoted. This should include persons to have three African names without a western name to restore our Kenyanness, explained Harrison Mumia Chairman of Atheists in Kenya.

The society is wants the Independent Electoral and Boundaries commission (IEBC) to allow any Kenyan above 18 years with an identification card to vote during elections.

According to the society the existence of a voter register is one of the reasons the country has divisive elections in Kenya.

LGBT RIGHTS

Neither the government nor our Constitution should be seen to be promoting any religion, or certain religious ideas.That is why Kadhi Courts should be abolished. Since it also opens a pandora box for many other religions groups to demand inclusion of their religious practices into the Constitution,the society said.

Religious education did not fail to make the list.

Christian, Islamic and Hindu religious education is outdated and should be replaced with a new subject.Religion, Belief and Values (RBV) is what should be taught in schools that will focus more on the history of African Traditional Religion, Christianity, Islam, Hindu, Atheism, Humanism, Spiritualism and any other religion, including Greek Mythology, Mumia said.

The society also wants lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, should be recognised in the constitution and allowed the freedom to marry and their familys protected by law.

Article 45 of our Constitution establishes the family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and the necessary basis of social order. The family enjoys protection of the state. Article 45 (2) states as follows: Every adult has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex, based on the free consent of the parties.We recommend that Article 45 (2) of our Constitution be amended as follows: Every adult has the right to marry any other person, based on the free consent of the parties, said Mr Mumia.

Read more here:
Here is what Kenyan Atheists want included in the BBI report - Nairobi News

I had an unusual childhood for an American. Members of my extended family were union organizers and left-wing radicals, and my parents had even been members of the American Communist Party. My indoctrination in the dogmas of communism and atheism was deep and long lasting. At the same time, my father gave me a love of science and reason, and he taught me the importance of asking questions. These gifts, along with my training in scientific thought and research, eventually cracked open the prison cell that held my soul captive during those early years.

Breaking free was a slow process, akin to chipping away at a dungeon door with a dull spoon. Early on in life, my curiosity led me to ask questions. I saw contradictions in some of what I had been taught. If humans were a blind product of evolutionary chance, with no special purpose or significance, then how could the stated goals of socialismto advance human dignity and valuemake sense? And if religion, particularly Christianity, was really such a terrible historical evil, then why were so many Christian clergy members involved in the civil rights movement?

As I studied science and began my research career in biochemistry and molecular biology, I formed a passionate attachment to a life of knowledge rooted in the scientific worldview. I found comfort and joy in the beauty, complexity, and wisdom of the scientific description of reality. But I also began wondering whether there might be something more to human existence than science and pure reason.

At this point, the question of faith was off the table. I knew that evolution was true and the Bible (which I hadnt actually read) was false. I knew that a supernatural god living in the sky was a fairy tale. I knew that science held the keys to unlock all mysteries. Or did it?

I was disturbed to learn that, according to science, some things are actually unknowable. It is impossible to know, for instance, the position and speed of an electron simultaneously. This is a critical feature of quantum mechanics, even though it makes little rational sense. If the uncertainty principle is true (and it must be, since so much modern technology is based on it), then how valid is the idea of a purely deterministic and predictable world?

I also began to contemplate other questions. Where did the universe come from? How did life begin? What does it mean to be a human being? What is the source of our creativityof art, poetry, music, and humor? Perhaps, I thought, science cannot tell us everything.

Now I was beginning to seriously wonder about the whole religion thing. I met Christians who were smart and scientifically minded, and for the first time I attended a church service. I was surprised at what I found. Nobody glared at me with suspicion, and I heard no thundering condemnation of sinners. The pastor spoke about the power of love. The people next to me shook my hand and wished me peace. It was all quite beautiful, and I decided to return.

Then I read the Gospels and had another shock: I found them beautiful and inspiring. So far as I could tell, they carried the ring of truth. And the Book of Acts struck me as actual history, not at all like a fictional account concocted to enslave the massesthe kind of reading my Marxist upbringing would have conditioned me to affirm.

The door to my prison cell was swinging open, and I stood there gazing out onto a new world, the world of faith. Yet I was afraid to fully leave. Suppose I was being fooled, misled into a trap? I remained stuck in that place of indecision for several years. And then the Holy Spirit pulled me over the threshold.

It happened one day while I was traveling alone on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the rural middle part of the state, with a long way to go. Turning the radio on, I heard the unmistakable voice of an evangelical Christian preacher, the kind I used to mock and avoid. But this preacher was really good. I have no idea what he was saying, but his voice and inflection were mesmerizing and I listened for a few minutes before turning the radio off. Driving in silence for a while, I began wondering how I would sound if I ever tried preachingafter all, I always liked to talk. I laughed a bit, thinking about what I could possibly say. The first thing that came to my mind was something about sciencehow, if there were a God, he might have used science to create the world.

And then something happened. I felt a chill up and down my spine and could hear myself speaking in my mindpreaching, in fact. I could see an audience in front of me, people in an outdoor stadium, dressed in summer clothing. I pulled the car over to the right lane and slowed down. It was not a vision exactly, but it was intense. I knew I wasnt making the words upI was listening just as much as the audience.

I talked about knowing that Jesus loves me. With a voice full of passionate emotion, I assured the crowd that whatever their sins might be, they were no worse than my own, and that because of Christs sacrifice on the cross we could all be saved. I explained that Gods love is more powerful than any other kind and that anyone can have it without deserving it.

At some point during this experience, I had pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, where I sat behind the wheel crying for some time. I had never considered the things I had been saying. Some of the concepts were unfamiliar. The only explanation I could fathom was that the Holy Spirit had entered into my life in dramatic fashion. Thank you, Lord, I said out loud in between sobs. I believe, and I am saved. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ.

When I recovered my composure, I was aware of a great feeling of joy and release. I had no more doubts, no trace of hesitationI had crossed over, stepping over the ruins of my prison cell into my new life of faith. From that day onward, my life has been devoted to the joyful service of our Lord.

Today, I am an active member of my church and have served as lay leader for several years. I am a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation, the largest organization of Christians in the sciences, and the vice president of its metropolitan Washington, DC, chapter. I also serve as editor in chief of the ASAs online magazine God and Nature. I assist my wife, who is codirector of a local charity that distributes food to the needy. I am an active online evangelist.

Along the way, I made many discoveries. I learned about the power of the Bible as a guide from God to the central questions of our existence. I learned that the true purpose of science is to describe how things are, not to engage in misplaced speculation about why the world is the way it is. I learned that modern atheist taunts about the purposelessness and meaninglessness of the universe and our own existence are not only false but destructive. Most importantly, I learned that nothing I have learned came through my own merit, but only from the grace of our Lord, whose love and mercy are beyond understanding.

Sy Garte is a biochemist who has taught at New York University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Rutgers University. He is the author of The Works of His Hands: A Scientists Journey from Atheism to Faith (Kregel Publications).

See the original post:
I Assumed Science Had All the Answers. Then I Started Asking Inconvenient Questions. - ChristianityToday.com

By Robin Schumacher, Voices Contributor | Monday, February 17, 2020

Its true time really does fly.

Eight years ago, I wrote an article entitled The Tragedy of the Dumb Church[1], which struck a nerve with a lot of people. It was circulated widely on the web and also resulted in invitations to speak on some nationally syndicated radio shows.

In the article, I talked about how a friend of mine, who has a real heart for grounding youth in the faith, contacted all our community churches about conducting free-of-charge apologetics training for their young people. His gracious offer was sadly met with a talk-to-the-hand response from every local church.

Now its my turn.

Because I continue to see data suggesting that many people leave the church or consider it irrelevant because it fails to answer the tough questions that are thrown at it, I contacted the mega-church I go to about starting up an apologetics ministry. Because Im formally trained in apologetics and theology, I offered to spearhead it and help train a volunteer staff who could serve as a group ready to answer people inside or outside the church who struggle with questions about Christianity.

I spoke with five(!) campus and connection pastors about it, and also offered to teach formal culturally relevant classes at the church where these issues could be openly discussed. This time, I was the one who got the shrug-of-the-shoulders response or simply ghosted on email.

That experience got me thinking could it be that between the last time I wrote on this subject and now, things have gotten worse on this front for the church?

The fact is, its ugly out there and getting worse.

Data from the Barna group has identified a number of disturbing trends that should cause all Christians concern.Gen Z teens are much less likely to assert religious identitythan generations before them with a rise in espoused atheism also being witnessed.Almost half of practicing Christian Millennials (47%) believe that evangelism is wrong, and my bet is that their lack of confidence in not being able to answer hard questions from their unbelieving friends plays a role in this.

Who can blame them? In the worldview ring, the opposing corner of Christianity has an impressive array of challengers that is certainly intimidating.

First up is the currentpost-truthculture. Postmodernism was one thing, but dealing with a secular mood that acknowledges something is true and yet rejects it because it goes against their personal preferences or interferes with their social/political activism is an entirely different beast.

Then we havescientism, which is the default fall back foundation for those who reject spirituality. Scientism is critical to and for the non-religious in order to, as Richard Lewontin puts it, not allow a divine foot in the door.

For some, scientism devolves into something more antagonistic something I callhatetheism. Think of it as atheism with healthy doses of snideness, contempt, and a willingness to do anything needed to make religious faith appear idiotic and even dangerous. For example, Victor Stenger does just this when he says, Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings.

Last but not the least is the relatively new voice ofapatheism. On its opposition to Christianity, authorsPaul Rowan BrianandBen Sixsmithstate: The greatest threat to Christianity is found not in the arguments of the atheist but in the assumptions of the apathetic. The danger is not a hostile reception of belief in God but an incurious indifference to the idea.

Against these seemingly-powerful opponents to Christianity, who can blame Gen Z and others for being bullied into silence and inaction?

But are these four enemies of Christianity really the big, bad wolves they seem to be? I don't think so and heres why.

If there are two words that perfectly define our day, they are:appallingly superficial. The whole world ofdigital Babylonexemplifies this perfectly in everyday life and they apply equally well to the religious landscape.

For example, in discussing his exit from Christianity, one blogger leaning into hatetheism provided a list of books that motivated him to leave the faith. He concluded by saying that he hoped to read them one day.

Seriously?

This shallow attitude is both sad and encouraging at the same time. Sad, in that it shows how flippant some people take matters of religion. But also encouraging because when such an attitude is directly and lovingly confronted by the robust intellectualism, logic, and meaningfulness that has defined Christianity since day one, it disintegrates into the vapor that it is.

These house-of-cards foundations are likely why apologist William Lane Craig says that he is oftentimes confronted by upset unbelievers at the end of his debates who assert that the only way their side did so poorly during the event was because it was a setup. However, they get really intellectually defrocked when they discover that Craigs opponents were not chosen by Craig but instead hand-picked by their own atheist group.

The fact is, Christianity is indeed a robust, personally meaningful and intellectually satisfying alternative to its rivals who truly arent as ferocious as they appear.

Sometimes I get the argument from church leaders that theyre only responding to the desires of their members in not offering apologetics and similar, deeper theological education. They say no one is asking for it so it must not be wanted.

Nothing concerns me more about the spiritual state of a church than when I hear such a thing, and heres why.

Years ago, I met a great couple who hadnt been going to my church very long. Although they were both busy executive professionals, they were doing 3-4 different Bible studies each week and loving every minute of it. I remember them telling me, We just cant get enough!

That kind of appetite is a telling sign that the person in question has truly been born again. It personifies Anselms motto for the Christian faith: faith seeking understanding, which means that a true faith in God and Christ prompts a hungering quest for deeper understanding of spiritual truths.

Jonathan Edwards said in his great work,A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, that a persons cravings will unveil their spiritual condition. If a professing faith doesnt seek the kind of understanding and holy affections to which Anselm and Edwards refer, then maybe it isnt a Christian faith.

In other words, show me a church without a desire for learning about God and living it out, and Ill show you a church that is pregnant with unbelievers.

So what steps should the dumb church take? Here are a few suggestions I have for churches like mine:

Years ago, a man came up to Francis Schaeffer and asked him many deep questions about Christianity. After Schaeffer answered everything that was thrown at him, the man paused, then said: Thank you. Now I can worship God much better.

By contrast, todays dumb church would likely not be of much help. Instead, it has contributed to the sad state about which A. W. Tozer spoke of in his classic book,The Knowledge of the Holy: The message of this book . . . is called forth by a condition which has existed in the Church for some years and is steadily growing worse. I refer to the loss of the concept of majesty from the popular religious mind. The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking and worshipping people. This she has not done deliberately, but little by little without her knowledge;and her unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic (emphasis mine).

Let us all pray that todays dumb church takes the action needed to both overpower her enemies and equip her people so that our God is thought of and worshipped properly.

[1]My original post was lost when Christianpost removed their blogging site, but one of the reprints of the post was copied and postedhere.

Robin Schumacher is a software executive and Christian apologist who has written many apologetic articles, appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs, and presented at various apologetic events. He holds a Master's in Christian apologetics and a Ph.D. in New Testament.

Excerpt from:
The tragedy of the even dumber church - Christian Post

How did this slip through? John Horgan with Scientific American interviewed a physicist colleague, Christopher Search. The physicist is appealingly direct in rejecting the atheism associated with Stephen Hawking and other venerated names in the field. More than that, he says it was physics that brought him to a recognition of the truly divine in the universe:

Over the years my view of physics has evolved significantly. I no longer believe that physics offers all of the answers. It cant explain why the universe exists or why we are even here. It does though paint a very beautiful and intricate picture of the how the universe works. I actually feel sorry for people that do not understand the laws of physics in their full mathematical glory because they are missing out on something that is truly divine.

The beautiful interlocking connectedness of the laws of physics indicates to me how finely tuned and remarkable the universe is, which for me proves that the universe is more than random chance. Ironically, it was by studying physics that I stopped being an atheist because physics is so perfect and harmonious that it had to come from something. After years of reflecting, I simply could not accept that the universe is random chance as the anthropic principle implies.

More on the anthropic principle and on multiverse theory:

Like string theory, this is not science. How do you test the existence of other universes? The universe is everything out there that we can observe. Another universe would therefore be separate from our own and not interact with it in any manner. If we could detect other universes, that would imply that they are observable by us but that leads to a contradiction since our universe is everything that is observable by us.

The anthropic principle is something I discuss in my freshmen E&M class actually. However, I think it is a total cop-out for physicists to use the anthropic principle to explain why the laws of physics are the way they are. The anthropic principle implies the existence of other universes where the laws of physics are different. But the existence of these other universes is untestable. It also implies that our existence is mere random luck.

At the end of the day, the existence of multiverses and the anthropic principle are really religious viewpoints wrapped up in scientific jargon. They have no more legitimacy than believing that God created the universe.

He came to these conclusions after breaking with dogmatic atheism:

I was always curious about how things work. When I was young, physics seemed to offer answers to all of the mysteries of the universe. It felt authoritative and unequivocal in its explanations of nature and the origin of the universe. In that sense it was the perfect religion for my teenage self as I went through an atheist phase, which admittedly was probably provoked by all the popular physics books that I was devouring at that age such asA Brief History of Time. Those books were always so dogmatic like the Catholic Sunday school I went to as a kid.

As it happens, these are all themes that are developed with great rigor and depth in Center for Science & Culture director Stephen Meyers next book, The Return of the God Hypothesis.

Photo credit: Hubble Spots Galaxys Dramatic Details, by ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. Li et al.

Here is the original post:
In the Mathematical Glory of the Universe, Physicist Discovered the Truly Divine - Discovery Institute

In our latest podcast, Jessica and I discussed the past week in politics and atheism.

We talked about:

Donald Trump appeared at the misnamed March for Life. (0:25)

Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has an important question about God. (5:29)

Was a church wrong for telling old members to get out? (11:03)

The Church of England reiterates that only straight married people can have sex. (14:52)

A survey shows that atheists know more about the Holocaust than Christians. (19:10)

This controversy over invocations in Berea, Kentucky will inevitably lead to a lawsuit. (28:13)

Conservative Dennis Prager says private conversations arent an accurate reflection of someones character. (35:14)

Utah (!) has finally banned gay conversion torture. (43:20)

The Supreme Court heard a case that could upendchurch/state separation. (50:05)

Mike Pence spoke at a church where a pastor delivered a rabidly anti-gay sermon. Because of course he did. (55:00)

Wed love to hear your thoughts on the podcast. If you have any suggestions for people we should chat with, please leave them in the comments, too.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Google Play, stream all the episodes on SoundCloud or Stitcher, or just listen to the whole thing below. Our RSS feed is here. And if you like what youre hearing, please consider supporting this site on Patreon and leaving us a positive rating!

(Image via Shutterstock)

Read more here:
Podcast Ep. 306: The Church That Doesn't Want Old People - Friendly Atheist - Patheos

Forcomedian Alexander Dolgopolov the hints were far from subtle.

First came news authorities were investigating footage of a stand-up gig the 25-year old gave in St Petersburg last February. Then came online threats about his supposedly sacrilegious comedy. And then, on Wednesday, two state investigators turned up to one of his shows.

That, Mr Dolgopolovsays, was the signal to leave.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

Im an opponent of Putins politics, an atheist and a supporter of minorities, the comedian tells The Independent. I knew that if they got hold of me, they would put me in jail.

Mr Dolgopolov left Russiain haste with his girlfriend the same day. The very next day, he announced his escape to an unspecified country on social media. We have arrived! We are safe for now. Thank you for your support, read one caption on Instagram.

Leaving Russia was a frightening prospect, he recalled: Im still hurting at the fact that I was forced to abandonmy whole life my home, my relationships, friends, my comedy, my followers and my income.

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin takes part in a judo training session at a sports complex in St Petersburg on 22 December 2010

AFP/Getty

Putin holds a tommy gun during a visit to Izhevsk Mechanical Works, a weapons manufacturer in May 2010

AFP/Getty

Putin plays with his dogs Buffy (L) and Yume at his residence in Novo-Ogariovo in March 2013

AFP/Getty

Putin wears a helmet and the uniform of the Renault Formula One team before driving a F1 race car on a special track in Leningrad region outside St. Petersburg on in November 2010

Getty

Putin sports a pair of goggles during a visit to the Technology Park of the Novosibirsk Academic Town in February 2012

Getty

Putin holds a huge pike fish, after he caught it in the Tyva on 26 July 2013

AFP/Getty

Putin inspects a horse in the Karatash area, near the town of Abakan in March 2010

AFP/Getty

Putin looks down the sight of a replica kalashnikov rifle at a target range in Moscow in April 2012

AFP/Getty

Putin works out at a gym at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi on 30 August 2015

Getty

Putin drives down a highway in St Petersburg in August 2013

AFP/Getty

Putin takes part in a judo training session at the Moscow sports complex in St Petersburg, on 22 December 2010.

Getty

Putin speaks with Leonardo DiCaprio on 23 November 2010 after a concert to mark the International Tiger Conservation Forum in St Petersburg

AFP/Getty

Putin holds two ancient amphorae he found while scuba diving in Taman Bay as he visits an underwater archaeological site at Phanagoria on 10 August 2011

AFP/Getty

Putin caresses a Persian leopard cub as he visits the Persian leopard breeding and rehabilitation centre in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on 4 February 2014

AFP/Getty

Putin rides a train in Moscow on 21 November 2019

Sputnik/AFP/Getty

Putin hunts fish in southern Siberia in August 2017

Getty

Russian President Vladimir Putin plunges into the icy waters of lake Seliger during the celebration of the Epiphany holiday in Russia's Tver region in January 2018

AFP/Getty

Putin measures a dead polar bear on the island Alexandra Land, part of the Franz Josef Land archipalego in the Arctic Ocean in April 2010

Getty

Putin sits inside a T-90AM tank during a visit to an arms exhibition in the Urals town of Nizhny Tagil in September 2011

Getty

Putin holds a Bulgarian sheperd dog given to him by his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov after their press conference in Sofia on 13 November 2010

AFP/Getty

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin takes part in a judo training session at a sports complex in St Petersburg on 22 December 2010

AFP/Getty

Putin holds a tommy gun during a visit to Izhevsk Mechanical Works, a weapons manufacturer in May 2010

AFP/Getty

Putin plays with his dogs Buffy (L) and Yume at his residence in Novo-Ogariovo in March 2013

AFP/Getty

Putin wears a helmet and the uniform of the Renault Formula One team before driving a F1 race car on a special track in Leningrad region outside St. Petersburg on in November 2010

Getty

Putin sports a pair of goggles during a visit to the Technology Park of the Novosibirsk Academic Town in February 2012

Getty

Putin holds a huge pike fish, after he caught it in the Tyva on 26 July 2013

AFP/Getty

Putin inspects a horse in the Karatash area, near the town of Abakan in March 2010

AFP/Getty

Putin looks down the sight of a replica kalashnikov rifle at a target range in Moscow in April 2012

AFP/Getty

Putin works out at a gym at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi on 30 August 2015

Getty

Putin drives down a highway in St Petersburg in August 2013

AFP/Getty

Putin takes part in a judo training session at the Moscow sports complex in St Petersburg, on 22 December 2010.

Getty

Putin speaks with Leonardo DiCaprio on 23 November 2010 after a concert to mark the International Tiger Conservation Forum in St Petersburg

AFP/Getty

Putin holds two ancient amphorae he found while scuba diving in Taman Bay as he visits an underwater archaeological site at Phanagoria on 10 August 2011

AFP/Getty

Putin caresses a Persian leopard cub as he visits the Persian leopard breeding and rehabilitation centre in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on 4 February 2014

AFP/Getty

Putin rides a train in Moscow on 21 November 2019

Sputnik/AFP/Getty

Putin hunts fish in southern Siberia in August 2017

Getty

Russian President Vladimir Putin plunges into the icy waters of lake Seliger during the celebration of the Epiphany holiday in Russia's Tver region in January 2018

AFP/Getty

Putin measures a dead polar bear on the island Alexandra Land, part of the Franz Josef Land archipalego in the Arctic Ocean in April 2010

Getty

Putin sits inside a T-90AM tank during a visit to an arms exhibition in the Urals town of Nizhny Tagil in September 2011

Getty

Putin holds a Bulgarian sheperd dog given to him by his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov after their press conference in Sofia on 13 November 2010

AFP/Getty

Mr Dolgopolov said there was no point trying to argue his case in Russias court system.

The judges pass the decisions they are told to pass, he said.The Russian Interior Ministry has since confirmed police have opened an investigation into a possible crime under Russias anti-blasphemy laws.

Behind Mr Dolgopolovs fears is a very sobering reality: over the past decade, the Kremlin has introduced a series of broad-brushed laws that criminalise extremism and the abuse of feelings of religious believers. The measures are largely arbitrary and have been used to clamp down on dissent and inconvenient voices.

The threat of criminal prosecution in Mr Dolgopolovs case is very real, said Samir Gainutdinov, a lawyer working for the Agora advocacy group. Just mentioning Jesus in the same sentence as profanity could serve as a pretext to a charge.

It is not clearexactly which part of Mr Dolgopolovs routine provoked the complaint.Baza, a publicationconsidered close to Russian law enforcement, blamedprofane jokes involving Jesus and the Virgin Mary.In the recording of his February stand-up performance, Mr Dolgopolovcertainly does mix themes ofGod,atheism and profanity often hilariously. But President Putin, his political system and his supporters also come in for particular ribbing. In one section, the comediansuggests Russians would walk into molten lava in their masses if the wise leader Putin told them.

As far as I know it was because of the religious jokes, but I dont exclude there being another reason, Mr Dolgopolovsuggested.

The comedian said he was always conscious of the fact his routine touched on taboo subjects. Indirectly, authorities even made their feelings about him known in one case, police called a venue to warn them not to joke about Putin like that after he had performed there. ButMr Dolgopolov also believed his relative obscurity was insurance against the authorities taking a more active interest.

Only the best news in your inbox

If you live in Russia, you live in fear but you get used to it, he said. When I joked about religion and politics, when I supported LGBT+ communities from the stage, sure I was frightened, but I didnt think anything else of it. They havent picked on the small guys before.

That assumption no longer holds. Over the last week, the comedian says he has become the subject ofa campaign of increasing intimidation and pressure,with loyal state media leading the charge.

Imfrightened about my future, he says. Ive been stripped of everything I everhad and all because of a joke.

Go here to see the original:
Stand-up comedian flees Russia over religious joke: They would put me in jail - The Independent

A popular local choir isnt in perfect harmony this month following the departure of long-time assistant director Tama McGee.

McGee, who had been with the Avondale Childrens Choir for 10 years, said she was recently told she wouldnt be allowed to continue with the choir because shes an atheist. While the choir is open to everyone, it holds practices at the First Baptist Church in Avondale Estates and the church donates the space to the choir, McGee said.

McGee said her atheism wasnt a secret, but it had never come up and she assumed it wasnt a problem because the choir was open to everyone. That all changed, she said, when she was asked to fill out paperwork to change her employment status. She had been employed as a contractor but was told she was required to become a member of the staff. McGee said she was told there would be no change in her pay or hours worked.

In an email to choir families last week, McGee wrote, I was invited to a meeting with [Choir Director Mark Green] and Cathy McCumber [a member of the choirs board of trustees]. During this meeting, I was told that the church had not accepted Marks request to have me continue as Assistant Director because I identify as atheist and that all staff must all identify as Christian.

In a follow-up interview with Decaturish, McGee said until now she was never asked to disclose her religious beliefs. She said Green had written a letter to the church officials in support of bringing her on as a staffer. The church denied his request to employ McGee because someone from the church saw that she identified herself as an atheist in her social media profile, McGee said.

Ive been atheist this whole time, McGee said. Some people from the church didnt think that was OK.

Green, who also serves as an associate pastor at the First Baptist Church, and other church officials didnt return numerous messages seeking comment. Attempts to reach McCumber were unsuccessful. McGee and other people interviewed for this story said Green was supportive of keeping McGee as an assistant director of the Childrens Choir.

Green sent a letter to choir families announcing McGees departure, but he didnt specify why she was going.

Though we are a community choir, the Avondale Childrens Choir operates under the broader umbrella of First Baptist Church Avondale Estates and its program ministries, he wrote. Based on staffing modifications made by the Churchs Personnel Council which were necessitated by IRS regulations, sadly Mrs. Tama McGee will no longer be helping us with the Avondale Childrens Choir. She has served well as our Assistant Director for the past 10 years.

McGee sent an email to the parents after receiving Greens email because she wanted everyone to know the truth.

She wrote, I felt that it was important that the families involved know that it was not my decision to leave and that they have the full story regarding why I would no longer be working with the choir.

McGee explained her reasoning in the follow-up interview.

I didnt want the parents to think I just up and quit and abandoned the choir a week before it was about to start back, she said. I didnt want them to think this chick left Mark high and dry. I wanted them to be aware I did not decide to leave. I was told I could not continue.

That information has roiled the choirs supporters, with some now asking whether they are still welcome there.

Patti Ghezzi, who has a daughter in the choir, says she plans to continue with the group and supports Green. But she worries about what McGees departure means for the choir.

As a non-religious family, we were very concerned, Ghezzi said. She noted that while the practices are held at the church, there has always been a mix of secular and religious music performed.

She noted there are Jewish children in the choir and a lot of families in the choir who arent religious at all. Ghezzi thought the church was progressive and welcoming until now.

Ms. Tama pretty coldly being let go because she is not Christian really sours me on the church, she said, before quickly adding, the Ghezzi family stands with Mr. Mark. We are not leaving the choir.

Parke Kallenberg, a member of the choirs board of trustees, said he wasnt privy to the reasons for the decision to part ways with McGee, but said he had no problem with McGee being assistant director of the choir.

Im a long-term church member and Ive also been on the board for childrens choir for quite some time, he said. I think Tama has done a very good job with the choir. I have no reservations about her being involved with the choir at all.

Cassie White, another parent with a child in the choir, said she was thinking of leaving the choir because of this issue, but said her child wanted to continue singing with the group.

My kid identifies as an atheist, too, White said. Hes outraged.

White said parents were under the impression that the choir is separated from the church.

It has always been our understanding with this choir is its not a church choir, its a choir at the church, White said, adding later that while the choir felt inclusive, McGees departure and the reason she left felt very shocking to us.

Sylvie Oechsner, a member of the choir for 10 years, called the situation devastating for choir members.

I was furious, Oechsner said. I cannot believe that a church especially this church which is all-inclusive and preaches all-inclusivity [would] turn their back on someone who has put so much of their own time and effort into this choir, and they disregard everything shes done, and let her go. I am really hurting for Mr. Mark at the moment because he lost someone valuable to him. Its all around just very upsetting.

Oechsner isnt the only member of the choir hurting right now. McGees daughter sang in the choir but quit because of what happened to her mother.

She doesnt want to talk about it, McGee said.

Want Decaturish delivered to your inbox every morning? Sign up for our free newsletter by clickinghere.

Do you appreciate quality local journalism? If you enjoy our coverage, please sign up to be a paying supporter of Decaturish. For as little as $3 a month, you can help us continue to cover your community. To learn more about becoming a paid subscriber, clickhere.

Go here to read the rest:
Assistant Director of Avondale Children's Choir says she was dismissed because she is atheist - Decaturish.com

We started with a couple of arguments from popular Christian apologists with an evasive approachto the burden of proof in part 1.

Returning to apologist Greg Koukls Professors Ploy in part 1, note that he wasnt making a claim of parity. He wasnt saying, My God hypothesis is in the running just as much as a naturalistic explanation, and I demand a seat in this debate as an equal. That would be bold enough. No, he was going further by taking the role of the Socratic questioner, assuming that he was right and guiding the student (the professor, in his example) through a pre-planned series of questions to a predetermined conclusion.

To the extent that Koukls goal is to help inexperienced Christians ease into the intimidating world of public speaking and debate with antagonistic strangers, thats fine. He encourages them to ask questions to learn, to admit when a topic is new to them, and to ask permission to respond to the atheist after some research. However, his tactics go too far when he ignores that the atheist is defending the default hypothesis (naturalism) and that the Christian is making the extraordinary claim, which must be defended. Attack has its place, but thats subordinate to making and defending the Christian claim. And, of course, his goal isnt to follow the evidence, its to support a predetermined conclusion.

(In case its not obvious, I do want to follow the evidence. Atheism is my provisional conclusion, but evidence could change that. If atheism is incorrect, I want to find the evidence that shows this.)

Weve seen the same contempt for honest debate with Koukls metaphor of arguments committing suicide by being self-defeating. Heres an example: if I said, Im offended at Christians condemning homosexuals; in fact, I think its wrong to condemn anyone for anything, he could reply, Then you shouldnt be condemning me. Or if I said, There are no absolutes, he could reply, You might want to reconsider your position because that certainly sounded like an absolute. Many of these suicides are easily corrected, but Koukl has no interest in engaging with the valid points at the core of any opponents argument. He just wants a technicality with which to dismiss it. (More here.)

Here are two more quick examples that illustrate the wrong approach to the burden of proof. These have nothing to do with religion, so both Christians and atheists should be able to see the flawed thinking without distraction.

Beginning in the 1970s, psychic Uri Geller claimed to be able to perform a number of impressive feats, most famously bending spoons with his mind. While these were part of the standard repertoire of stage magicians, Geller claimed to be able to do them with paranormal powers given to him by aliens, not with stage magic.

Magician and psychic debunker James Randi publicly showed that he could duplicate all of Gellers tricks. Geller admitted that but said that just because Randi could do his tricks with fakery (like any stage magician would) didnt mean that Geller wasnt doing it for real. Randi replied, If Uri Geller bends spoons with divine powers, then hes doing it the hard way.

We cant prove that Christianity is just one more manmade religion, and we cant prove that Uri Geller uses trickery to bend spoons, but in both cases, thats the way to bet. (More on Uri Geller here.)

Heres an example from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the inventor of the ruthlessly empirical detective Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle was fascinated with spiritualism, and he discussed this interest with illusionist Harry Houdini. Each was an expert in deception in his own way, but curiously, they were on opposite sides of the spiritualism question. Deaths of people close to Conan Doyle pushed him to see spiritualism as a legitimate way to contact the dead, while Houdini spent much of his life debunking the spiritualist Uri Gellers of his day. Houdini encouraged Conan Doyle to reject spiritualism, pointing out that all his stagecraft was deception.

After Houdinis death in 1926, Conan Doyle wrote a book about spiritualism. Without Houdini to refute him, the book included a chapter summarizing Houdinis feats. In it, Conan Doyle argued that Houdini used supernatural powers but lied about it. Hesaid,

Can any reasonable man read such an account as this and then dismiss the possibility which I suggest as fantastic? It seems to me that the fantasy lies in refusing its serious consideration.... As matters stand, no one can say positively and finally that his powers were abnormal, but the reader will, I hope, agree with me that there is a case to be answered.

(More on Conan Doyle and Houdini here.)

The person making the extraordinary claim has the burden of proof. If I claim theres a teapot orbiting the sun or that pixies and unicorns exist or that were living in the Matrix or that our world came into existence last Thursday, I would have the burden of proof.

Theres another definition of burden of proofthe obligation someone has to defend a statement they madeand thats fair, but keep these two definitions separate. Dont let this definition allow the person making the Christian claim to demand any sort of parity. There is no parity between the extraordinary claim (the theists position) and the default hypothesis (the atheist position). The theist is starting at a deficitdont let them forget that.

Hes not the Messiah, hes a very naughty boy! Brians mum(Monty Python co-founder Terry Jones)

.

Image from Mariam Shahab, CC license

Excerpt from:
Who Has the Burden of Proof? Apparently Not the Christian. (4 of 4) - Patheos