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Daily Hilarity: The Dog Delusion

September 21, 2009 – 10:00 pm

(J-Walk Blog) Richard Dawkins’s hotly anticipated The Greatest Show On Earth: The Evidence For Evolution hits shelves tomorrow!  Happy reading everybody! Your Thoughts?

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Parody | Also tagged | Comments (0)

The Value Of Religious Moderates And The Danger Of Isolating Religious And Political Fundamentalists

September 18, 2009 – 11:25 am

Recently Karen Armstrong is coming out with a book arguing for an extremely apophatic conception of God that rejects all manner of biblical literalism but still insists on some important reference to God and is critical of the New Atheists.  Recently she and Richard Dawkins both responded to a Wall Street Journal solicitation for their [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Cutural Criticism, Faith, Featured, Fundamentalism, God, New Atheism, Political Secularism, Politics, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Secularism, Sarah Palin, Secularism | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (6)

Judge This: Is It Wrong To Rip The Creationist Introduction Out Of Ray Comfort's Propaganda Version Of The Origin Of Species?

September 18, 2009 – 7:28 am

Creationist Ray Comfort has put together a version of The Origin of Species which contains an introduction (which you can read here) which falsely blames Nazism on Darwin, promotes creationist pseudoscience, and lies about the scientific credibility of evolution.  Yesterday I relayed a video in which Kirk Cameron touts plans to distribute 50,000 copies of [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Ethics | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

'Nuff Said Award Winner: A Daily Dish Reader

September 17, 2009 – 8:47 pm

Karen Armstrong has recently written a book defending an apophatic God against both atheists and religious literalists. Recently she and Richard Dawkins were both asked by the Wall Street Journal to write essays on where evolution leaves God. In reply to Andrew Sullivan’s accommodationism, which came out in his discussions of this debate, one of [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in 'Nuff Said, Andrew Sullivan, Atheism, God, New Atheism, Religion | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Dawkins Discusses Evolution On Al-Jazeera English

September 17, 2009 – 10:13 am

via AtheistMediaBlog. Your Thoughts?

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Biology, Evolution, Religion and Science, Science, Videos | Comments (0)

Are The New Atheists The New Prophets?

September 14, 2009 – 9:33 am

PZ Myers, a prominent “New Atheist” reports on his being designated a prophet: Michael Dowd, the peculiar author of Thank God for Evolution, has a strange podcast up that promotes the New Atheists because they are the new prophets — we’re telling it like it is, and religious folks need more of that. He also urges people [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, New Atheism, PZ Myers, Religion | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Top 10 Favorite Atheist/Rationalist YouTube Channels

September 12, 2009 – 10:21 am

This last three months I’ve spent blogging, I’ve learned my away around the atheist internet and been delighted by how many wonderful resources there are, between websites, blogs, videos, discussion forums, etc.  And not only the videos but some of the video channels run by extraordinarily creative or at least patiently argumentative creators of original [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Comedy, Creationism, Cultural Secularism, Education, Hilarious, Mr. Deity, News Discussion, Parody, Pat Condell, Political Secularism, Politics, Pop Culture, Religion, Satire, Secularism, Videos | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (18)

Richard Dawkins Introduces The Greatest Show On Earth

September 3, 2009 – 9:52 pm

He says his other books have been about evolution but have assumed its truth.  This book is about the evidence for evolution: Credit to Too Many Tribbles for a great scoop. Your Thoughts?

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Biology, Evolution | Comments (0)

Dennett On Evolution

September 2, 2009 – 10:27 am

This is a terrific video in which Dennett and Dawkins get further into the weeds discussing the dynamics of evolution, responsibility, how you can make living things out of dead stuff and conscious ones out of unconscious ones, the wonder of natural processes, the idea that we have souls—but they’re made of neurons, and many [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Biology, Daniel Dennett, Evolution, Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Teleology, Teleology | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

The Responsibility Of Religious Leaders For The Ignorance Of Religious Laypeople

August 25, 2009 – 4:45 pm

A teaser excerpt from Richard Dawkins’s upcoming defense of evolution is up online. His boldest claim—evolution deniers are as bad as Holocaust deniers. This book is necessary. I shall be using the name “historydeniers” for those people who deny evolution: who believe the world’s age is measured in thousands of years rather than thousands of [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Biology, Creationism, Evolution, Featured, Intelligent Design, Religion and Science, Religious Moderates, Science | Also tagged | Comments (0)

Dawkins's Dream: To Persuade Muslim World Of Evolution

August 22, 2009 – 4:35 pm

Via RichardDawkins.net, comes this piece from The Guardian: None of Professor Dawkins’ books, on evolution as well as religion, has ever been translated into Arabic, and his work has been heavily censored in Turkey. In an interview with The Times, he said that popularising evolution in the Islamic world, where creationist beliefs are strong, was [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Evolution, Islam | Comments (0)

Not "I’ll Pray For You" But "I Love You"

August 21, 2009 – 6:24 pm

Joe Bob Briggs from The Wittenburg Door visited a convention of atheists last year.  The Wittenburg Door is primarily a satire magazine written by Evangelicals with a sense of humor and perspective which I remember fondly from my teen years. So, writing for a “with it” sort of Evangelical publication, Briggs’s barbs at the atheists [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Daniel Dennett, Featured, Love, New Atheism, Prayer, Religion, Secularism | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

On Unjustifiably Leveraging One’s Credibility

August 18, 2009 – 3:59 am

WIC writes this reply to recent remarks I made to him.  I am only quoting here the portion I specifically address, to read his counter to me in its entirety, click here. The question then becomes whether or not Collins is truly ‘sloppy’ outside the lab in regards to religion. You, Harris, Myers, and other [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Authority, Epistemology, Featured, Francis Collins, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, PZ Myers, Philosophy | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

When Should A Scientist’s Faith Disqualify Him From Scientific Institutional Authority?

August 18, 2009 – 3:19 am

In reply to this post addressing previous objections that Wandering Internet Commentator made to me, WIC returns volley (sentences in italics are quotes he has taken from my previous post to him): I anticipated creationists figuring in your reply. The problem is, though, I’m not really sure they’re the best example of religion ‘polluting’ the [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Creationism, Ethics, Evolution, Featured, Francis Collins, New Atheism, PZ Myers, Philosophy, Religion and Science | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

More Thoughts On Scientists In The Public Square

August 17, 2009 – 6:32 pm

My previous post today on religious scientists was based on a comment I first made on the blog He Lives in reply to a post there.  Below is a subsequent comment from that blog from “Wandering Internet Commenter” interspersed with my replies to him. Normative arguments are fun and all, but it never hurt to [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Epistemic Justification, Epistemology, Ethics, Featured, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, New Atheism, Philosophy, Religion and Science | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Dispelling The Myth That Nazism Was An Outgrowth Of Darwinian Atheism

August 16, 2009 – 7:04 pm

In April of last year, Richard Dawkins wrote this letter (which should be read in full) to someone duped by the slander that Darwinian atheism led to Hitler’s ideals and goals: His horrible bidding was done by millions of ordinary German footsoldiers, and the great majority of them were Christians. Many were Lutheran, and many [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Ethics, History, Metaethics, PZ Myers, Politics, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

On "Concern-Troll Apologists"

August 11, 2009 – 9:15 am

Daylight Atheism exposes a disingenuous tactic for addressing atheists: Concern trolling is defined as masquerading as an ally or a friend in order to offer your enemies “helpful advice” that, if taken, would hurt and undermine them. For example, take this condescending report by Zoe Brennan of the U.K. Daily Mail on the summer camp [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Cultural Secularism, Featured, New Atheism, Religion, Secularism | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

"Sexpelled: No Intercourse Allowed"

August 7, 2009 – 11:06 pm

Via Dread Tomato Addiction comes this brilliant looking follow up to Ben Stein’s Expelled. RichardDawkins.net explains more about the controversy.  A taste: the team has moved on to promoting other theories that they feel are being suppressed by the scientific community. Sexpelled: No Intercourse Allowed tells of how Sex Theory has thrived unchallenged in the [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Comedy, Creationism, Evolution, Fundamentalism, Hilarious, Intelligent Design, Parody, Pseudoscience, Religion and Science, Satire, Secularism | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Secularists Vs. The Creationist Museum

August 6, 2009 – 3:01 pm

Tomorrow PZ Myers, biologist and prominent New Atheist blogger, joins the Secular Student Alliance to visit the infamous Creation Museum.  See the latest drama of the build up to  this big trip here, here, and here.  (Camels With Hammers junkies who can’t get enough of what we do here may appreciate my contributions to the [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Creationism, Intelligent Design, News, News Discussion, PZ Myers, Religion and Science, Religulous, Secularism, Videos | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Richard Dawkins on "Thinking The Improbable"

August 3, 2009 – 2:10 pm

A captivating lecture: Your Thoughts?

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Biology, Cosmology, Evolution, Physics, Probability, Science | Also tagged | Comments (0)

Theologians Vs. Professors Of Religion

August 2, 2009 – 11:53 am

A terrific article from The Chronicle from K.L. Noll, (via a not-surprisingly miffed An und für sich) that addresses the issues that I covered here.  Noll brings considerably more depth and distinctions than I did and on some points may disagree with me, but has the same basic perspective at many essential points.  Check it [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Academic Disciplines, Atheism, Education, Religion, Religious Secularism | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Illusionist Derren Brown Explains The Techniques Of Self-Proclaimed Psychics

July 28, 2009 – 5:00 pm

6 parts, start here: Your Thoughts?

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Skepticism, Videos | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Empirically Testing Theological Claims

July 27, 2009 – 8:31 pm

PZ Myers recaps some of the highlights of what he found to be a frustratingly insubstantial discussion between historian of science Ron Numbers and creationist Paul Nelson.  Myers writes: His example was to talk about the argument from imperfections, the fact that many of the points Coyne made as evidence of evolution were from sub-optimal [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Biology, Christianity, Creationism, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Religion, Religion and Science, Roman Catholic Church, Science | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Atheism, Certainty, Mysticism, And Faitheism

July 27, 2009 – 12:17 am

In reply to Daniel Dennett’s attack on the supposed need for belief in belief, a Daily Dish reader writes: Something I find annoying about this atheist-believer dispute is that it all depends on what you mean by “god”. If you require the talking snake, then, yeah, Dennet rules, in my opinion. But if you are [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Comedy, Film, Religion, Religious Secularism, Science, Secularism, Videos | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

How Atheists Can Avoid Other Fundamentalisms: By Focusing On Rationalism First And Foremost

July 26, 2009 – 11:37 pm

I agree with this a whole lot (I most recommend the last link to PZ Myers’s assessment of Hitchens on war): The real-world implications of the “New Atheists” ideas are not insulated from the same dogmatism and intolerance that they decry. To get back to my original point about rationalism, the religious aspect is only [...]

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By Daniel Fincke | Posted in Atheism, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, New Atheism, Rationalism, Secularism | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)