lotus

previous page: The Religious Society of Friends FAQ
  
page up: Religion
  
next page: Atheist Organizations FAQ

Atheism FAQ



Frequently Asked Questions about Atheism.

This FAQ about atheism was compiled and written by mathew meta@pobox.com with numerous contributions by others.

-01 An Introduction to Atheism
by mathew < meta@pobox.com> ...
-02 "What is atheism?"
Atheism is characterized by a deliberate absence of belief in ...
-03 "What is agnosticism then?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
The term 'agnosticism' was coined by Professor T.H. Huxley at ...
-04 "So what is the philosophical justification or basis for atheism?"
There are many philosophical justifications for atheism. To find ...
-05 "But isn't it impossible to prove the non-existence of something?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
There are many counter-examples to such a statement. For example, ...
-06 "But what if God is essentially non-detectable?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
If God interacts with our universe in any way, the effects of ...
-07 "God is unique. He is the supreme being, the creator of the universe. He must by definition exist." (An Introduction to Atheism)
Things do not exist merely because they have been defined to do so. ...
-08 "OK, you may think there's a philosophical justification for atheism, but isn't it still a religious belief?"
One of the most common pastimes in philosophical discussion is ...
-09 "If atheism is not religious, surely it's anti-religious?"
It is an unfortunate human tendency to label everyone as either ...
-10 "But if you don't allow religion to have a say in the running of the state, surely that's the same as state atheism?"
The principle of the separation of church and state is that the ...
-11 "What about prayer in schools? If there's no God, why do you care if people pray?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
Because people who do pray are voters and lawmakers, and tend to ...
-12 "You said atheism isn't anti-religious. But is it perhaps a backlash against one's upbringing, a way of rebelling?"
Perhaps it is, for some. But many people have parents who do ...
-13 "How do atheists differ from religious people?"
They don't believe in God. That's all there is to it....
-14 "Unexceptional? But aren't atheists less moral than religious people?"
That depends. If you define morality as obedience to God, then ...
-15 "Is there such a thing as atheist morality?"
If you mean Is there such a thing as morality for atheists?, ...
-16 "But don't atheists want to believe in God?"
Atheists live their lives as though there is nobody watching ...
-17 "Isn't the whole of life completely pointless to an atheist?"
Many atheists live a purposeful life. They decide what they ...
-18 "So how do atheists find comfort in time of danger?"
There are many ways of obtaining comfort:...
-19 "Don't atheists worry that they might suddenly be shown to be wrong?"
The short answer is No, do you?...
-20 "So why should theists question their beliefs? Don't the same arguments apply?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
No, because the beliefs being questioned are not similar. Weak ...
-21 "Well, if atheism's so great, why are there so many theists?"
Unfortunately, the popularity of a belief has little to do with ...
-22 "But so many cultures have developed religions. Surely that must say something?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
Not really. Most religions are only superficially similar; ...
-23 "So are you really saying that widespread belief in religion indicates nothing?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
Not entirely. It certainly indicates that the religion in question ...
-24 "Even if religion is not entirely true, at least it puts across important messages. What are the fundamental messages of atheism?"
There are many important ideas atheists promote. The following ...
-25 Adolf Hitler was an atheist! (Atheism FAQ)
Hitler was an atheist, and look at what he did!...
-26 The Bible proves it (Atheism FAQ)
In the Bible it says that......
-27 Pascal's Wager (God is a safe bet) (Atheism FAQ)
If you believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you have ...
-28 Lord, Liar or Lunatic? (Atheism FAQ)
Did Jesus exist? If not, then there's not much to talk about. If ...
-29 What is Occam's Razor? (Atheism FAQ)
People keep talking about Occam's Razor. What is it?...
-30 Why it's good to believe in Jesus (Atheism FAQ)
I want to tell people about the virtues and benefits of my religion....
-31 Why I know that God exists (Atheism FAQ)
I know from personal experience and prayer that God exists. ...
-32 Einstein and "God does not play dice" (Atheism FAQ)
Albert Einstein believed in God. Do you think you're cleverer ...
-33 Everyone worships something (Atheism FAQ)
Everyone worships something, whether it's money, power or God....
-34 The universe is so complex it must have been designed (Atheism FAQ)
The presence of design in the universe proves there is a God. ...
-35 Godel's Incompleteness Theorem (Atheism FAQ)
Godel's Incompleteness Theorem demonstrates that it is impossible ...
-36 George Bush on atheism and patriotism (Atheism FAQ)
Did George Bush really say that atheists should not be ...
-37 I know where hell is! (Atheism FAQ)
I know where Hell is! Hell is in Norway!...
-38 Biblical contradictions wanted (Atheism FAQ)
Does anyone have a list of Biblical contradictions?...
-39 The USA is a Christian nation/state (Atheism FAQ)
Because of the religious beliefs of the founding fathers, shouldn'...
-40 The USA is not a Christian nation/state (Atheism FAQ)
Is it true that George Washington said that the United States is ...
-41 The Bible says 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'... (Atheism FAQ)
The Bible says Thou shalt not kill, yet many Christians serve ...
-42 What does 'xian' mean? (Atheism FAQ)
What does the abbreviation 'xian' mean? Is it an insult?...
-43 The Bible says pi is 3! (Atheism FAQ)
In I Kings 7:23, the Bible says:...
-44 Aren't atheists Satanic? (Atheism FAQ)
Atheists don't believe in any kind of supernatural divine being. ...
-45 Introduction (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
There is a lot of argument on Usenet; unfortunately, most of it is ...
-46 Caveats (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
Note that I am not claiming that logic is the only way of ...
-47 Basic concepts (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
The building blocks of a logical argument are propositions, ...
-48 What is an argument? (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
An argument is, to quote the Monty Python sketch, a connected ...
-49 Types of argument (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
There are two traditional types of logical argument: deductive ...
-50 Recognizing an argument (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
Sometimes arguments won't follow the order described above. ...
-51 Implication in detail (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
There's one very important thing to remember:...
-52 Real life, and other things not considered (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
This document has considered logical argument as a process ...
-53 Further reading (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
For a readable introduction to logic, try Flew's Thinking Straight,...
-54 Fallacies (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
To delve further into the structure of logical arguments would ...
-55 Anecdotal Evidence p1 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
One of the simplest fallacies is to rely on anecdotal evidence. ...
-56 Anecdotal Evidence p2 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
Argumentum ad ...
-57 Anecdotal Evidence p3 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
The fallacy of accident / Sweeping generalization / Dicto ...
-58 Anecdotal Evidence p4 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
Complex question / Fallacy of interrogation / Fallacy of ...
-59 Anecdotal Evidence p5 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
The slippery slope ...
-60 Anecdotal Evidence p6 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
Shifting the burden of ...







TOP
previous page: The Religious Society of Friends FAQ
  
page up: Religion
  
next page: Atheist Organizations FAQ