atheism

Question 1

what is an atheist?

Answer 1

someone who doesn’t believe in god

Question 2

what is agnosticism?

Answer 2

the uncertainty to whether god exists

Question 3

what is negative (weak) atheism?

Answer 3

doesn’t claim that god doesn’t exist but is asked if they believe in god they would say no

Question 4

what is positive (strong) atheism?

Answer 4

both atheist and theist defend their belief giving evidence to disprove the other

Question 5

what is new atheism?

Answer 5

those who actively reject the belief in god and work against it considering it to be harmful to humanity

Question 6

who are the four horsemen of new atheism?

Answer 6

the figureheads of new atheism:

Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennett

Question 7

where did new atheism stem from?

Answer 7

gained popularity after the 9/11 attacks which were believed to be caused by religion

Question 8

what does non-thinking mean?

Answer 8

the criticism that new atheists like Richard Dawkins argue that religion teaches people to be satisfied by not understanding the world and that there is no evidence to support their beliefs

Question 9

what does Dawkins argue non-thinking leads to?

Answer 9

leads to fanaticism and helps create a society where extremism can flourish
Dawkins also argues that religion is forced upon children

Question 10

what does an infantile world view mean?

Answer 10

religion teaches people to accept without question, they teach limited simplistic stories about the universe, and presenting god as to be feared. god is not required to explain the universe

Question 11

what does it mean by impeding scientific progress?

Answer 11

Hitchens claims that religion works against reason, restricting science teaching in schools concerning evolution and controls healthcare and medical research
Dawkins claims religion teaches us not to change our minds and saps our intelligence

Question 12

what does Richard Dawkins argue?

Answer 12

calls religion a virus “It grips the body, takes control”
its nonsense that without religion there is no morality
believes teaching religion in schools is child abuse
written books “the god delusion” and “the root of all evil”

Question 13

what does Sam Harris argue?

Answer 13

believes that all religions are not created equal and highlights difference in scripture and doctrine as indicator of value or lack there of
he is critical of the Christian Right in US politics, blaming them for focus on “pseudo-problems” like gay marriage

Question 14

what does Daniel Dennett argue?

Answer 14

there is no proof of god so we should assume its not real
if god is good then why is there the problem of evil and the brutality of the animal world.
the change in the story of religion is inconsistent and contradictory

Question 15

what does Christopher Hitchens argue?

Answer 15

the main source of hatred in the world is organised religion.
religion poisons everything and infects us
he argues god favours child sacrifice and the bible calls for slavery and genocide
god can convict you of thought crime and dreams

Question 16

what is the claim that science and religion are compatible?

Answer 16

McGrath claims that Dawkins fails to make the distinction between total absence of supporting evidence and the absence of totally supporting evidence.
some facts of the world have been proved but bigger scientific questions haven’t been proven so why can’t the answer be god, there is some overlap between science and religion.
science has no methods for deciding what’s ethical

Question 17

who is Alister McGrath?

Answer 17

a former atheist now Christian who is a professor of science and religion

Question 18

what is fundamentalism?

Answer 18

religious people who believe the word of a holy book or scriptures literally or close to literally
fundamentalism IS NOT extremism

Question 19

why has there been an increase in fundamentalism

Answer 19

attack from new atheism has made religious groups more vocal, seeking to influence law and public policy
Christian Right in US on gay marriage and abortion

Question 20

who are examples of religious fundamentalists?

Answer 20

ken Ham- Christian who believes the universe is 6000 years old and the literal truth of the old testament, rejection of science
Pat Robertson- christian who condemned homosexuality and abortion claiming natural disaster is gods punishment

Question 21

what are apologists? how do they influence?

Answer 21

people who actively defend religion, influence through social media, TV, public debates

Question 22

who is William lane Craig?

Answer 22

a Christian apologist who uses reason and logic. he has debated Christopher Hitchens

Question 23

what does William lane Craig argue?

Answer 23

that people have a desire to go against god and that without god morality and evil do not exist, the world is chaos as evil goes unpunished

Question 24

what does the apologist Robert Barron argue?

Answer 24

atheism is a fantasy, wouldn’t it be nice if we could do what we want and challenges them with scripture. Atheists are just teasing at the idea of god