Articles

Taking Atheism Seriously

Let’s take it as given that Richard Dawkins is correct: God does not, and never has, existed.

With that being so, what necessarily follows about life, the universe and everything? This may seem to be a quite straightforward question to answer, but because religious beliefs have deeply infused our cultural understanding and practice for so long it is not always simple to appreciate what reality, minus the religious baggage, actually is.

If you can get away with it, just do it

On some moral issues, for example the torturing of babies, there is almost complete agreement on what is right and what is wrong, while with other issues, such as abortion, there is strong and often completely irreconcilable disagreement. From where do we derive our notions of right and wrong and how do/should we decide who is correct?

Making Up Meaning

He: You know what really makes me mad? … critics of atheism who say that life must be meaningless if atheism is true. What a load of rubbish!

The Determinist's Dilemma

“There is no such thing as free will,” Max mumbled to no one in particular.

“What did you say?”

“I said that there is no such thing as free will.”

Lowering his newspaper, Justin replied, “Why do you say that?”

Interesting Quotes

Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.

Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist ...

- Stephen Hawking (atheist) and Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design, 2010