Posted inAtheism Reality Science

Why keeping an open mind on the divine is a stupid idea

Sometimes intelligent people can say some really stupid things. I know this as an experiential fact, because I'm intelligent and I've said some really stupid things. In conversations. In books I've written. In my blog posts. When I do this, it's entirely fair for other people to criticize what I've said. That's why I feel equally justified in calling an essay in the Atlantic by Arthur C. Brooks, "Why You Should Keep an Open Mind on the Divine," a stupid idea. Brooks starts off by quoting Russian cosmonaut Gherman Titov, the second man to orbit the Earth: “Sometimes people are…
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Posted inAtheism Christianity/Jesus

Here’s some thoughtful messages to me from a churchless Christian

John is a Church of the Churchless visitor who exchanges emails with me from time to time. He's my type of Christian: the non-believing kind. Meaning, he still has some connections to Christianity through his still-believing wife, and John doesn't trumpet his atheist de-conversion to his friends and family. With his permission I've shared some of his messages before. Now I'm doing it again. John writes well and has a nice way of putting things. Thoughtful, down-to-earth, light hearted. Here's a couple of recent messages from John. I added the links to the blog posts he mentions. Hey Brian. I…
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Posted inAtheism Politics Religions

“Brainwashing” ignores the fact that everything alters the mind

I'm old enough to remember when brainwashing was a more commonly used word than it is now. An article by Nikhil Krishnan in the April 7 issue of The New Yorker, "It's Always the Other Side That's Been Brainwashed," reminded me of this. During the Korean War, American prisoners of war were subjected to brainwashing by Chinese authorities in a sometimes successful attempt to make the prisoners believe that the values of their country were less desirable than communism.  In 1962, my freshman year in high school, a fictional movie about this was released, The Manchurian Candidate.  The plot centers on…
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Posted inAtheism Religions

It’s perfectly fine to be a religion of one (or a non-religion of one)

I really like the idea of being a religion of one, for reasons laid out in "If you become a religion of one, your worship will be effortless." After all, since there already are thousands of different religions, why not add one more: your own personal faith. That's why when I started this blog in 2004, it took me just a few seconds to come up with the tagline at the top of this page: Preaching the gospel of spiritual independence.  Not surprisingly, Ross Douthat, the author of Believe: Why Everybody Should Be Religious, differs with the whole religion of…
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Posted inAtheism Consciousness Neuroscience

More reasons why I’m liking the modular mind theory

As I continue reading Robert Kurzban's book Why Everyone (Else) is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind, I keep coming across ideas that make me pleased I forked out $16.97 to Amazon. The book is well worth the money. Here's some additional points from Kurzban that appealed to me. Press Secretary versus President. Most of us like to think that basically we're in charge of our thoughts and actions. Maybe our emotions also, though they seem more out of our control. In other words, we're the President of the entity we call "myself." Kurzban has a different view. He…
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Posted inAtheism Religions

“Believe” is a book that claims religions are true. I doubt it can do that.

I bought Ross Douthat's book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, not because I agree with that thesis. Rather, I was curious about how Douthat would make his arguments, figuring that it would be easy for atheists like me to undermine them. After reading 25 pages, I'm impressed with Douthat's lofty goal, but not with his reasoning so far. Being a New York Times opinion columnist and a former senior editor at The Atlantic, it isn't surprising that Douthat is a talented writer. He makes his points clearly. So kudos to him for that. And I admire how in his…
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Posted inAtheism Religions

Why it can be easy to talk with someone who has very different beliefs than you do

In these divisive times marked by so much animosity between people who believe in radically different things, whether these be in a religious, political, or some other "hot button" area, it was refreshing for me to read a book with a core message that deeply resonated with me.  Namely, that it can be easier to share ideas with someone on the opposite side of a dualistic spectrum -- liberal vs. conservative in the realm of politics, believer vs. atheist in the realm of religion -- than to converse with someone who believes very much as you do. Tim Urban explains…
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Posted inAtheism

Kate Cohen on why America needs more atheists

My wife, who is even more of an avid atheist than I am, gave me an article she'd torn out of American Atheist, the publication of (no big surprise) the American Atheists organization, which she belongs to.  The article, "Why I Call Myself an Atheist," was by Kate Cohen, who wrote We of Little Faith, a book I've blogged about here and here. I liked the article, but couldn't find it online, probably because American Atheists doesn't want people to be able to read stuff in their publication without joining the organization. But in searching for the article, I came…
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Posted inAtheism Radha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

I’m inspired by Sam Harris’ sharp attacks on religion

Like all of us, Sam Harris has changed over the years. Following the publication of his acclaimed The End of Faith in 2004, Harris became well known as an eloquent advocate for atheism against the foolishness of religion, joining other noted atheists -- Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Daniel Dennett -- who were known as "The Four Horsemen of the New Atheism." Since, Harris has written additional books and has fashioned a vibrant online presence through his Waking Up app and Making Sense podcast. He still bashes religion, but appears more concerned with other subjects, such as helping people experience…
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Posted inAtheism

More atheist wisdom from “We of Little Faith”

The more I read of Kate Cohen's book, We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too), the more I enjoy what this talented writer has to say about openly, honestly, and bravely proclaiming one's atheism. Here's some additional excerpts from the book, which I wrote about in an initial post a few days ago. First, I recall that one of the comments on the post said that it isn't possible, or at least very difficult, to be a Jewish atheist, since Judaism is a religion that believes in God. That ridiculous, as anyone…
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Posted inAtheism

Excerpts from a great book: “We of Little Faith” by Kate Cohen

On one of my other blogs, recently someone shared a link to Kate Cohen's book, We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too). I bought it, because while I've read and enjoyed books that praise atheism by Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, and others, Cohen takes a different approach from these men. Cohen's book is rooted in her experience as a Jewish woman who found her atheist voice and was determined to bring up her children not as secular, spiritual but not religious, or any other euphemism, but as the…
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Posted inAtheism

Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for this great atheist message from John.

It's the Thanksgiving holiday today in the United States. We're going to have dinner with some friends in a few hours. My contribution is a Trader Joes vegan Breaded Turkey-Less Stuffed Roast With Gravy. Took me a whole five minutes to prepare before I put it in the oven. Luckily I'd bought extra last year and put some in the freezer, because I was shocked to learn that Trader Joes isn't offering it this year because it didn't sell well. Damn capitalism! My wife and I have tried every vegetarian alternative to turkey and the Trader Joes offering was the…
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Posted inAtheism Religions

Atheist me speaks to religious you

Here's the post that I wrote on my new substack account yesterday, and shared via a link on this blog. I like substack, but after a day of pondering how much I like it, I'm leaning toward sticking with my three blogs as ways to share my writing. If I was starting fresh, substack would appeal to me. But given the many years of history I have with each of my blogs, it just seems to make sense to stick with what's working for me. I can always use substack as a backup to Typepad, my blogging service, since now…
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Posted inAtheism

Check out my substack post about atheism and religion

Hey, I've dipped my writing toe in the Substack water. Today I decided to give Substack a try by setting up my account and writing a post about atheism and religiosity -- just in time for Easter! I did my best to explain how us atheists view religious belief. It's often a source of comfort, which is good. But when that belief is viewed as objective truth rather than subjective faith, bad things can happen in our highly political and divisive times. Check out "Atheist me speaks to religious you."
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Posted inAtheism God

Why asking for proof that God doesn’t exist makes no sense

Today I watched a recorded episode of Bill Maher's Real Time HBO show. Scott Galloway, one of Maher's guests, was really down on TikTok, the video sharing service owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. Galloway thought TikTok should be banned in the United States because he believes the Chinese Communist Party is using it to undermine the patriotism of American young people.  But he couldn't provide any evidence that this is happening. Galloway just believed that the Chinese government was messing with the minds of our youth. At one point he said that it wasn't up to those opposed to…
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Posted inAtheism Buddhism Personal/Stories

I might have had a mini-enlightenment last night

Even though I no longer believe in God, I'm attracted to non-religious Buddhism. So even though I don't engage in any sort of formal Buddhist practice, I like the idea of being enlightened.  Just seems better than being endarkened.  Though I can't say with any certainty that the intuitive flash that coursed through my consciousness as I was heading to bed last night was a sign of a mini-enlightenment (I'm way too humble to claim a maxi-enlightenment), I like the idea that it was. So I'll go with that. I was heading down the stairs that lead to the bedroom…
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Posted inAtheism Meaning of life

“It had to be” — a great four-word secular philosophy

At my age, 74, it gets more common to have worries pop up in my life that are different from younger person concerns. Health problems, for example. They occur at any age, but when you're young, things that are wrong with you tend to get better. However, the older we get, the more likely we have to deal with chronic problems, things that aren't going to go away.  Best we can do is manage them so they're annoyances, not major obstacles to living an enjoyable life. I find that when I have a doctor appointment scheduled where I'm not sure…
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Posted inAtheism

How Armin Navabi became an atheist after trying to die for God

At the end of Armin Navabi's book, Why There Is No God, a book I've written about several times before, I came to a fascinating description of Navabi's efforts to know God as a devout Muslim boy. It was written by a friend of his, Mohammad Savage. Armin Navabi Enjoy these excerpts. I find this tale highly inspiring. It shows that many atheists have pursued God with tremendous effort and determination, choosing to disbelieve only after giving belief a very good chance.  Armin was born and raised in the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was indoctrinated quite thoroughly since early…
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Posted inAtheism

John Lennon’s atheism in three of his songs

I love John Lennon's Imagine. But whenever I hear it played at some large event, like New Year's Eve in Times Square, I wonder why it's so popular in a highly religious country like the United States. After all, the lyrics are not only secular, they're anti-religion.  Imagine there's no heavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for today... Aha-ah...Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion, tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peace... You...You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope…
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Posted inAtheism Free will

Before you decide to do something, you’re already acting

I'm a big non-believer in free will. OK, more simply put, I don't believe in free will -- even though, like almost everybody, I feel like I have it. Today I listened to a guided meditation by Jeff Warren on my Calm iPhone app. It starts off this way.  There's a famous neurobiology finding where a test subject is told to push a meaningless button whenever they feel like it. And meanwhile, scientists are watching the subject's brain activity on an EEG machine. And here's the weird thing. A full six seconds before the person has the thought, I'm going…
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