Non-Belief - New Atheism &
Arguments for Non-Belief
Disclaimer: This lesson is designed to explore aspects of non-theistic belief. Just like all year, none of this lesson is designed to persuade you from whatever faith your walking in with. For some atheists, these type of arguments are how they came to their beliefs. There has also been an intellectual trend where "new atheists" are compelled to challenge & critique religion, especially when it could possibly influence political, social, moral, educational, or scientific decisions. The following are some examples of how they're doing it.
"You're Atheist About Most Gods...I'm just atheist about one more."One argument is that most people are atheistic about at least some gods. For example, many Christians do not believe in Vishnu or Zeus. They don't believe in the hundreds (thousands?) of other gods that have been described throughout human history. They believe in one God.
"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts |
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The Problem of EvilVertical Divider
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The Fate of the UnlearnedMany religious doctrines require some sort of initiation or belief in order for a reward in the next life. Someone's religion is greatly influenced by their parent's religion, which was influenced by the time & place they were raised. Do people who were born into "wrong religion" have a chance at reward in the next life? If not, why would a benevolent & omnipotent God choose to condemn such a large percentage of humanity? This concept is known as The Face of the Unlearned, and it is an adjacent argument to the Problem of Evil. There are several religious scholars who believe they have logical answers to this concept, but they also do not speak for the entirety of their religious background.
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Three Different Perspectives
These are three authentic (yet not exclusive) expressions of non-theistic belief. There are much longer philosophical debates on this if you're interested. Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, & Christopher Hitchens are known as the Four Horsemen of New-Atheism. This "New-Atheism" argues that religions are superstitions that should be countered and critiqued any time religion tries to influence government, education, politics, science, or many other areas. Search for any of their names and you'll find days & days of videos - though I don't recommend watching any of the panels that only include them. From what I've seen, they tend to let each other get away with fallacies that most of you would be able to pick up - but they are much better in dialogue with others. A great example of that is Sam Harris talking in a protestant church in Los Angeles.
Sam HarrisVertical Divider
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Neil deGrasse TysonVertical Divider
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Bill Maher |