20 JUN 2017 by ideonexus

 Underreported Atheists

The authors of the study, published earlier this year, adopted a novel way to measure atheist identity. Instead of asking about belief in God directly, they provided a list of seemingly innocuous statements and then asked: “How many of these statements are true of you?” Respondents in a control group were given a list of nine statements, such as “I own a dog” and “I am a vegetarian.” The test group received all the same statements plus one that read, “I do not believe in God.”...
Folksonomies: atheism identity reporting
Folksonomies: atheism identity reporting
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08 JAN 2013 by ideonexus

 The Problem with the "Atheist"

As I've said, I've never believed in God, which technically makes me an atheist (since the prefix "a" means "not" or "without"). But I have problems with the word "atheism." It defines what someone is not rather than what someone is. It would be like calling me an a-instrumentalist for Bad Religion rather than the band's singer. Defining yourself as against something says very little about what you are for. That's my biggest objection to the wave of atheist book^ks and Web sites that have c...
Folksonomies: atheism atheist labels
Folksonomies: atheism atheist labels
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Not only does it define someone by what they aren't, it also suffers from an incredible vagueness that tells people nothing about what a person thinks.

24 FEB 2011 by ideonexus

 What Does a Comedian Know About God?

Since there is nothing to know about god, a comedian knows as much about god as any one else. An atheist however is alone in knowing that there is nothing to know so probably has the edge. An Atheist comedian can make people laugh about belief or lack of it. A good atheist comedian can make people laugh AND think about belief or lack of it. An agnostic would say that since you can neither prove the existence nor the non-existence of God then the only answer to the question “Is there a God?...
Folksonomies: science atheism
Folksonomies: science atheism
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...and Ricky Gervais' brilliant response.