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abortion (n.)
- miscarriage, termination of pregnancy by expulsion of the fœtus before term
- voluntary termination of pregnancy
- failure, arrested development
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Relevant Articles:
agnostic (n. or adj.)
- an individual who holds that nothing is or is likely to be known of a god or of anything but material phenomena
See agnosticism.
Here is a delightfully biting definition of agnostic, found on an internet chat site:
...agnostics are actually lazy atheists
agnosticism (n.)
- the assertion that all claims to ultimate knowledge are uncertain
From its honourable origins in the 19th century (see Thomas Henry HUXLEY), agnosticism has today become almost synonymous with equivocation, even intellectual cowardice.
If interpreted as meaning lack of knowledge, the concept of agnosticism can apply to any domain of knowledge where there is uncertainty. One can be justifiably agnostic with respect to, say, a new scientific theory whose validity has not been fully proven. The concept is also sometimes used to imply neutrality based on lack of interaction; for example, computer programmers may say that a certain software module is "operating system agnostic", meaning that it has no knowledge of which operating system (OS) is running and thus functions independently of the choice of OS.
However, the word is normally used in a religious context, in particular to refer to theism or deism. In this context, agnosticism is the assertion that nothing is or is likely to be known of a god or of anything but material phenomena.
Agnosticism with respect to theism is often expressed by asserting that the existence and non-existence of god are equally probable, i.e. "symmetric agnosticism". This is a serious logical error, an example of the fallacy of the mean. By viewing belief in god(s) and disbelief in god(s) as "extremes", the symmetric agnostic falsely concludes that the best position is half-way between them. To observe that the non-existence of something cannot be proven does not justify the conclusion that that thing has a probability of 50% of existing. I cannot prove that Santa Claus does not exist, neither can anyone prove that the author of these lines is not God and King of the Universe, but that does not imply that these assertions have a 50% chance of being true.
Some who adopt a position of symmetric agnosticism do so as an indirect and self-serving attempt to justify their implicit theism. Swinburne (The Existence of God) takes hundreds of pages to convince himself that the probability of the existence of the Christian God is at least 50%. But the symmetric agnostic is lazy and simply assumes, from the get-go, a 50% probability of some god existing. Swinburne, at least, is honest.
On the other hand, others who call themselves agnostic are in fact atheists who have adopted a very conciliatory and obsequious attitude towards religion and lack the courage to call themselves atheists. See atheophobia.
A consistent and intellectually honest approach to agnosticism--i.e. scepticism with regard to theism, without a dogmatic attachment to symmetry--leads inevitably to negative atheism. See:
Relevant Book:
Agnosticism and Christianity -- HUXLEY, Thomas Henry
Relevant Articles:
Quotations: Thomas Henry HUXLEY
Agnosticism and Christianity
and other essays
HUXLEY, Thomas Henry
Keywords: agnosticism Christianity
Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY, USA
1992
These are 19th century writings (Huxley lived from 1825 to 1895) originally published
by the Rationalist Press Association in 1931.
animism (n.)
- belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects, beings and phenomena
apocalypse (n.)
- prophetic disclosure or revelation, in particular a religious text purporting to make revelations of the ultimate divine purpose such as the bibilical book of Revelations
- universal or widespread destruction or disaster; end of the world or of time
Christianity is, or at least was originally, an apocalyptic religion: i.e. the world was, according to the alleged teachings of Jesus, supposed to end within the lifetime of some of his contemporaries.
apostasy (n.)
- abandonment of one's religious beliefs
- abandonment of a political party or a cause
This word is generally used in a religious context, indicating leaving the religion in which one was raised.
See Apostasy, Baptism Removal and Excommunication.
News Report
Atheists choose 'de-baptism' to renounce childhood faith -- G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Religion News Service, 2009-07-22
The arguments against atheism are generally very weak and usually completely vacuous. But religious believers and atheophobes keep bringing them up. So here some of the frequently recurring arguments are listed, discussed and refuted. See also atheophobia.
Follow this link: Frequently Advanced Arguments Against Atheism
atheism (n.)
- absence of belief in god(s)
See What is Atheism?
See also the entry Atheism, by Nick C. Sagos, in American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia, on Google Books.
 From http://www.scottklarr.com/ |
Relevant Books:
Atheism -- MARTIN, Michael
Atheism -- JOSHI, S. T.
Atheism, Morality and Meaning -- MARTIN, Michael
Atheist Manifesto -- ONFRAY, Michel
Atheist Universe -- MILLS, David
50 Reasons People Give For Believing In A God -- HARRISON, Guy P.
God is Not Great -- HITCHENS, Christopher
The Happy Heretic -- HAYES, Judith
Irreligion -- PAULOS, John Allen
Letter to a Christian Nation -- HARRIS, Sam
Natural Atheism -- ELLER, David
The Portable Atheist -- HITCHENS, Christopher
Western Atheism -- THROWER, James
Relevant Articles:
Atheophobia, A Prejudice Thousands of Years Old
Does Secularism Imply Religious Neutrality?
Is Humanism Much More Than Atheism?
Quotations: Donatien-Alphonse-François de SADE
Quotations: Percy Bysshe SHELLEY
Atheism
A Philosophical Justification
MARTIN, Michael
Keywords: atheism philosophy
Temple University Press
1990
Atheism
A Reader
JOSHI, S. T.
Keywords: atheism Christianity religion
Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY, USA
2000
Atheism, Morality and Meaning
MARTIN, Michael
Keywords: atheism morality
Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY, USA
2002
atheist (n. or adj.)
- an individual who does not believe in the existence of god(s)
Canada
The following organizations have begun atheist bus campaigns in various cities
Other Countries
www.whybelieveinagod.org -- Washington, DC, atheist bus campaign --
American Humanist AssociationMedia Reports
Other Publicity Campaigns
Billboard sponsored by the Pisa section of the Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics
"I prefer to reason rather than to believe: because I am an atheist"
Unione degli Atei e degli Agnostici Razionalisti (UAAR)
Atheist Manifesto
The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
ONFRAY, Michel
Keywords: atheism history philosophy
Arcade Publishing
2007
Atheist Universe
The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism
MILLS, David
Keywords: atheism religion
Ulysses Press
2006
atheophobia (n.)
- fear of, or antipathy towards, atheists and atheism
What is Atheophobia?
It is a very common prejudice, widespread among both religious believers and non-believers. As this term is a neologism and the above definition is very literal, a more detailed description is in order:
To be even more precise, atheophobia may be defined as:
Atheophobia is a very old, widespread and baseless prejudice. It varies from the banal -- such as the vague notion that attending religious services will somehow make one a better person -- to the extreme, i.e. hateful accusations of moral inferiority directed at atheists, which can be a form a hate propaganda.
It is only reasonable that atheophobia be subject to the same sort of social disapproval that is applied to racism (antisemitism, white supremacism, etc.), misogyny, homophobia, and similar prejudices. Unfortunately, the opposite is generally true: social norms very often reinforce atheophobia.
Atheophobia among Nonbelievers
This prejudice is widespread even among nonbelievers, where it takes one of the forms described by the third and fourth meanings given above. Atheophobia among those who are in fact atheists themselves can be described as internalized atheophobia. It becomes outright hypocrisy when it manifests itself as hostility towards open, unashamed atheists. Such antipathy is a smokescreen for a lack of courage in the face of religious social pressure.
Atheophobic Propaganda and Freedom of Expression
To recognize the prejudicial nature of atheophobia is not to say that it should necessarily be subject to legal sanction. Freedom of expression is an essential human right to which atheists are dearly attached. Nevertheless, if expression of hatred for religious groups is legally forbidden, then there can be no justification for allowing hateful atheophobic assertions either. I would suggest the importance of clearly distinguishing between the following two actions:
See also:
This is atheophobia -- i.e. fear of, or antipathy towards, atheists and atheism -- which manifests itself among nonbelievers and (closeted) atheists themselves, i.e. among those who may have abandoned all religious belief but still cling, perhaps unconsciously, to old metabeliefs.
(Article under construction...)
See atheophobia.
Book:
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