It's Begun

[Riverwolf]

They’ve officially launched the final assault on religion


The Reason Project: A Non-Profit Dedicated to Reason


Clifford S. Asness
Peter Atkins
Jerry Coyne
Richard Dawkins
Daniel C. Dennett
Brent Forrester
Rebecca Goldstein
Anthony Grayling
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Christopher Hitchens
Lawrence Krauss
Harold Kroto
Bill Maher
Ian McEwan
Steven Pinker
Salman Rushdie
Lee M. Silver
J. Craig Venter
Ibn Warraq
Steven Weinberg
Sam Harris
Annaka Harris
Jai Lakshman

So a group of 23 people are going to change the minds of over 85% of the 7,000,000,000 people on the planet?

Why don't they all try to simultaneously win the lottery while their at it?

 

[Willamena]

The Reason Project is a ... nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society.

Um... what the heck are "secular values"? Are they related to "family values"?

 

[Falvlun]

Um... what the heck are "secular values"? Are they related to "family values"?

Hm... it doesn't really have a nice ring to it, does it? I mean, "family values" at least used to make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

 

[Storm]

Some of us are.



This is the thing that annoys me most about Sam Harris.

He`s a lousy atheist and yet he seems to have grabbed the mantle of atheist representative.

Harris wouldn`t be able to properly define skepticism if it bit him on the ***.

Why do you say that? I'm not that familiar with his work, but I think this is the first time I've heard an atheist do anything but sing his praises.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why do you say that? I'm not that familiar with his work, but I think this is the first time I've heard an atheist do anything but sing his praises.

Really?

I thought I'd expressed my opinion of his book The End of Faith here before. I had major problems with his arguments.

 

[Storm]

Really?

I thought I'd expressed my opinion of his book The End of Faith here before. I had major problems with his arguments.

Well, I haven't read every post on the forum. Anyway, please elaborate.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Well, I haven't read every post on the forum. Anyway, please elaborate.

It's been a while since I read his book, so I can't remember all the issues I had with it, but I do remember often stopping to think to myself "huh? That doesn't make sense. How does that conclusion come from those premises?"

The central argument of his book goes like this:

1. Violent religious extremists are bad.
2. Religion inevitably creates violent religious extremists.
3. Moderate religious belief is bad, because it provides the environment that cultivates violent religious extremists.

I agreed with 1; I suspect most people would. However, when he tried to argue that 2 and 3 followed from 1, I think his arguments broke down.

 

[Storm]

OK, thanks.

 

[linwood]

It's been a while since I read his book, so I can't remember all the issues I had with it, but I do remember often stopping to think to myself "huh? That doesn't make sense. How does that conclusion come from those premises?"

The central argument of his book goes like this:

1. Violent religious extremists are bad.
2. Religion inevitably creates violent religious extremists.
3. Moderate religious belief is bad, because it provides the environment that cultivates violent religious extremists.

I agreed with 1; I suspect most people would. However, when he tried to argue that 2 and 3 followed from 1, I think his arguments broke down.

Actually the premises in The End of Faith are perfectly logical concerning moderate and extremist theists.

My problem is more of an intellectual problem with Harris.
He disregards theism as being a belief without evidence and yet he himself holds numerous beliefs without evidence.

In many of his early writings he gives credence to the idea that mystical experience has and should have effect on the material world.

It seems Harris will buy any kind of Woo you throw at him except god.

 

[Breathe]

They’ve officially launched the final assault on religion

:troll:
Fail.

 

[Sonic247]

They’ve officially launched the final assault on religion


The Reason Project: A Non-Profit Dedicated to Reason


Clifford S. Asness
Peter Atkins
Jerry Coyne
Richard Dawkins
Daniel C. Dennett
Brent Forrester
Rebecca Goldstein
Anthony Grayling
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Christopher Hitchens
Lawrence Krauss
Harold Kroto
Bill Maher
Ian McEwan
Steven Pinker
Salman Rushdie
Lee M. Silver
J. Craig Venter
Ibn Warraq
Steven Weinberg
Sam Harris
Annaka Harris
Jai Lakshman

Oh No! What will we do? lol

 

[Jeremiah]

They’ve officially launched the final assault on religion


The Reason Project: A Non-Profit Dedicated to Reason


Clifford S. Asness
Peter Atkins
Jerry Coyne
Richard Dawkins
Daniel C. Dennett
Brent Forrester
Rebecca Goldstein
Anthony Grayling
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Christopher Hitchens
Lawrence Krauss
Harold Kroto
Bill Maher
Ian McEwan
Steven Pinker
Salman Rushdie
Lee M. Silver
J. Craig Venter
Ibn Warraq
Steven Weinberg
Sam Harris
Annaka Harris
Jai Lakshman

Who are these people and why should I care?

 

[Jeremiah]

Melodrama aside, the only way this could be "the final assault on religion" is if it results in the atheists giving up and going home. Somehow, I doubt that's going to happen.

"atheists giving up and going home"

Giving up on what?

 

[Jeremiah]

Honestly, this site looks rather harmless.

 

[Sonic247]

"Critical thinking": as long as it's critical in the way we want it to be.

 

[Willamena]

"Critical thinking": as long as it's critical in the way we want it to be.

"Critical thinking" applies to oneself.

 

[Storm]

In many of his early writings he gives credence to the idea that mystical experience has and should have effect on the material world.

Could you elaborate on this? What sort of effect does/ should it have, and why do you disagree?

 

[Storm]

"atheists giving up and going home"

Giving up on what?

Unnoticed "assaults on religion."

 

[logician]

Looks like a pretty good site to me, a good place to go to get a variety of tpes of information.

Any religionist that complains about the so-called evangelistic nature of this site, in the face of 24/7 propagandizing by the major religions, is simply a hypocrite.

 

[Storm]

Any religionist that complains about the so-called evangelistic nature of this site, in the face of 24/7 propagandizing by the major religions, is simply a hypocrite.

What if we dislike them equally?