Difference between revisions of "Essay: Favorite quotes of atheists"

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(Decline of atheism and the explosive growth of global Christianity)
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=== Decline of atheism and the explosive growth of global Christianity ===
 
=== Decline of atheism and the explosive growth of global Christianity ===
  
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[[File:African open air Christian meeting.jpg|thumbnail|right|320px|[[Africa]]n Christians clapping at an open air meeting. In recent years, Christianity has seen a rapid growth in Africa.<ref>[http://gratefultothedead.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/the-african-apostles-how-christianity-exploded-in-20th-century-africa/ The African apostles: How Christianity exploded in 20th-century Africa]</ref>
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In 2005, there were four times as many non-[[Western World]] Christians as there were Western World Christians.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=30077 Is Christianity taking over the planet?]</ref>
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Western World atheists have not engaged in a significant amount of global outreach.]]
 
See also: [[Global atheism]] and [[Global Christianity]]
 
See also: [[Global atheism]] and [[Global Christianity]]
  

Revision as of 21:20, November 2, 2014

Below are some of my favorite quotes of atheists:

1. "Once again, Nugent, a great piece. While I’m starting to agree with Rawlinson that there are huge swathes of the online atheist community that simply can not be reasoned with, your work here is still valuable." - Atheist commenting at atheist Michael Nugent's website[1]

Hong Kong Christians at Gateway Camp. As you can clearly see, Hong Kong Christian ladies are sweethearts. And of course, Hong Kong Christian men are perfect gentlemen in elevators. See: Elevatorgate

2. "The problem, as identified by almost every mainstream outsider-looking-in, is sexism; it’s harassment of women; it’s the tacit support of this by many of high profile figures in atheism; and it’s the awful comments by Dawkins on twitter regarding rape, disability and feminism. This has discredited the Atheist movement, likely for good. It’s over. Mention of Dawkins in public now induces a pained cringe at best." - An atheist commenting at atheist Michael Nugent's website[2]

3. "Did anyone on Dawkins AMA ask how he feels about singlehandedly destroying the atheist movement with the Dear Muslima yet?"[3] - Atheist activist and blogger Jen McCreight post at Twitter on November 26, 2013

4. On September 27, 2014 in a blog post entitled The Atheist Disillusionment, the prominent atheist PZ Myers declared:

I will make a prediction, right here and now.... The number of people identifying as atheists will stagnate or even shrink, because organized atheism is happily in the process of destroying itself with regressive social attitudes, scandals, and their bizarre focus on irrelevant metaphysical differences that don’t help people...

Unless we change.

I don’t know that we can.[4]

"Check your privilege!" - Rebecca Watson

(photo obtained from Wikimedia commons, see: license agreement)

5. "These days, barely a week passes without the emergence of yet more evidence that atheists are the most irritating people on Earth." - the atheist Brendan O'Neill, The Telegraph, How atheists became the most colossally smug and annoying people on the planet, August 14th, 2013[5]

6. "You seem to regard Michael Nugent as an asset, whereas he is steadily proving himself to be a liability. Not just to atheism (a lost cause) but also (and especially) to humanism." - An atheist commenting at atheist Michael Nugent's website[6]

7. "I actually like it when folks post simple comments such as “atheism is a lost cause” because it tells me much more than their longer and jargon-filled posts. It also makes me feel good, as it suggests that at least one person who has been trying to hijack atheism for some unrelated purpose might soon be leaving. And, finally, on the off chance that I subsequently regain any respect for them, it tell me what to get them for their birthday: a dictionary." - An atheist commenting at atheist Michael Nugent's website - An atheist comment about the article [7]

8. Jan Steen:

That the SJWs (PZ Myers, Ophelia Benson et al., theophontes here) now seem to think that atheism is a ‘lost cause’ is good news. It looks as if they have finally realized that their takeover attempt has failed. They have made fools of themselves with the Atheism Plus fiasco, and no amount of Dawkins bashing is going to restore their reputation...

Maybe they should now focus their locust-like attention on other causes. I hear that there is a huge gender imbalance in circles of model railway fanciers, no doubt caused by a pernicious problem with sexism and misogyny there." [8]

9. The Irish atheist Michael Nugent wrote to PZ Myers in September of 2014:

Some of the content of your blog is hurtful and unjust in itself, it also undermines the effectiveness of attempts to promote compassion and empathy and social justice, and it is additionally harmful because of your prominence as a perceived spokesperson for organised atheism...

PZ, is this really how you want to be remembered? Having defended you against unjust attacks from others, I am now asking you to take a long hard look at what you are doing, consider apologising to people who you have unjustly hurt and defamed, and start focusing on actually promoting compassion and empathy and social justice if those ideas are important to you.[9]

11. The atheist philosopher John Gray says of Dawkins' time spent in Kenya: "Unlike the best of the colonial administrators, some of whom were deeply versed in the languages and histories of the peoples they ruled, Dawkins displays no interest in the cultures of the African countries where he lived as a boy. It is the obedient devotion of those who served his family that has remained in his memory."[10]

12. The atheist philosopher Dr. Michael Ruse declared concerning Dawkins' book The God Delusion: "The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist."[11]

13. In a letter to the agnostic and evolutionist Richard Dawkins which was subsequently quoted by The Daily Telegraph, the Oxford University professor Daniel Came wrote concerning Dawkins' refusal to debate the Christian apologist William Lane Craig:

"The absence of a debate with the foremost apologist for Christian theism is a glaring omission on your CV and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part."[12]

Atheism: A house divided and in global decline

See also: Atheism: A house divided and in global decline

Jacques Rousseau wrote in the Daily Maverick: "Elevatorgate..has resulted in three weeks of infighting in the secular community. Some might observe that we indulge in these squabbles fairly frequently."[13] An ex-atheist wrote: "As an Atheist for 40 years, I noticed that there is not just a wide variety of Atheist positions, but there exists an actual battle between certain Atheist factions."[14]

For more information please see: Atheist factions

Decline of atheism and the explosive growth of global Christianity

African Christians clapping at an open air meeting. In recent years, Christianity has seen a rapid growth in Africa.[15]

In 2005, there were four times as many non-Western World Christians as there were Western World Christians.[16]

Western World atheists have not engaged in a significant amount of global outreach.

See also: Global atheism and Global Christianity

In 2012, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary reported that globally every day there are 800 less atheists per day, 1,100 less non-religious (agnostic) people per day and 83,000 more people professing to be Christians per day.[17][18]

In 2011, the American Spectator declared concerning research published in the International Bulletin of Missionary Research:

The report estimates about 80,000 new Christians every day, 79,000 new Muslims every day, and 300 fewer atheists every day. These atheists are presumably disproportionately represented in the West, while religion is thriving in the Global South, where charismatic Christianity is exploding."[19]

Decline of atheism in terms of global adherents is expected to accelerate

See also: Global atheism and Atheist Population and Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian

Eric Kaufmann, a professor at Birkbeck, University of London, using a a wealth of demographic studies argues the decline of atheism in terms of its global adherents is an established trend that will persist for the foreseeable future and the decline will accelerate.[20][21][22][23] In addition, Kaufmann argues that religious conservatism has a long term trend of rising and that their influence in the world will significantly increase.[24] Kaufmann is author of the book Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?.[25][26] In the Western World due to immigration and the higher birth rates of religious people, Kaufman writes: "Committed religious populations are growing in the West, and will reverse the march of secularism before 2050."[27]

Michael Blume, a researcher at the University of Jena in Germany, wrote "Most societies or communities that have espoused atheistic beliefs have not survived more than a century."[28] Blume also indicated concerning concerning his research on this matter: "What I found was the complete lack of a single case of a secular population, community or movement that would just manage to retain replacement level."[29]

Lack of sound leadership

Using academic studies, survey data and other information, supporters of the Question evolution! campaign maintain that there is a lack of sound leadership within the agnostic/atheist and evolutionist communities in dealing with the global decline of atheism and agnosticism.

See:

For more information please see: Atheist population

Atheism and the internet

See also: Atheism and the internet and Atheistic bullying

During the period of 2007 to 2012, the atheist community made a concerted effort to spread atheism through means of the internet. However, leading atheist websites have seen plunges in web traffic during this same period and during the first half of 2012.[30]

For more information please see:

See also

Notes

  1. An atheist comment about the article PZ Myers’ unfair and hurtful misrepresentations of Richard Dawkins’ comments about being abused as a child by Michael Nugent on September 25, 2014
  2. An atheist comment about the article PZ Myers’ unfair and hurtful misrepresentations of Richard Dawkins’ comments about being abused as a child by Michael Nugent on September 25, 2014
  3. Jennifer McCreight on the Twitter about the Elevatorgate scandal
  4. The Atheist Disillusionment - PZ Myers, September 27, 2014
  5. Brendan O'Neill, The Telegraph, How atheists became the most colossally smug and annoying people on the planet, August 14th, 2013
  6. PZ Myers’ unfair and hurtful misrepresentations of Richard Dawkins’ comments about being abused as a child by Michael Nugent on September 25, 2014
  7. PZ Myers’ unfair and hurtful misrepresentations of Richard Dawkins’ comments about being abused as a child by Michael Nugent on September 25, 2014
  8. PZ Myers’ unfair and hurtful misrepresentations of Richard Dawkins’ comments about being abused as a child by Michael Nugent on September 25, 2014
  9. The LBJ legend and my email to PZ Myers by Michael Nugent on September 19, 2014
  10. The Closed Mind of Richard Dawkins, New Republic by John Gray
  11. http://www.alternet.org/media/47052?page=entire
  12. Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God, The Daily Telegraph, May 14, 2011
  13. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can rip my soul
  14. Atheism Analyzed
  15. The African apostles: How Christianity exploded in 20th-century Africa
  16. Is Christianity taking over the planet?
  17. Globally the worldviews of atheism and non-religious (agnostic) are declining while global Christianity is exploding in adherents
  18. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Status of Global Missions
  19. Thriving Christianity
  20. Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann, Belfer Center, Harvard University/Birkbeck College, University of London
  21. Eric Kaufmann: Shall The Religious Inherit The Earth?
  22. Eric Kaufmann's Atheist Demographic series
  23. Eric Kaufmann: Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  24. [http://www.sneps.net/RD/uploads/1-Shall%20the%20Religious%20Inherit%20the%20Earth.pdf Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann, Belfer Center, Harvard University/Birkbeck College, University of London]
  25. Shall the religious inherit the earth by David Kaufmann
  26. Early paper - Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann, Belfer Center, Harvard University/Birkbeck College, University of London
  27. Early paper - Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann, Belfer Center, Harvard University/Birkbeck College, University of London
  28. Atheist: A dying breed as nature favours faithful
  29. Atheist: A dying breed as nature favours faithful
  30. Internet atheism: The thrill is gone!