Why God Won't Go Away: quotes from New Atheists

The Economist which had been 'so confident of the Almighty's demise that we published his obituary in our milliennium issue', rather inconveniently found itself bliged to issue a correction in 2007. Religion is back in public life and public debate.

the term New Atheism was invented in 2006

Michael Shermer, executive director of Skeptics Society affirms that religion has been implicated in some dreadful human tragedies 'however for every one of these grand tragedies there are ten thousand acts of personal kindness and social good that go unreported... Religion, like all social institutions of such historical depth and cultural impact, cannot be reduced to an unambiguous good or evil.'

If evolution is indeed a random process how can we speak of 'accidental' or 'inintended' outcomes?


Sam Harris:

The first chapter of Sam Harris' book makes clear that he dislikes certain forms of religion intensely, sadly what follows it reveal that he doesnt really know very much about them. And by the end of the book you have to wonder if the plausibility of his argument depends largely on his readers sharing his abhorrence and lack of understanding.

He says 'some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them.'
-McGrath 'The Inquisition, the Gestapo, the Taliban and the KGB could not have put it better.'

Richard Dawkins:
Four days after the 9/11 attackes dawkins wrote: 'To fill a world with religion, or religions of the Abrahamic kind, is like littering the streets with loaded guns. Don't be surprised if they're used.'

'Faith is blind trust, in the abscence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence.'

Religion is a 'brilliantly successful virus' that contiminates even the best minds. (called 'memes' by Dawkins)

-McGrath 'since there's no evidence for memes, does that mean there's a meme that causes us to believe in them?'

'A claim to knowledge needs to be substantiated; ignorance need only be confessed.'

Christopher Hitchens

The meta-narrative of Hitchens is essentially 'those who entertain religious belief are deluded and hence potentially dangerous to society at large.'

Jonathan Edwards died of Small Pox, such was his commitment to trying to use scientific methods to cure disease.