Category Archives: Atheism

Quote: Baron d’Holbach

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Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d’Holbach (08 December 1723 – 21 January 1789)
French-German Author, Philosopher, Encyclopedist,
Polemicist against organized religion, and Avowed Atheist

Religion is the art of intoxicating men with enthusiasm [this word in the eighteenth century meant religious fervor], to prevent them from dealing with the evils with which their governors oppress them. . . . The art of reigning has become nothing more than that of profiting from the errors abjection of mind and soul into which superstition has plunged the nations. . . . By means of threatening men with invisible powers, they [Church and state] force them to suffer in silence the miseries with which visible powers afflict them. They are made to hope that if they agree to being unhappy in this world, they will be happy in the next.

QUOTATION: “On Religion as a By-product of Fear” / Arthur C. Clarke

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Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008)
British Science Fiction Author, Inventor, Futurist, and Atheist
Author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, (1968)

Religion is a by-product of fear. For much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn’t killing people in the name of god a pretty good definition of insanity?

Words You Don’t See in the Media: ‘A Self-Proclaimed Christian’

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[There is an] obvious double standard in how the news media talks about atheists versus religion people. For example, atheists tend to be described with adjectives… “self-proclaimed,” “self-identified,” “avowed,” etc.

Can you imagine what would happen if some of these qualifiers were applied to Christians? . . . There would [be] considerable outrage, and for good reason. But that isn’t going to happen because we do not see these qualifiers applied to Christians. . .

[T]his is an example of Christian privilege at work.

Read more . . .

QUOTATION: “Science Can Destroy Religion” / Arthur C. Clarke

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Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008)
British Science Fiction Author, Inventor, Futurist, and Atheist
Author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, (1968)

Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware, the nonexistence of Zeus or Thor – but they have few followers now.

Honoring Darwin Day

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On February 12 we’ll commemorate the anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, a celebration around the world known as Darwin Day, to appreciate the advancement of human knowledge and the achievements of science and reason. It must also be a day when we push back against the politicization and undermining of science by ideologues and zealots. . .

Unfortunately, too many politicians are gripped by an anti-science fervor. . .

Last year, [Representative Pete Stark (D-CA) California’s 13th district and the only self-described non-theist in Congress] introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to designate February 12 as Darwin Day in recognition of Charles Darwin as a worthy symbol of the achievements and importance of reason, science, and the advancement of human knowledge.

Read more . . .