atheism

Review: The New Atheism – Taking a stand for Science and Reason, by Victor J Stenger. Prometheus Books NY.
Michael Imison

Victor Stenger is an American particle physicist, now retired to Colorado University, where he is an adjunct professor of philosophy. This book is the latest of ten or more well-received popular polemics he has written exploring the interface between physics and religion.

In this work he takes as his starting point the series of best-sellers which started with The End of Faith by Sam Harris (2006) and continued with Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Dennett’s Breaking the Spell, and Christopher Hitchen’s God is not Great. To this group Stenger himself contributed God the failed Hypothesis which reached the New York Times bestseller list in March 2007. It can be said that all these works have a self confident tone which more or less implies that science has settled forever that there is no God (which many of us believe). It should have been foreseen perhaps that this would promote a backlash from the religious and in particular religious scientists anxious to show this view mistaken.

An Atheist's Guide to Christmas is in the shops now (and if it isn't, it jolly well should be). Edited by the lovely Ariane Sherine, of Atheist Bus fame, a whole bunch of atheists, including some very funny ones, have contributed their thoughts about the festive season, including how to avoid it.

The royalties will go to the UK charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, which seems particularly appropriate now that Pope Benedict, that homophobic old goat*, is about to visit the UK with his message that condoms shouldn't be used in countries where AIDS is rife.

You can buy the book now at Amazon, or take a trip down to your local bookshop and demand that they put it in a window display.

*Actually, I take the goat insult back - I like goats.

Fort Lauderdale Christian fundamentalists have been demanding the removal of a billboard message that affirms you can be good without God.

In Fort Lauderdale, the Florida Atheist and Secular Humanist Society has paid for a billboard stating: “Being a good person doesn't require God. Don't believe in God? You're not alone.” Local “community activist” Big Mama said, “Nothing else matters, but that sign needs to come down. In the name of Jesus.”

Cath Elliott has written a piece for the Guardian’s Comment is Free website about a Theos survey on faith and Darwin, which indicates that East Anglia is “full of atheists”.

So far from being the Sodom and Gomorrah that religious folk would no doubt have the godless east pegged as, according to the latest British Crime Survey (pdf), "The East of England region had the lowest rates of overall recorded crime and violence against the person and amongst the lowest rates of burglary and offences against vehicles.

After our dismal failure to excite any of the students at University Campus Suffolk about a secular students’ society (we haven’t given up though), and the reports of science students who won’t accept evolution, it’s heartening to hear that there’s still some freethinking on British campuses. Hurrah for the AHS! Read about it in The Independent.

The Advertising Standards Authority decided today that the atheist bus ads didn’t break its code. Stephen Green of Christian Voice must be seething, tee hee! All aboard please, ding ding!