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Thursday, September 22, 2011

About me and my blog

I don't know about you, but whenever I visit a blog for the first time ever, I usually look for a short biography of the person running the blog. So, I hope this post will satisfy your curiosity.

My name is Andrew Scicluna. I have recently graduated from college and now have the rest of my working life to look foward to. I like to chat about atheism, so I made a blog dedicated to it. Just keep in mind that I am by no means a professional philosopher, scientist or Historian. I am a layman; and I blog exclusivley from a laymans perspective. However, just because I'm not an expert doesn't mean I can't turn to the relevant experts for answers, right? And indeed, I do this very often- for I value truth above all else.  However, I have come to the conclusion that not every atheist sees things from my perspective.
I spend a lot of my free time trying to understand why Theists reject Atheism- and the common responses to these attacks. For example, usually Theists argue against Naturalism, and than claim that since naturalism isn't true, only Theism can be true. I find this reasoning to be strange, since according to the recent Phil Papers survey, there are actually more atheists that don't call themselves naturalists than there are Theists in professional philosophy.

However, some Atheists are only interested in atheistic apologetics- like the works of the "Four Horseman", or the most recent publication from Prometheus Books. They think religion is poison, that Jesus never existed, and other silly ideas that most intellectual Atheists try to distance themselves from. These people are usually called the "New Atheists". They have garnered much criticism for their lack of understanding when it comes down to Philosophy, Theology and History, and have attracted several Apologetic responses. Now don't get me wrong- these atheists have done some good. They have probably inspired more people to "come out" with their atheistic beliefs than anyone else- even the patron saint of Atheism Bertrand Russell. However, they have also been a constant embarrassment to me- and to many other Atheists. For even Philosopher Michael Ruse admits in his endorsement of "The Dawkins Delusion":


"... "The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist, and the McGraths show why." (Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Philosophy, Florida State University )"


So, if you agree with me that Atheists should be more intellectually responsible, than this is your site! However, if you think that Acharya S is a serious historian, than maybe not.

2 comments:

  1. Acharya S...lol. As a philosopher, I believe in examining both sides of an issue, and then I usually follow with a reductio ad absurdum.

    The best weapon against the bible, is the bible, which is why I concentrate on illustrating the absurdities within it. I believe that with logic, reason and the dialectical process, religions will eventually become "mythology."

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  2. I've been very honest in my attempt to understand Christianity. I understand what sin is supposed to be. I kinda understand the Trinity. But I just don't get Original Sin. How could an all loving God allow himself to create beings that would sometimes suffer indefinitely? How could the value of free will be worth the existence of Hell? And don't even get me started of Christian sexual ethics!

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