IQ2 Debate- "Atheism is the new fundamentalism" (1 of 12)

The motion proposes that "atheism is the new fundamentalism", i.e., atheism has replaced religion as the new faith of the secular age, exploring the notion that modern atheism is itself guilty of the very dogma and belief in its own infallibility which it scorns in the religious community.

Full video available at http://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/atheism. Audio available to download as a podcast from iTunes.

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[BillKiernan]

if god was there at aushwitz, then god is irrelevant.

[VarykGerai]

what a lying piece of crap. There were numbers of greek philosophers whos works werent pointing towards religion. Who were the great philosophers? Great meant those who supported religion. Im pretty sure lots of philosophers were just putting the twist of religion to not get accused of blasphemy. What a cunt.

[sdrawkcabgnipytmi]

"Where was God in Auschwitz?"

How ironic. The kind of non-thinking, non-questioning required to believe in any God is the same kind that is required to believe that other races are inferior and must be wiped off the face of the Earth. ... It is the belief in something for which there is no real evidence.

[DavidMTRutten]

@supremeedible "people who ask "where was God in Auschwitz?" are really asking why God didn't step in and put an end to it."

I disagree. I think quite a lot of people who ask about the whereabouts of God, in fact seem to imply that the absence of God at Auschwitz can only be satisfactorily explained by an absence of God everywhere.

[supremeedible]

@DavidMTRutten Hi, David. This is a rather entertaining comment as you seem to have completely reversed the meaning of the phrase as quoted -- people who ask "where was God in Auschwitz?" are really asking why God didn't step in and put an end to it. The answer -- "where was man in Auschwitz?" -- puts the onus on man quite instead of acquitting him, for indeed, God has provided him with all the materials to stop such corruption from happening.

[Laxlovell]

Anthony Seldon? The mind boggles

[Boadeciia]

@guidobambino And I adhere to the rationalist view that nothing has ever shown me any reason to believe in any god/s, or any other supernatural claims, and certainly not one that's obviously invented by men. No woman has anything to thank any religion for. We'll assume we have we probably have different minds. If Jesus existed, he was probably just a nice guy.

[guidobambino]

@Boadeciia i adhere to the christian doctrine, so while God is for us our creator and 'father,' i wouldnt attribute a gender or certain human characteristics to 'him.' Its just anthropomorphism. of course, i also believe in Jesus Christ on the basis of personal revelation, and Jesus was certainly a man.

[Boadeciia]

@guidobambino Who told you it's a 'he?' Or any human-like imagined entity? Why would it be some chimp lookalike, or have any gender? Do you have a private line to this deity you claim exists, that informs you specifically, and no other chimp? If you do, show the evidence of such.

[guidobambino]

@Boadeciia who/what caused whom..God? if God existed outside the universe causally prior to the creation of the universe, wouldn't that mean He is by definition uncaused

[Boadeciia]

@guidobambino And who/what caused him? And more to the point WTF for?