Stephen Colbert On How He Returned To Catholicism After Being An Atheist

From Huffington-

“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert is known for wearing his Catholic faith on his sleeve, often weaving religion into his criticism of President Donald Trump or using it to call out immoral actions of fellow Christians.

But in a candid conversation on the talk show “Faith in Focus,” published Thursday, Colbert revealed that his religious convictions haven’t always been so strong.

He spoke about how he’d struggled with doubt in his younger years. He told the show’s host Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at large at the Catholic magazine America, that he was “convicted of my own atheism” in his early 20s.

“I had lost my faith in God, to my own great grief,” Colbert said. “I was sort of convinced that I had been wrong all this time, that I had been taught something that wasn’t true.”

More here-

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/stephen-colbert-god-catholicism_us_5beeda02e4b0860184a7c174?fbclid=IwAR22KUbuO3ucsBolD2uDxL8yOwKmtFWlreV2hhkYFdoMEOFaCY_Ci8yWlkg

Where do atheists get their values?

From The Irish Times-

John Gray is a self-described atheist who thinks that prominent advocates of atheism have made non-belief seem intolerant, uninspiring and dull. At the end of the first chapter of his new book, Seven Types of Atheism, he concludes that “the organised atheism of the present century is mostly a media phenomenon and best appreciated as a type of entertainment”.

He laughs when I remind him of this sick burn. “I wrote the book partly as a riposte to that kind of atheism,” he says. “There’s not much new in [new atheism] and what is in it is a tired recycled version of forms of atheism that were presented more interestingly in the 19th century. In the so-called new atheism people are [presented with] a binary option between atheism, as if there was only one kind, and religion, as if there was only one kind of religion. [It’s] historically illiterate.

More here-

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/where-do-atheists-get-their-values-1.3467299?__vfz=c_pages%3D11000002670848

Seven Types of Atheism by John Gray review – is every atheist an inverted believer?

From The Guardian-

There has been a rash of books in recent years by thinkers for whom the human race is getting nicer and nicer. Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, Matt Ridley and Sam Harris are rational humanists who believe in progress, however many famines and genocides may disfigure the planet. We are en route to a vastly improved future. Perhaps this return to the values of the western Enlightenment is not unrelated to the threat of radical Islam. The philosopher John Gray’s role has been to act as a Jeremiah among these Pollyannas, insisting that we are every bit as nasty as we ever were. If there is anything he detests, it is schemes of visionary transformation. He is a card-carrying misanthrope for whom human life has no unique importance, and for whom history has been little more than the sound of hacking and gouging. One might note that Christianity is as pessimistic as Gray but a lot more hopeful as well.

The answer to the question of whether history has been improving is surely a decisive yes and no. For Marx, the modern age was both an enthralling emancipation and one long nightmare. The wide-eyed optimism of Pinker or Ridley is just as one-sided as the prophets of doom who refuse to concede that there is something to be said for such modern inventions as feminism, spin-dryers and antibiotics. The truth is that everyone believes in progress, but only a dwindling band of Victorian relics such as Dawkins believe in Progress. So this book is really hammering at an open door. How many champions of a vastly improved future are there in a postmodern culture?

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/11/seven-types-atheism-john-gray-review-atheist-believer-material-world?CMP=share_btn_fb

Pope suggests it's better to be an atheist than a bad Christian

From CNN-

If you're a Christian who exploits people, leads a double life or manages a "dirty" business, perhaps it's better not to call yourself a believer, Pope Francis suggested in a homily on Thursday in Rome.

"So many Christians are like this, and these people scandalize others," Francis said during morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, according to Vatican Radio. "How many times have we heard -- all of us, around the neighborhood and elsewhere -- 'But to be a Catholic like that, it's better to be an atheist.' It is that: scandal."

"But what is scandal? Scandal is saying one thing and doing another."

In the Catholic Church, causing scandal also a grave offense.

Examples of such sins abound, the Pope said, from money launderers to business owners who take beach vacations while stiffing their employees.

More here-

https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/world/pope-atheists-again/index.html

Washington Post to Christians on Christmas Morning: Jesus Didn’t Exist

From The Stream-

Early Christmas morning, the Washington Post thought it should stick its thumb in the eyes of those celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Its official “Post Opinions” Twitter account tweeted, “Did historical Jesus really exist? The evidence just doesn’t add up.”

Many commented on the provocative timing. Publisher of Encounter books and author Roger Kimball said that the Post’s tweet was, “Really, all you need to know about that pathetic publication.” Conservative actor James Woods tweeted, “Why is this necessary today? Why insult people of a certain faith on the day they most cherish? It’s not a matter of being right or wrong, it’s a matter of simple courtesy. #Rude”. (He added a ruder hashtag as well.) Many others were affronted.

More here-

https://stream.org/washington-post-christmas-jesus-didnt-exist/

Atheists at prayer for Christmas

From The Living Church (with a link to the Commonweal article)-

The Christmas Mass, as the pseudonymous parish priest Fr. Nonomen writes in Commonweal, is fairly unique. “This is the Mass where you politely ask people to finish their cups of hot chocolate and cans of Red Bull outside. … This is the Mass attended by the famous bi-annually faithful.” As such, Fr. Nonomen sagely notes, the Christmas Mass provides a “pastoral opportunity” that should not be wasted in minor displays of self-righteous annoyance or by desperately trying to impress visitors with “schmaltz” and “secular symbols” or (most tempting?) through attempting to conjure up guilt (“[D]o not say how you wish attendance could be good every Sunday”).

The presider should recognize that many different forces may have brought the participants to Christmas Mass, including those more familial than theological. Further, Nonomen counsels, “Be sensitive, too, to the many faiths embraced by those who are sitting in front of you.” Nonomen does not write, however, about those who may be agnostics or atheists, who may be in the pews for reasons as various as family solidarity, nostalgia, or curiosity.

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/12/28/atheists-at-prayer-for-christmas/

Atheist Convention cancelled due to Lack of Intrest

From Australia-

To be honest, I'm disappointed.

"Reason to Hope", the third Global Atheist Convention scheduled for Melbourne in February 2018, has been cancelled because of "lack of interest" (according to my sources).

The conference was to be headlined by Sir Salman Rushdie, the highly esteemed – one might even say revered – novelist. In 1989 the Iranian cleric Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against him after his novel The Satanic Verses was published. It was the Islamic world that took offence for what it said about the Prophet, but the novel took aim at Sikhs as well, and at religion in general.

Rushdie once called religion a "poison in the blood". He argued that respect for religion is not deserved:

"What is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded name? How well, with what fatal results, religion erects totems, and how willing we are to kill for them."

Rushdie is himself totemic; not simply an artist but a piece of history himself. If anyone knows what damage excessive religious zeal can do, it is he.

More here-

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/cancellation-of-atheist-shindig-is-a-disappointment-to-me--seriously-20171108-gzh3vh.html

The New Atheists Should Get Out More

From Context-

One of the more astonishing claims made over and over by Richard Dawkins (you can start with his bestseller, The God Delusion) is that Christian faith is simply incompatible with reason, with natural science being viewed as the paragon of rationality.

True, Dawkins admits to being acquainted with a handful of indisputably accomplished scientists who are also Christians, but he clearly finds it impossible to explain these few absurdities—as if he has happened to have come across several unicorns.

In the face, however, of polls showing that a great many scientists are believers in the Christian God—and many more in the almost-equally indefensible versions of God held by Jews and Muslims—other atheists have suggested more recently that human beings generally are wired to believe in explanations that aren’t true. And that trait explains religious belief.

The argument goes something like this. Our ancestors were more likely to survive (and thus procreate—the main concern of Darwinist evolutionary theory) if they spotted dangers before they were harmed by them. Spotting dangers means noticing patterns: that patch of bush over there seemed to move all at once, as if it were a body; that set of sounds is rhythmic, thus making me think of breaths or footfalls.
More here-

http://www.contextwithlornadueck.com/2017/09/28/the-new-atheists-should-get-out-more/

Russell Brand Sat Down with Theologian Alister McGrath for a Fascinating Conversation About Faith

From Relevant-

Actor, comedian and author Russell Brand recently sat down with Anglican priest and professor of science and religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford and professor of divinity at Gresham College Alister McGrath for a really interesting conversation about God and faith.

The discussion took place on Brand’s Under the Skin podcast, and if you’ve ever listened to Brand’s web series before, you know that he’s pretty open to a range of ideas. In the show, McGrath explains his own journey from atheism to committed Christianity.

More here-

https://relevantmagazine.com/slice/russell-brand-sat-down-with-theologian-alister-mcgrath-for-a-fascinating-conversation-about-faith/

Why Do Intelligent Atheists Still Read The Bible Like Fundamentalists?

From Patheos-

Before I begin, if you’re an atheist coming here looking for a fight, I’m the wrong guy. Yes, I’m a Christian (okay, the Religious Right would take issue with that claim, but whatever), but I have the utmost respect for my atheist friends and colleagues– especially the fruitful dialogue we have, and the many areas of common ground that can be discovered when we take the time to listen to one another.
One of those colleagues I respect is Hemant Mehta over at Friendly Atheist (and in further disclosure, Terry Firma at Friendly Atheist is one of my real-life best friends).

Hemant has given me some thoughtful and friendly push-back from time to time, and in this case, I need to do the same.

So here is the question I can’t figure out, and was reminded of when reading a piece Hemant wrote: Why do intelligent atheists often insist on reading the Bible like a fundamentalist– as if there’s only one way to understand and apply it to Christian living?

Case in point: Friendly Atheist today is poking a bit of fun at a Miss Teen USA contestant who happens to be a devout Christian. Their issue with her?

That she has a tattoo.

More here-

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/intelligent-atheists-still-read-bible-like-fundamentalists/

The rationalist way of death

From The New Humanist (UK)

Rationalists and secularists in the old plain style were very clear about death and dying, or at least they tried to be. “It’s just a nothing,” they would say: “the lights go out and then the curtain falls.” I won’t exist after I die, but then I didn’t exist before I was born, so what’s the big deal? It’s going to happen anyway, so just get over it. We are only forked animals after all, and when the time comes you should give my body to medical science, or burn it and use it as fertiliser; or why not eat it, if you’re hungry, or feed it to the pigs? And for goodness sake, don’t worry about how I died – whether peacefully or in pain – and don’t speculate about my last thoughts, my last sentiments or my last words. Why attach more importance to my dying moments than to any other part of my life? As for the business of seeing the body and saying goodbye, and the trouble and expense of coffins and flowers and funerals: what are they but relics of morbid superstitions that we should have got rid of centuries ago? So no fuss, please: the world belongs to youth and the future, not death and the past: go ahead and have a party if you must, with plenty to drink, but no speeches, nothing maudlin, no tears, nothing that might silence the laughter of children. And I beg you, no memorials of any kind: no stones, no plaques, no shrines, no park benches, no tree-plantings, no dedications: let the memory of who I was die with me.

More here-

https://newhumanist.org.uk/4155/the-rationalist-way-of-death

FORMER "ANGRY ATHEIST" FINDS A HIGHER CALLING AS HEAD OF RIVER OAKS CHURCH

From Houston-

"Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you," Reverend Doctor Clay Lein recites scripture as he sits in the pews of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in River Oaks.

For Rev. Lein, the passage has personal meaning, perhaps a guiding principal in his life.

"I'm where God wants me to be," said Lein, the rector of the church.

A man of deep faith, he said "I 'm all in or I'm all out."

That is how he is now. However, for years Clay Lein was not a believer. He was focused on career and advancement and on Sundays, he liked to sleep in.

"I had a great plan for my life, it just turns out it wasn't his plan for my life," Lein said as he reflected on his first career.

He was an Atheist with a successful career as an electrical engineer.


More here-


http://abc13.com/religion/angry-atheist-makes-ultimate-career-change-to-a-vocation-chosen-by-a-higher-power-/1958776/

Ethics, Mathematics and the Rosary: An Ex-Atheist Discusses Her Conversion

From National Catholic Register-

Leah Libresco Sargeant, once a prominent atheist blogger, converted in 2012 to Catholicism after engaging and challenging her readership to present an intellectually rigorous, spiritually rewarding response to her questions on life. Sargeant continues to blog, only now from a Catholic perspective, and also is a contributing editor at America magazine.

She is the author of "Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers That Even I Can Offer."
Sargeant recently spoke with the Register about what motivated her conversion and the surprising changes she experienced in her life afterward, including how she learned to pray through the Rosary. The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

 More here-

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/ethics-mathematics-and-the-rosary-an-ex-atheist-discusses-her-conversion

Atheist vow to challenge Wabukala’s nomination to head anti-graft body

From Kenya-

Atheists in Kenya (AIK) have faulted the recent nomination of retired Anglican Archbishop Eliud Wabukala to be the new chairperson of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), saying “he will forgive the corrupt” due to his Christian values.

In a press statement signed by the President of AIK, Harrison Mumia, the atheists vowed to challenge his nomination in parliament during his vetting.

Mr Mumia said that with Wabukala’s strong Christian foundation where forgiveness is a virtue, it would be difficult for him to recommend punishment for corrupt people who are ‘wrongdoers’.

More here-

http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/Kisii/Atheists-no-to-Wabukala-head-EACC/1183286-3494876-11xhs2gz/

Nonreligious are a growing section of Americans

From Oregon-

Kay Dickey decided she was atheist at age 12. Her parents were not religious and accepted her epiphany, despite living in a predominantly Mormon section of Utah.

“It felt like a cloud went off my shoulders,” Dickey said.

Her story of acceptance contrasts with those of other Central Oregon Atheists members, a group the now 64-year-old woman is organizing.

The Meetup group started in 2008 and has 409 members, ranging from teenagers to octogenarians. Less than 10 members attended the April 17 meeting in a Bend motel conference room. While Dickey is the primary organizer, there is no board or bylaws; there are weekly breakfast meetups that other Central Oregon Atheists members arrange.

While 3.1 percent of Americans identify themselves as atheists, more than 20 percent say they do not affiliate with a religion, according to a Pew Research Center study. More than 35,000 Americans over age 18 were polled for the 2014 Religious Landscape Study.
More here-

http://www.bendbulletin.com/home/4252408-151/nonreligious-are-a-growing-section-of-americans#

Is it any wonder religion is on the wane?

From The Guardian-

Every non-believer comes to atheism or agnosticism in their own way. For people of my generation, this has been against a backdrop of religious wars, which have been fought for most of our lives. This has contributed to a deep hostility towards religion in society generally – more than half of Britons think religion does more harm than good. A lack of religion is a common feature of advanced societies, and a new poll is the latest in a long line that show a marked decline in religiosity, particularly among young people.

Religion often seems to offer an explanation for fundamental questions, the type of question everyone considers at some point. How did the world come to be, for example. But cosmology and evolutionary biology can speak to this question, even if they are now operating at such a level of specialism and complexity that the answers can seem unsatisfying to the layperson.

More here-

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/12/religion-atheism-britons-god

This Atheist is Thankful for the Clergy

From Patheos-

Clerical privilege frequently hands the worst ideas the biggest megaphone, putting the values and beliefs of a far-gone age on a pedestal, while shielding those who abuse their position from the consequences of their actions. The fact that when I’m fully-trained as an Ethical Culture Leader I will formally be a clergy person myself is the source of some discomfort, as if I’m being offered a fancy uniform I’m not certain I want to wear. The work of an Ethical Culture Leader I love and want to continue – the position as clergy makes me nervous.

And yet.

In the past few months I have spent many hours with clergy in the St. Louis area, as we have planned and worked together in response to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson. In that time I have seen, over and over again, enormous moral courage and principled leadership from the clergy. Professional representatives of a wide range of faiths have consistently been some of the first to respond to calls to action, and have been pivotal in organizing actions across the city.

Read more:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/templeofthefuture/2014/11/this-atheist-is-thankful-for-the-clergy/#ixzz3KNNhT5xu

Confirmed atheist turned super preacher to take helm of Houston's St. John the Divine Episcopal

From Houston-

As an electrical engineer and a self-professed "angry athiest," Clay Lein had no truck for religion. God, he was convinced, was fools' folly ‑ a crutch for those who couldn't cut it on their own. His wife, Jill, and her father, an Episcopal priest, were free to believe, of course, but the Bible stuff just wasn't for him.

Baseball, though, was another matter.

Seated in a study at Houston's St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, where on Sunday he will deliver his first sermon as the 75-year-old congregation's new rector, Lein spun his tale of how a scoffing man of science was transformed ‑ through the agency of sports ‑ into a staunch believer.

More here-

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Confirmed-atheist-turned-super-preacher-to-take-5875515.php

Do people in your church believe in God? Two graphs of America’s 43 largest faiths

From Religion News Service-

Nine out of ten Americans say they believe in God. But push a little bit and you’ll find there is quite a range of belief across the major churches and religions in America. Let’s look at two ways belief in God differs across religious groups: their certainty that God exists and whether God is a person.

Pew’s Religious Landscape survey asked people if they believed in God. Almost everyone who was in a theistic religion did, of course. But the survey followed with a question about this belief: “Are you absolutely certain, fairly certain, not too certain, or not at all certain?” Evangelicals, black Protestants, Mormons, and other theologically conservative groups had high levels of ccertainty– albeit less than their leaders probably expect from their members. Substantial minorities of Mainline denominations expressed less certain beliefs about God. 

- See more at:

http://tobingrant.religionnews.com/2014/10/24/belief-god-atheists-graphs-churches-religions-faiths/#sthash.lWmhBY4w.dpuf

See video of Huntsville atheist opening City Council meeting with invocation extolling American virtues

From Alabama (with video)

Here's what happens when an atheist offered Alabama's first non-theist invocation to open a public meeting: 90 seconds of thoughtful statements that began with "Dearly Beloved" and ended with "Let it be so," and no reaction from a packed City Council chamber. As the invocation ended, everyone swung automatically to face the flag to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance, with the atheists who had come going silent on the "under God" phrase.
More here-

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2014/09/atheist_prayer_huntsville.html