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Atheism/Questions Answered by Expert Philip A. Stahl
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Atheist - Personality Traits | 9/7/2011 |
| Q: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism I want to Know the Human Behavior Characteristics and ... A: There really are no special, or uniform "personality traits" that apply to all atheists. As soon as ... | |
| religion | 8/28/2011 |
| Q: Greetings, I have a question about the paranormal in which I am unclear about.I have read a book ... A: Let's be clear that any religion can make any claim it wishes. You say that Muslims assert the ... | |
| the paranormal | 8/27/2011 |
| Q: Greetings, I have a question about the paranormal in which I am unclear about.I have read a book ... A: The incidents pertaining to "bleeding Virgin Mary statues" are - in my opinion - all cases of ... | |
| antony flew | 8/15/2011 |
| Q: i would like to know your view about antony flew and about his believe in a higher intelligent ... A: It's important to recognize that so far as we can tell (based on actual interviews Flew gave before ... | |
| Agnosticism vs atheism | 6/13/2011 |
| Q: I recognize myself as an atheist. But I would like to know a bit about agnostic belief. I ask you ... A: Agnosticism often causes more confusion than atheism because people aren't sure what it means or ... | |
| Agnostic theism | 6/4/2011 |
| Q: I have came to the conclusion after years of religion studies , philosophy, and science that if ... A: You're more than welcome! I'm not sure of any websites (that wouldn't add to confusion because so ... | |
| Agnostic theism | 6/3/2011 |
| Q: I have came to the conclusion after years of religion studies , philosophy, and science that if ... A: According to author George Smith ('Atheism: The Case Against God', p. 9): "The term 'agnostic' does ... | |
| World poverty | 9/9/2010 |
| Q: what is your religious perspective, e.g Christian, Buddhist? how do you react to extreme poverty ... A: Here are the answers, in the sequence asked: a) atheist - i.e. this is an atheist forum b)Dismay ... | |
| The Effort to Believe / Disbelieve | 9/4/2010 |
| Q: I have read many of the questions and answers with interest. A detached interest I will say because ... A: For me as an atheist, it doesn't take *that much* effort, mainly because I am not dogmatic or 'hard ... | |
| Dream | 7/16/2010 |
| Q: I am an atheist and I have no faith in any supernatural and non-materialistic forces or anything ... A: First, you don't detail exactly what the dream content was, so I've no idea whether it was religious ... | |
| "The Atheist In America" Essay | 7/4/2010 |
| Q: I'd like to obtain the essay "the Atheist In America" by P.A. Stahl. Please inform me where I'll be ... A: The essay 'The Atheist In America' has been out of print now for nearly 11 years, but I do plan to ... | |
| Finding A Decent Atheist Forum | 6/25/2010 |
| Q: I was on the "Ask An Atheist" forum site and belatedly learned it appeared to mostly be dedicated to ... A: Yes, I believe one can build a militantly atheistic web page. (Some people have complained my blog ... | |
| Finding A Decent Atheist Forum | 6/24/2010 |
| Q: I was on the "Ask An Atheist" forum site and belatedly learned it appeared to mostly be dedicated to ... A: The unfortunate aspect of most atheist public forums, in fact all I've seen thus far, is that ... | |
| Core issue 001. | 6/8/2010 |
| Q: What explains best, the worshipping of a Christian God, whose core symbol, is self destruction, in ... A: My own take, which I also noted in my book: 'Atheism: A Beginner's Handbook', is that the early ... | |
| Evidence for God. | 8/10/2009 |
| Q: I am a recent convert to Catholicism and rather firm in it and I have been studying various ... A: May I say, Thomas, that I certainly enjoyed reading your 'Summa Theologica'? On a serious note, it ... | |
| science behind predictions | 7/9/2009 |
| Q: Does science believe in intuition and predictions. Can a person foresee or predict ones future in a ... A: Science is firmly committed to predictions, since their confirmation is ultimately what validates a ... | |
| atheism | 5/22/2009 |
| Q: i really hope you can help me, because i don't know what else to do. i am 16, and ive been an ... A: Unfortunately, based on my own experience, religious arguments and debates - especially with parents ... | |
| Why | 1/30/2009 |
| Q: IF you say that there is no God, Then how come propechies has been fulfilld in a certain religios ... A: First, no one claims (at least I do not) that one can "scientifically prove" there is no God. In ... | |
| Coming out of Closet | 11/23/2008 |
| Q: I really enjoyed your reply to the questioner raising concerns about revealing to family that one is ... A: In a way, it's not too puzzling as to why believers behave as they do. (Certainly in regard to their ... | |
| Suggestion | 11/20/2008 |
| Q: I was brought up from a very conservative community. Religion is very important and essence in our ... A: This is a very difficult question, but one which many of us (atheists) face and which we each have ... | |
| Age of becoming atheist. | 11/19/2008 |
| Q: What is the usual age that a person become atheist? I read that usually a person becomes atheist in ... A: There is really no set age at which a person becomes an atheist. There are some, in fact, who are ... | |
| The laws of nature and their origin ? | 9/16/2008 |
| Q: I would like to know what is your thoughts about the origin of the laws of nature ? By that I mean ... A: Okay, I will play this game - but first a few "ground rules". My personal opinion is a subjective ... | |
| Quantum Conciousness | 7/8/2008 |
| Q: I've been reading some of your past answers here. And I've come across something that quite ... A: Well, this is some pretty heady stuff - and much of it is obscure (if one has not been exposed to ... | |
| free sex & running for president | 4/21/2008 |
| Q: I want to know what most atheists opinion about free sex especially in womanizing, sleeping with ... A: Unfortunately, I cannot speak or write for "most" Atheists, because each Atheist is different. Thus, ... | |
| atheists wedding & funeral | 4/17/2008 |
| Q: Are there any atheist wedding & funeral ceremonies in your country? How was your wedding ceremony ... A: Here in the United States, atheists as a rule do not have ceremonies for weddings or funerals. In ... | |
| souls? | 4/8/2008 |
| Q: Do athiests believe that humans have eternal souls? Why or why not? ANSWER: Hello, The Atheist ... A: again Re: "proof", let us get this out of the way first! As anyone who does scientific research ... | |
| souls? | 4/8/2008 |
| Q: Do athiests believe that humans have eternal souls? Why or why not? A: The Atheist neither "believes" nor "disbelieves" there is such an entity as a soul -eternal or ... | |
| Prayer in school | 4/6/2008 |
| Q: I wondered if you might share your thoughts with me on taking prayer out of public schools. Some of ... A: It is a sad spectacle, but alas, too many people are only able to arrive at facile answers to ... | |
| Social pariah | 7/22/2007 |
| Q: I'd like to know if you have any suggestions for overcoming the bias of our society in the United ... A: Alas, I had an extensive answer prepared and on sending it "evaporated"! Anyway, will try to ... | |
| Ref: consciousness | 7/4/2007 |
| Q: I was wondering how do atheist explain consciousness and why do different people have different ... A: Not all atheists, first of all, see a need to "explain consciousness". For many (e.g. Daniel Dennett ... | |
| Ref: atheism | 7/4/2007 |
| Q: What do atheism really believe and being that there are certain things like god, reincarnation, ... A: As atheists we do not "believe" (that is accept without evidence) anything that a group or person ... | |
| Weak and strong atheism, agnosticism | 5/19/2007 |
| Q: Can you please clarify the differences between weak and strong atheism and agnosticism? A: Weak atheism and strong atheism are actually more correctly called implicit atheism and explicit ... | |
| Materialism - "self refuting"? | 5/17/2007 |
| Q: I am enthusiastic about discovering that you are an atheist on allexperts as well as astrophysicist. ... A: When religionists assert the idea of materialism is self-refuting they mean that the reductionist ... | |
Atheism
Answers by Expert:
Philip A. Stahl
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I specialize in the areas of scientific materialism and consciousness described as a materialist epiphenomenon. Also can answer questions pertaining to general atheism, atheist-agnostic differences etc.
Experience
I have been an atheist for over 27 yrs. and have written two books on the subject: 'The Atheist's Handbook to Modern Materialism'(2000), and 'Atheism" A Beginner's Handbook' (due out next month).
Organizations
Intertel, American Atheists, American Mathematical Society, American Astronomical Society, American Geophysical Union
Publications
Atheist articles: 'The American Atheist' magazine, assorted U.S. newspapers (e.g. Baltimore Sun); two books (already mentioned in experience section); papers-articles published in Intertel's Journal: Integra.
Education/Credentials
Master of Philosophy in Physics. Also took more than 3 yrs. of theology and metaphysics courses at a Catholic University (1964-67) - before I became an atheist. Thus, I have much more religious familiarity & background than many atheists.
Awards and Honors
Writers' Digest Award for the essay 'The Atheist in America' (2000), Government of Barbados research in solar physics award (1980-84), AAS Solar Physics Award (1984)
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