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Atheism/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Agnostic theism | 6/3/2011 | Philip A. Stahl |
| 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 ... | ||
| Child indoctrination | 5/19/2011 | Austin Cline |
| Q: I am 23/female. I have been an atheist since I was 12. My little sister was an accident and was born ... A: There's no denying that you're in a very difficult situation and you have to proceed carefully. You ... | ||
| about confirmation | 4/2/2011 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: i have a short question! what do i become after confirmation? A: Aliyah, Are you talking about a church confirmation? For example, when I was in 9th grade, I went ... | ||
| strange theodicy | 3/22/2011 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: after the horrible disaster that happenned in Japan, i remember an old debate with a theist about ... A: The Ownership Theodicy: Arguments that argue that the existence of evil is incompatible with God are ... | ||
| Do Atheists Exist? | 3/2/2011 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: I have had the honor of discussing the existence of God with many, many, many people in the past few ... A: Most of your question is explained in my answer to a previous question[1] and I recommend first ... | ||
| Do Atheists exist? | 3/2/2011 | Margaret Placentra Johnston |
| Q: I have had the honor of discussing the existence of God with many, many, many people in the past few ... A: The definition of an atheist really depends a lot on the definition of God that is in question. I ... | ||
| Atheism's PR. | 2/20/2011 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: As someone who lives in a fairly secular country (though technically CofE) I'm still dismayed to see ... A: Daniel: Though I've never been to the U.K., my friends who've lived both there and here in the U.S. ... | ||
| Theodicy from endurance | 2/16/2011 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: It's known that getting through WHATEVER hardship we have (even the hardest) by staying mentally ... A: For the benefit of anyone else reading this page I'm going to go ahead and keep linking things that ... | ||
| religion at school | 2/15/2011 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: DO you think that religion should be allowed to be taught at school? A: Jessica: It depends what you mean by religion being "taught," as well as what kind of school we're ... | ||
| Scientific epistemology | 2/4/2011 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: What we call as science is essentially stuff that can be independently verified and repeatable ... A: Problem of Induction: What repeatability really depends on inductive reasoning: Something that has ... | ||
| Family problems concerning atheism | 1/25/2011 | Clint |
| Q: I'm not sure if you have been asked before so forgive me in advance, but my parents are deeply ... A: You're 17 years old and that makes you an independently minded adult. Are you afraid that speaking ... | ||
| Can a religous organization be sued for fraund? | 1/11/2011 | Austin Cline |
| Q: Cline, I’m interested to know if any organizations or individuals have made a serious attempt to ... A: Courts won't rule on the truth of any religious teachings - not just in fraud cases, but in any sort ... | ||
| Jews surviving | 1/10/2011 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: Christians tell me that the preservation of the Jews over the centuries since their nation was ... A: In 2004, I published my novel, ONE NATION UNDER GOD. It's set in the future, about 20-25 years. In ... | ||
| Confused About Religion | 12/27/2010 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: Ok, I guess I would be described as an "atheist in progress" or something of that sort right now. I ... A: Shay... First, I want to express my empathy for what you're going through. It's rough, but I'm ... | ||
| Question | 12/18/2010 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: are white people more evolved then black people I heard blacks came first then whites A: Richard: While this question has nothing whatsoever to do with atheism, I'll answer it anyway. The ... | ||
| Interfaith marriage? | 12/9/2010 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: I am an atheist. My husband is a Christian. My husband and I are trying to have children. He is ... A: Well, I'd suggest that you make sure your children have a solid education in science. Also, that ... | ||
| Interfaith marriage? | 12/8/2010 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: I am an atheist. My husband is a Christian. My husband and I are trying to have children. He is ... A: This is, sadly, a fairly common situation. The truth is, your in-laws can demand until they turn ... | ||
| What is the perfect religion to join where it's alot of Singing and less praying? | 11/29/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: What is the perfect religion to join where it's alot of Singing and less praying? I'm at a loss of ... A: I would recommend looking up your local Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church[1]. I have know many open ... | ||
| Predestination VS free will | 11/1/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: Let's imagine I decide to go in the future, in year 2035 more precisely. and I write down in a book ... A: Introduction: I'm not quite sure why this is an atheism question and not a philosophy question but I ... | ||
| Difficulty being an atheist... | 10/23/2010 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: I've already asked this question to Austin Cline but I would really like to read a response from you ... A: Amy... Well, I will say that your question is interesting. I'm going to venture a bit of a guess ... | ||
| Difficulty being an atheist... | 10/23/2010 | Austin Cline |
| Q: I found this area of allexperts a few days ago and have been reading a lot of the posts. I decided ... A: "I think I might be an atheist but I'm not sure, I have a lot of reservations. " All it takes to be ... | ||
| Offensive theist comments | 10/9/2010 | Vincent M. Wales |
| Q: I'm 22 and have recently come "out of the closet" with my atheism. At the age of 11 I was in ... A: Desirai: Sorry to hear about your crappy circumstances right now. Hope things improve soon. And I ... | ||
| The "faith" of an atheist | 9/25/2010 | Austin Cline |
| Q: What's logically wrong with this ? The bad news is that you can't prove that God exists. The good ... A: "Then, just like a Christian, you have to have faith to be an atheist." This is a myth: ... | ||
| Christianity Questioned | 9/22/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: I am Zachary Carter, a student at Peachgrove Intermediate, New Zealand. I am doing a school project ... A: I won't be able to Skype for a variety of reasons. I hope that my answer here is comprehensive and ... | ||
| evidence in nature | 9/10/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: I believe that as a hypothesis, a designer can not be ruled out. My view of God is akin to the ... A: "1. Life on Earth. Our planet is at the perfect distance from the sun to support life on our planet. ... | ||
| World poverty | 9/9/2010 | Philip A. Stahl |
| 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 ... | ||
| science and civilisation, and their impacts on religion | 9/8/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: Will the development of science eventually leave no room for faith and the belief in the unproven? ... A: My answer to all of these questions is "yes and no" - I hope that talking about what I think can be ... | ||
| The Effort to Believe / Disbelieve | 9/4/2010 | Philip A. Stahl |
| 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 ... | ||
| atheism | 9/2/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: Do atheists in general like buddhism since it is a religion that often speaks about atheistic views ... A: Generally yes. But it depends on the Buddhism. To see what I mean, compare the following three ... | ||
| soul-making theodicy (follow-up) | 8/30/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: I heard about a theodicy stating that "evil (here i only consider natural evil -distaters, ... A: If I am not mistaken, this is the maximum number of follow-ups that AllExperts allows for one ... | ||
| soul-making theodicy (follow-up) | 8/30/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: I heard about a theodicy stating that "evil (here i only consider natural evil -distaters, ... A: "It's easy to notice that those calamities aren't right distributed: for instance some people lived ... | ||
| "Soul"-making theodicy | 8/28/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: I heard about a theodicy stating that "evil (here i only consider natural evil -distaters, ... A: I can't remember if I've linked this one yet, but I do an overview of the Problem of Evil here[1] ... | ||
| Kalam argument | 8/19/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: The theist philosopher William Lane Craig make up the famous Kalam Argument: (1) Anything that ... A: Yes, I think this is a very big problem for Craig's conception of God. To me the only truly ... | ||
| Kalam argument | 8/14/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: The theist philosopher William Lane Craig make up the famous Kalam Argument: (1) Anything that ... A: (EDIT: more strange science on time here: http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/in-no-time/ ) Here ... | ||
| Monotheism VS polytheism | 8/8/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: First, thank you for your last answer. This time, let's SUPPOSE that it's certain the Universe is ... A: "But what do you mean by 'arbitrary' about gods of polytheism?": I see now that your home country is ... | ||
| Monotheism VS polytheism | 8/7/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: First, thank you for your last answer. This time, let's SUPPOSE that it's certain the Universe is ... A: Applying Ockham's Razor: Ockham's Razor is best for eliminating the number of rules and assumptions ... | ||
| Paradox of Design Argument? | 8/4/2010 | Jeffrey Eldred |
| Q: we often weaken "God" explanation for the apparent design of this Universe by stating that He has to ... A: It seems to me that Platinga and Swineburne argument from this redefined complexity is nothing more ... | ||
| God and complexity #2 | 8/4/2010 | Austin Cline |
| Q: If you remember, I stated that intelligence, consciousness and volition are complex process. But ... A: It has to start from a state of being intelligent, conscious, and volitional in order to make a ... | ||
| Testing theodicy and free will | 8/2/2010 | Austin Cline |
| Q: The common reply to the faith-testing theodicy (which attempts to conciliate a good God with natural ... A: Are you talking about *you* or a perfect deity? You can't know for sure because you aren't perfect ... | ||
| God | 7/21/2010 | Clint |
| Q: Do you hate Christians? How can you be 100% sure that there is no God, if you are a finite person? ... A: It's wrong to thank a deity whom one assumes is looking out for you but seems to ignore the plight ... | ||
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Atheism
Answers by Expert:
Jeffrey Eldred
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I am well versed on the arguments for both sides about the existence of God and am especially aware of the philosophical ramifications and psychological reactions to atheism. Also, if you have a question about atheism as that pertains to Science or Skepticism, I may be an especially good pick. However my knowledge of non-Judeo-Christian religions and Biblical archaeology is generally limited to knowledge about directions to more informative resources.
Experience
I've been an atheist for 10 years now, open about it for 5 years after being raised in a Roman Catholic family. In that time I have held many different philosophical perspective on the subject and had different emotional and psychological reactions to atheism. I have absorbed many internet articles, video debates, atheist publications, and secular podcasts in my process of understanding and supporting the atheist movement. I routinely hold conversations on the subject.
Publications
One article in If Journal, an interfaith publication.
Education/Credentials
I have a BS in Physics and Mathematics from the College of William & Mary
I have very little formal training in philosophy or sociology.
I am pursuing my Ph.D in Physics at Indiana University at Bloomington.
Awards and Honors
I was president of the William & Mary Students for Science & Secularism before graduating.
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