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  • Friendly Atheist?

    I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but can someone tell me more about the so-called Friendly Atheist? I seem to remember someone referring to him as not-so-friendly, and mentioning bad arguments against God. I had a discussion today with someone about separation of church and state, and beside them saying that the FFRF is totally misunderstood, they recommended the Friendly Atheist for their side. This doesn't give me confidence of good arguments from the Friendly Atheist.

  • #2
    Friendly Atheist really isn't that friendly. He just seems to be friendly at first, but it's only on the surface. If you read his blog or watch his youtube videos it quickly becomes apparent how arrogant he is. His arguments for atheism really aren't the best that I've ever seen, either.
    "Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being; remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But with kindness. With humility. Without hypocrisy."
    -Marcus Aurelius

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    • #3
      He started out more friendly than he tends to be at present... by his own admission, I think.

      He came to prominence with the book "I Sold My Soul On Ebay", which was a rather interesting idea. He basically auctioned his attendance at the church of your choice... and took it seriously. The idea that he was "selling his soul" was a kind of meme that came from others reading about his notion. It was not his own choice of phrasing.

      The auction was won by Jim Henderson. Interesting and unusual guy. I won't comment on him further, but I wonder if anyone here has heard of him or has a reaction.

      Anyhow... Hemant (the friendly atheist) held his side of the bargain by going to the church Jim advised... and Jim sent him to LOTS of churches, and got him to blog about his experiences and reactions. This pretty much launched Hemant, and became the foundation for his book.

      Atheism, as we atheists are inclined to say, is really only saying what you DON'T believe. That leaves a LOT of room for what you do believe. And, consequently, a lot of room for disagreements. Hemant and I don't see eye to eye on everything. When I was more active blogging, I disagreed with him pretty strongly on a number of things. But he's a maths teacher, so I like him anyway!

      He's a bit more of an activist now, and more about promoting atheism, where he tended to start out being more of an atheist trying to learn about other people's experience and practice of theism. So the "friendly atheist" doesn't really apply in the same way as it did originally. Doesn't mean he is actually unfriendly.

      Cheers -- sylas

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      • #4
        I think he cut me off in traffic once.
        Actually YOU put Trump in the White House. He wouldn't have gotten 1% of the vote if it wasn't for the widespread spiritual and cultural devastation caused by progressive policies. There's no "this country" left with your immigration policies, your "allies" are worthless and even more suicidal than you are and democracy is a sick joke that I hope nobody ever thinks about repeating when the current order collapses. - Darth_Executor striking a conciliatory note in Civics 101

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        • #5
          Originally posted by sylas View Post
          He started out more friendly than he tends to be at present... by his own admission, I think.

          He came to prominence with the book "I Sold My Soul On Ebay", which was a rather interesting idea. He basically auctioned his attendance at the church of your choice... and took it seriously. The idea that he was "selling his soul" was a kind of meme that came from others reading about his notion. It was not his own choice of phrasing.

          The auction was won by Jim Henderson. Interesting and unusual guy. I won't comment on him further, but I wonder if anyone here has heard of him or has a reaction.

          Anyhow... Hemant (the friendly atheist) held his side of the bargain by going to the church Jim advised... and Jim sent him to LOTS of churches, and got him to blog about his experiences and reactions. This pretty much launched Hemant, and became the foundation for his book.

          Atheism, as we atheists are inclined to say, is really only saying what you DON'T believe. That leaves a LOT of room for what you do believe. And, consequently, a lot of room for disagreements. Hemant and I don't see eye to eye on everything. When I was more active blogging, I disagreed with him pretty strongly on a number of things. But he's a maths teacher, so I like him anyway!

          He's a bit more of an activist now, and more about promoting atheism, where he tended to start out being more of an atheist trying to learn about other people's experience and practice of theism. So the "friendly atheist" doesn't really apply in the same way as it did originally. Doesn't mean he is actually unfriendly.

          Cheers -- sylas
          You're tweb's "friendly atheist" - I consider you a friend and you never act arrogant or defensive and are a pleasure to have a discussion with
          Last edited by Sparko; 05-04-2017, 02:49 PM.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Sparko View Post
            Your tweb's "friendly atheist" - I consider you a friend and you never act arrogant or defensive and are a pleasure to have a discussion with

            Same with that annoying Boxing Pythagoras. He's just such a nice guy!


            Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

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            • #7
              Thanks for the input

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                Your
                That should be "you're".

                (The black helicopters came and told me I had better do something irritating or I'd lose my card.)

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by sylas View Post
                  That should be "you're".

                  (The black helicopters came and told me I had better do something irritating or I'd lose my card.)
                  BY9ZTUC.jpg

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                  • #10
                    Hemant will be a contestant on tomorrow's episode of Jeopardy.
                    "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

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