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Another fact is that Mark 16:1-8 is the earliest version of the resurrection story, where women discover the empty tomb, and an angel tells them that the disappearance of the body means that jesus has risen. In the earliest and best manuscripts the gospel ends there, then later on a scribe adds Mark 16:9-20, which speaks of his disciples seeing jesus after he has risen [105].
Right there, it's proof that the resurrection story has been changed, and added to, so how does anyone know that this really happened? Not only is the available evidence (the bible) unreliable, but logic dictates that dead men can't rise from the dead.
His other claim that "legends usually require at least one to two generations to bring to life" is absolutely false because in Robert M. Price's book Jesus is Dead, on pages 36 to 37 Price recounts a few miracle stories developing within weeks or days.
Price recounts the story of Sabbatai Sevi, who was a false messiah in the 17th century.
"Gershom Scholem speaks of 'the sudden and almost explosive surge of miracle stories' concerning Sabbatai Sevi within weeks or even days of his public appearances....
Letters from December of the same year related that Sabbatai 'command a Fire to be made in a public place, in the presence of many beholders...and entered into the fire twice or thrice, without any hurt to his garments or to a hair on his head. Other letters tell of his raising the dead.'"
"Twentieth-century African prophet and martyr Simon Kimbangu became another 'living legend' against his own wishes. One group of his followers, the Ngunzists, spread his fame as the 'god of the blacks' or 'christ of the blacks,' even while Kimbangu himself disavowed the role. Legends of Kimbangu's childhood, miracles, and prophetic visions began within his own generation."
These two stories prove Aikman's claim to be absolutely false.
I've finally reached the end, and Aikman's arguments were horrible, and his continuous comparison of atheism to communism was tiring; none of the "new atheists" have ever said they want to ban religion entirely, so allowing them to influence people is not going to cause another communistic country. That is just absurd, as some quotes from the authors in question have confirmed (and Aikman even acknowledges this on pages 30 and 32).
This review has been like pulling teeth, though I tried my best to take my time and find good, factual information that would defeat many of his absurd claims. Well, I guess that's it. As I said in the beginning of the seventh chapter, religion is stale and stagnant and people who embrace it are still living in what are popularly called the "dark ages" of humanity. This is the last review that I will do on theology, or put more aptly, bullshitoloy. I've successfully refuted several well known theistic authors and none of their arguments stand the test of reason and science, so I don't feel I need to waste my time on this anymore.
So, all in all, I've proven that the "new atheism" is not a threat to anyone's life - none of the "four horsemen" have said they want to kill religious people. Nor is anyone's liberty at stake - neither Hitchens, Harris, Dawkins, or Dennett have said they want to deny religious believers the freedom to worship how they want, as long as they respect others' beliefs and not interfere in others' lives. Finally, each individuals' happiness is not in danger because no one is denying anyone their freedom (unlike some religious individuals).
Note: Because it's been nearly a year since this refutation was written many of the websites I cited may or may not still be online. If they are I will cite the access date of when I last accessed them during the revising of this new edition of this paper to ensure they are still active and accurate.
1. The Delusion of Disbelief: Why the New Atheism is a Threat to Your Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness, by David Aikman; published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2008; 21
2. Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism, by Peter Marshall, Harper Perennial, 2008; 75-76
3. The Delusion of Disbelief; 25
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Haggard#Homosexual_sex_and_
methamphetamine_drugs_scandal; accessed 5-15-09
5. http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/response-to-controversy2/; accessed 5-15-09
6. These two books by Marc Hauser and Robert Wright are excellent. The full title for each is the following:
Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong, by Marc D. Hauser, HarperCollins Publishers, 2006
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology, by Robert Wright, Vintage Books, 1995
7. The Delusion of Disbelief; 66
8. The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins, Oxford University Press, 2006; 192
9. The Delusion of Disbelief; 81
10. The Delusion of Disbelief; 82
11. The Delusion of Disbelief; 93
12. The Story of Civilization: The Age of Napoleon, by Will and Ariel Durant, Simon and Schuster, 1975; 62
13. The Story of Civilization: The Age of Napoleon, by Will and Ariel Durant, Simon and Schuster, 1975; 74
14. A History of the Modern World, by R.R. Palmer and Joel Colton, Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1956; 359- 360
15. The Story of Civilization: The Age of Napoleon, by Will and Ariel Durant, Simon and Schuster, 1975; 73-74
16. A History of the Modern World, by R.R. Palmer and Joel Colton, Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1956; 361- 362
17. http://www.marxists.org/archive/morris/works/1886/sru/ch8.htm; accessed 5-15-09
18. http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/robespierre.htm; accessed 5-15-09
19. A History of Western Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell, Touchstone, May 2007; 705
20. Communism: A History, by Richard Pipes, Modern Library, 2001; 157-158
21. Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, by Julian Baggini, Oxford University Press, 2003; 81-88
22. The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, edited by Tom Flynn, Prometheus Books, 2007; 520
23. The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, edited by Tom Flynn, Prometheus Books, 2007; 523
24. The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, edited by Tom Flynn, Prometheus Books, 2007; 621
25. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Enlightenment; accessed 5-15-09
26. The Western Heritage: From the Earliest Times to the Present, by Stewart C. Easton, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1970; 570
27. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire#Religion; accessed 5-15-09
28. The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, edited by Tom Flynn, Prometheus Books, 2007; 673
29. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robespierre; accessed 5-15-09
30. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_newton; accessed 5-15-09
31. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 801
32. The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, edited by Tom Flynn, Prometheus Books, 2007; 509
33. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 515
34. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 554
35. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 762
36. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 1022
37. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 1039
38. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 294
39. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Second Edition, edited by Robert Audi, Cambridge University Press, 1999; 203
40. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 395
41. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 607
42. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 885
43. The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, edited by Tom Flynn, Prometheus Books, 2007; 277
44. Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism, by Peter Marshall, Harper Perennial, 2008; 122
45. Letter to a Christian Nation, by Sam Harris, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006; 43
46. 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a god, by Guy P. Harrison, Prometheus Books, 2008; 296
47. http://skepticforum.mu.nu/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8994&p=119811; accessed 5-15-09
48. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Media/2003-02-10guardianprofile.shtml; accessed 5-15-09
49. The Delusion of Disbelief; 95
50. The Complete Idiot's Guide to American History, by Alan Axelrod, Ph.D., Alpha Books, 2006
51. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution; accessed 5-15-09
52. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution#Historical_influences; accessed 5-15-09
53. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Compact; accessed 5-15-09
54. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment; accessed 5-15-09
55. The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America, by Frank Lambert, Princeton University Press, 2006; 288
56. Liars for Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History, Volume 1, by Chris Rodda, Self Published, 2006; viii-ix
57.The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America, by Frank Lambert, Princeton University Press, 2006; 290
58. Liars for Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History, Volume 1, by Chris Rodda, Self Published, 2006; 289-290
59. The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, edited by Tom Flynn, Prometheus Books, 2007; 242
60. Liars for Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History, Volume 1, by Chris Rodda, Self Published, 2006; 315-316
61. The Knowledge Book: Everything You Need to Know to Get By in the 21st Century, by various contributers, National Geographic, 2007; 32
62. The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, by David L. Holmes, Oxford University Press, 2006; 46
63. The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, by David L. Holmes, Oxford University Press, 2006; 39-40
64. The Separation of Church and State: Writings On a Fundamental Freedom By America's Founders, edited by Forrest Church, Beacon Press, 2004; 124
65. The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, by David L. Holmes, Oxford University Press, 2006; 162
66. The Delusion of Disbelief; 156
67. The Federalist Papers, edited by Clinton Rossiter, Signet Classic edition, 1999; 68
68. The Federalist Papers, edited by Clinton Rossiter, Signet Classic edition, 1999; 274
69.The Federalist Papers, edited by Clinton Rossiter, Signet Classic edition, 1999; 464
70. http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/1/4/24725/53989; accessed 5-15-09
71. The Delusion of Disbelief; 146-147
72. The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America, by Frank Lambert, Princeton University Press, 2006;177
73. http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/ed_buckner/quotations.html; accessed 5-15-09
74. The Delusion of Disbelief; 176
75. The Delusion of Disbelief; 175
76. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 321
77. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 38
78. A video about atheists on YouTube, put together by "zakiechan." It can currently be found at http://youtube.com/watch?v=fdVucvo-kDU (accessed 5-15-09)
79. Ibid.
80. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheists_%28Activists_and_educators%29; accessed 5-15-09
81. Ibid.
82. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080812072029AAncmnT; accessed 5-15-09
83. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 47
84. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 1163
85. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 90
86. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 90
87.Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 306
88. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 421
89. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 859
90. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 1043
91. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 1056
92. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 1204
93. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Pasteur; accessed 5-15-09
94. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 589
95. Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, by Warren Allen Smith, Barricade Books, 2000; 512
96. http://skepticforum.mu.nu/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8994&p=119811; unable to access, 5-15-09
97. The Delusion of Disbelief; 194
98. The Delusion of Disbelief; 198
99. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi; accessed 5-15-09, however cited information is no longer available.
100. The Delusion of Disbelief; 202-203
101. The Delusion of Disbelief; 203
102. The Delusion of Disbelief; 207
103. The Delusion of Disbelief; 210
104. Dan Barker's article called Leave No Stone Unturned: An Easter Challenge For Christians, from http://ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=stone; unable to access 5-15-09
105. Jesus is Dead, by Robert M. Price, American Atheist Press, 2007; 4
I'm currently a 29 year old atheist/anarchist who maintains a blog dedicated to truth and freedom. I've made it my duty to root out error and deception regarding politics and religion. I'm outspoken, hard hitting, and I care passionately about the truth, and when I find it I'm not afraid to spread it, no matter what it is.
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