I am watching this series on BBCfour this week.
In this first ever television history of disbelief, Jonathan Miller leads viewers on a personal journey exploring the origins of his own lack of belief and uncovering the hidden story of atheism.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/atheism.shtml
and I think it splendid.
I find some quotes from Dr Miller’s case, quite compelling. Foremost of which is the Epicurean paradox
On Atheism
“If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another.”
Epicurus [341 BC-271 BC]
“Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.”
Epicurus [341 BC-271 BC]
Epicurean paradox posits that:
If God exists, then he is all-powerful.
If God exists, then he is good.
If God is all-powerful and good, then there would be no evil.
There is evil.
Therefore God does not exist.
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is impotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Whence then is evil?
Epicurus [341 BC-271 BC]
I do not pretend to be able to prove that there is no God. I equally cannot prove that Satan is a fiction. The Christian god may exist; so may the gods of Olympus, or of ancient Egypt, or of Babylon. But no one of these hypotheses is more probable than any other: they lie outside the region of even probable knowledge, and therefore there is no reason to consider any of them.
Bertrand Russell
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While on the subject of God, and the ISM’s, I thought I would share this analysis with you:
George Melley on Religion:
Taoism – shit happens.
Bhuddism – the shit that happens to us is good.
Hinduism – the shit that happens to us has happened before.
Zen – what is the sound of shit happening.
Catholic – the shit that happens to you, you deserve.
Protestantism – the shit that happens to you, why doesn’t it happen to somebody else.
Jewish – why does this shit always happen to me.
Agnostic – I’m not sure I believe in this shit.
Atheist – I don’t believe in any of this shit.
Rastafarian – let’s smoke this shit.
George Melley Radio 4 August 1995
HEHE, Wicked 🙂
