Randolph Feezell (Creighton): Religious Ambiguity, Agnosticism, and Prudence. Simon Watson (Emmanuel): Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and Atheist Fundamentalism. From The Tablet, a review of The "New" Atheism: 10 arguments that don’t hold water by Michael Poole; and a review of Why Believe? by John Cottingham. An excerpt from The Christian Atheist by Craig Goeschel. The New Atheist writers are supremely self-confident in their ability to dispatch opponents with a sarcastic quip or two — and they show no evidence whatsoever of knowing what they are talking about. From First Things, how long should we waste our time with the sheer banality of the New Atheists? (and a response by Damon Linker). From The Humanist, PZ Myers on how he lost religion and gained 2.5 million friends. Two recent books by Eagleton and Hitchens converge on a common enemy, the bland atheist managerialism that assumes the point of life is fun. From Skeptic, Kenneth Grubbs on Antony Flew, 1923–2010: Following the argument wherever it leads (and more); and Chris Edwards on Motorcycle Maintenance Without the Zen: How Pirsig’s mistakes about atheism continue today. Peter Manseau reviews Confession of a Buddhist Atheist by Stephen Batchelor (and more). From Freethought Today, Dan Barker talks about his book Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists; Barry Kosmin on the rising tide of secularity; and Phil Zuckerman on the goodness of Godlessness. Ryan Stringer on the value of atheism. Tom Rees on the sex lives of the atheists (and everyone else). Where do atheists come from? Social scientists have long wondered why so many people believe in God — we should ask why the rest don't. A review of A Short History of Secularism by Graeme Smith.
