Monday, July 11, 2016

2016: More BAD news for American atheists

New Atheism books started being published in 2004. The 2004 publication of The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris was joined over the next few years by a series of books by other New Atheism authors. The New Atheism books had far higher sales than the vast majority of books about atheism.

Below is a graph of Google searches for the word "atheism" from Google trends and please allow a brief time for the graph to load. Please notice that there are less Google searches for the term atheism than in January of 2004. Also, notice the lowest previous point on the Google trends graph was July of 2006 and now it is even lower.

YouTube atheist Thunderf00t said about the atheist movement after Reason Rally 2016 had a very low turnout: :
I'm not sure there is anything in this movement worth saving. Hitchens is dead. Dawkins simply doesn't have the energy for this sort of thing anymore. Harris went his own way. And Dennett just kind of blended into the background. So what do you think when the largest gathering of the nonreligious in history pulls in... I don't know. Maybe 2,000 people. Is there anything worth saving?





There is some controversy within atheism circles whether of not atheists should call themselves atheists due to the bad reputation of atheism/atheists. New atheist Sam Harris said concerning the label of atheist, "It's right next to child molester as a designation."

Some atheists use euphemisms for the word atheist in public when people ask them what their religion is (rationalist, nonbeliever, etc.). And at the poorly attended Reason Rally 2016, atheist David Silverman (who is president of the American Atheist organization) had atheists/agnostics repeatedly yell the word "atheist" (see the video below). Notice all the empty chairs in the video.

There are more Google USA searches for the word "atheist" than in January of 2004 according to Google trends, but the bad news for atheists is that the general trend is currently downwards despite some atheist activists encouraging people to call themselves atheists (allow a brief time for the graph to load).

Friday, July 8, 2016

Creationist Ken Ham vs. atheist and evolutionist PZ Myers

Quote of atheist  and evolutionist PZ Myers:
Ken Ham is bragging about his web traffic, and it’s rather pathetic.

Oooh. Millions are big numbers. But just to put it all into perspective, some random low-ranking non-entity of a godless college professor in the most rural part of Minnesota gets about 25-30 million visits per year, and yeah, it’s growing every year. And his site links regularly to AiG, meaning a lot of the visitors to Ham’s precious empire are there to laugh at him.

Alexa ranking of Freethoughtblogs which is owned by PZ Myers



Alexa ranking of Answers in Genesis website


Ken Ham's website (the Answers In Genesis Website)  now has a greater Alexa ranking than PZ Myer's website.

If only PZ Myers didn't think he was random and there was a special purpose in his life. Then he might be more purposeful and intelligent in his web marketing strategies.

If only some atheist in the past built an enormous wooden structure in the past that PZ Myers could replicate and draw enormous crowds with. But atheism is boring and always will be.

 Ark Encounter video


Saturday, July 2, 2016

Kicking atheism, agnosticism and evolutionism when they are down. Why its time to crush godlessness like an aluminum can



 Is it time to kick atheism, agnosticism when they are down?

Agnosticism is actually more prevalent than atheism although atheism gets more press.

So how is agnosticism doing in the world?

How is atheism doing in the world right now?

How is evolutionism doing in the world right now?

How is Jesus doing in the world right now? Is Jesus triumphing like he always does?

Is it time to ramp up creationist fundraising/outreach and crush godlessness like an aluminum can?

In 2015, Pew Research indicated in their report The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050 that agnostics and atheists “will make up a declining share of the world’s total population.”

The Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary estimated that agnostics made up 9.5% of the global population in 2015. CSGC projects that agnosticism will be 8.71% of the global population in 2025 and 7.19% of the global population in 2050

Atheism is in decline worldwide, with the number of atheists falling from 4.5% of the world’s population in 1970 to 2.0% in 2010 and projected to drop to 1.8% by 2020, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass.

 The prominent historian Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University, indicates that he believes Christianity faces a "bright future" worldwide. According to MacCulloch, "Christianity, the world's largest religion, is rapidly expanding – by all indications, its future is very bright."

Professor Phillip Jenkins published the book The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity.

Chuck Colson, citing the work of Jenkins, writes:
As Penn State professor Philip Jenkins writes in The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, predictions like Huntingtons betray an ignorance of the explosive growth of Christianity outside of the West.

For instance, in 1900, there were approximately 10 million Christians in Africa. By 2000, there were 360 million. By 2025, conservative estimates see that number rising to 633 million. Those same estimates put the number of Christians in Latin America in 2025 at 640 million and in Asia at 460 million.

According to Jenkins, the percentage of the worlds population that is, at least by name, Christian will be roughly the same in 2050 as it was in 1900. By the middle of this century, there will be three billion Christians in the world -- one and a half times the number of Muslims. In fact, by 2050 there will be nearly as many Pentecostal Christians in the world as there are Muslims today
Professor Eric Kaufmann told a secular audience in Australia: "The trends that are happening worldwide inevitably in an age of globalization are going to affect us."

The main ideological supply line of atheism/agnosticism is Darwinism. And Darwinism is vulnerable. Johns Hopkins University Press reported in 2014: "Over the past forty years, creationism has spread swiftly among European Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, and Muslims, even as anti-creationists sought to smother its flames."

General Douglas MacArthur declared: "The history of war proves that nine out of ten times an army has been destroyed because its supply lines have been cut off...”

Answers In Genesis has put a lot of effort into fundraising. However, I think there is room for a lot of improvement for other creationist ministries.  And its very doable. It just a matter of time before they do it - especially when Christendom sees the success of the combined effects of the Answers In Genesis website, the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.  I think Answers In Genesis is going to have a lot of forward momentum post Ark Encounter. Furthermore, and more importantly, evangelical Christianity is a fast growing and very evangelistic religion in the world and most evangelicals are staunch creationists. And global creationism is on the rise.

So is it time for Christendom to ramp up creationist fundraising and outreach and crush godlessness like an aluminum can?

Please look at the Google trends graph below after it finishes loading.



Atheists, agnostics and evolutionists.. Get ready. It's coming! The negative isms of atheism, agnosticism, Darwinism and evolutionism will be crushed like an aluminum can just other negative isms in history.

By the way, can you satisfactorily answer the 15 questions for evolutionists AFTER clicking on the links for the supporting articles and videos on the page so you make an informed answer?  I don't think you can! Click on the 15 questions for evolutionists HERE.

Gallup reports American belief in God rose recently. And 5 other reasons why New Atheism was merely a fad with minimal effects.

Recently,  I said the effects of New Atheism on the USA may be over by about 2021 which is about 5 years. It now appears as if it may only take about 3 years or even less.

I say this for 6 reasons.

1.  Correlation does not equal causation. I read that some irreligion trends were occurring even before the New Atheism appeared on the scene. So the effects of the New Atheism movement may have been minimal. In addition, read this article American faith: A work in progress which is skeptical that the New Atheism had much of an impact:

2.  New Atheism appears to be gobbled up by feminism/SJWism ("social justice warriorism")/political correctness within atheism as this story indicates: The Collapse of New Atheism.

Feminism has an element of trendiness too as this roller coaster Google trends graph helps show, but feminism did help to largely kill off New Atheism.  In addition, political pendulums do have a tendency to swing back and forth in the United States and there does appear to be a growing backlash against "political correctness" and right-wing candidates are gaining traction in many elections around the world.

On the other hand, different brands of atheism are often reactionary to various types of theism/politics so perhaps SJW has some legs for awhile. But given the roller coaster nature of feminism in society and the fickleness of the fairer sex, I have my doubts about feminism/SJW type atheism lasting.  I think it is largely a fad. 

3. Economic instability increases religiosity and the global/U.S. economy seems fragile right now.

4. Furthermore, there are some powerful global trends in terms of a global resurgence of religion and in an age of globalization, this could certainly have an effect on the United States,

5.  The New Atheism caused a surge of anti-atheism defenses of Christianity being published in print and on the internet.  Now it seems as if Answers In Genesis may see a big surge in publicity due to their Ark Encounter exhibit which is an impressive and fairly close replication of Noah's Ark (It does have a restaurant in it which I doubt Noah had). And I am not sure if the Amish who helped built the Ark Encounter used the mysterious wood of gopher wood! 

I liken the New Atheism inspired Christian anti-atheism works to be similar to the United States battle with Japan in WWII. They intellectually conquered a lot of islands on the way to "Japan"/atheism, but the "mainland" of ideological underpinnings of modern day atheism/agnosticism is Darwinism.

(Perhaps, it might be better said that Christians reconquered many islands on the way to "Japan/atheism" as the Christian vs. atheism battle is a battle that has been going on the West for about 400 years. Admittedly, new arguments do come forth.  Although the New Atheism brand of atheism was largely a marketing tactic as much of it was not new.)

Darwinism is intellectually bankrupt as these 15 questions for evolutionists help show.  Creationist have a lot of excellent content at this point. If they just amped up its distribution into the marketplace of ideas, I think this would have an effect.

Consider:

 Johns Hopkins University Press reported in 2014: "Over the past forty years, creationism has spread swiftly among European Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, and Muslims, even as anti-creationists sought to smother its flames."

 On February 24, 2015, the Science Nordic website declared:
Creationism, the belief that a god -- not evolution -- shaped life on Earth, is ... spreading in the very stronghold of evolution, Europe. That’s the conclusion of five years of research that’s been put into new book on creationism. The book details how creationism is on the march throughout most of Europe.
"Creationism is most dominant in Eastern Europe and Turkey, but even some schools in the Netherlands are teaching creationism," says one of the book’s authors Hans Henrik Hjermitslev, University College South Denmark. "Politicians in some German federal states are advocating that schools use creationist books alongside those about evolutionary theory in their lessons. This kind of struggle is going on on a small scale in many places."...

"Over the last ten years we’ve seen the emergence of big-city creationism. London is a good example," says Kjærgaar.

Here, noticeably more young people have been signed up to various local and religious groups.
"And this doesn't just apply to young Muslims as many people might think. Christian groups are also recruiting young people...

Creationism has particularly been on the rise in step with the internet, which according to Peter Kjærgaard has made it much easier for people to become activists..

 Darwinism has public schools supporting it. On the other hand, homeschooling and the use of vouchers for private religious schools  is increasing and many people are becoming dissatisfied with the quality of public schools. Given aging populations in the West and accompanying tight government budgets, privatization  of  public schools (which is more economical) could gain further traction though increased use of homeschooling vouchers, etc.  Necessity is often the mother of invention so societies may become less reliant on the public school model of education.


6. The percentage of Americans who say they believe in God has recently seen an uptick according to a recent report by the Gallup organization, but perhaps this is a sampling error as Gallup says "the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level."



Sunday, June 26, 2016

2016: Two signs it is looking like a BAD year for American atheism

In the last couple years, American atheism has been in the doldrums. The dust has settled from Richard Dawkins being routed by feminists and the death of the late Christopher Hitchens. Now a spirit of pessimism, apathy and defeatism weighs down the psyches of many American atheists.

Given the shrinking of global atheism in terms of its percentage of adherents, American atheism is running out of runway in terms of ever achieving cultural dominance. The flood of religious immigrants to Europe is a testimony the power of globalization.

On July 24, 2013, CNS News reported:
Atheism is in decline worldwide, with the number of atheists falling from 4.5% of the world’s population in 1970 to 2.0% in 2010 and projected to drop to 1.8% by 2020, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass.

And it looks like 2016 will be a BAD year for American atheism. 

First sign: Google trends: Searches for the terms "atheism" and "atheist" in the last 12 months  

Please allow time for the Google trends graphs to download below. The graphs will download momentarily.
 
Second sign: The Atheist Delusion video will be released in 2016 and receive millions of views

Friday, May 13, 2016

Godless Denmark and depravity

Consider:

 In 2005 Denmark was ranked the third most atheistic country in the world and the website adherents.com reported that in 2005 43 - 80% of Danes were agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God

The 2003 book entitled Overcoming Violence Against Women and Girls: The International Campaign to Eradicate a Worldwide Problem written by authors Rahel Nardos; Mary K. Radpour; William S. Hatcher and Michael L. Penn, declared:
 The largest source of commercial child pornography is Denmark. Denmark became the world's leading producer of child pornography when, in 1969, it removed all restrictions on the production and sale of any type of pornographic material. "The result," notes Tim Tate, "was a short-lived explosion in adult pornography, and the birth of commercial child pornography. In his work, Tate links the global spread of child pornography to two men: Willy Strauss, founder of Bambina Sex, the world's first child-pornography magazine, founded in 1971; and Peter Theander, founder of Colour Climax Corporation and the producer of a short, professionally made pornographic film series entitled Lolita. Lolita depicts the sexual abuse of prepubescent boys and girls. Although Danish law at the time rendered the work of Strauss and Theander legal, by 1979 when Denmark finally banned the production and sale of child pornography it had already become such a financial success on the international market that it has proven to be nearly impossible to bring its spread under control. (source: Overcoming Violence Against Women and Girls: The International Campaign to Eradicate a Worldwide Problem written by authors Rahel Nardos; Mary K. Radpour; William S. Hatcher and Michael L. Penn, page 59, 2003.).

Suzanne Ost, in her 2009 book Child Pornography and Sexual Grooming: Legal and Societal Responses published by Cambridge University Press, wrote about the child pornography created by Denmark/Holland during this period:  
Taylor and Quayle note that the material produced during this period still constitutes the largest part of child pornography that is currently available, having been transferred into digital format and uploaded onto the interne (source: Child Pornography and Sexual Grooming: Legal and Societal Responses by Suzanne Ost, Cambridge University Press, page 29, 2009).
 In 2014, according to Danish journalist Margit Shabanzahen, a Danish man who ran a business catering to people who have sex with horses said that he had buses of people arriving at his business.

Secular Europe's weird bestiality renaissance


Vice News is an international news channel that produces daily documentaries.

In 2014, Vice News, reported:
Bestiality is having a weird renaissance in Europe. Perhaps ironically, it kicked off when activists succeeded in banning the practice in places like Germany and Norway. In the background, something else emerged simultaneously: an animal-sex-tourism industry, which has been blossoming in Denmark.
 Is it any wonder the European share of the world's population is going to shrink in the 21st century due to sub-replacement levels of births.  Instead of having sexual relations with each other, an embarrassing amount of irreligious Europeans are having sex with animals.

According to a 2010 Eurobarometer poll, 33% of Finnish citizens "believe there is a God". (In 2005, the figure was 41%)

A prominent Finnish news website reported in July of 2015:
Finland is indeed a last bastion of bestiality. Here a person can have sex with an animal as long as the animal is not harmed. The absence of legislation against bestiality makes the nation one of the last in the European Union not to institute a legal ban.
As the law currently stands in Finland, a person can engage in sexual intercourse with an animal as long as it cannot be proved that the animal has been treated too roughly or cruelly or that the act has caused unnecessary pain and suffering.

..Finland legalised bestiality in 1971, following in the footsteps of other European countries. It was thought that criminalising the act was not the right way to deal with people who are likely to suffer from mental illness or who are simply lonely.

In 2011, a Finnish news website reported
President Tarja Halonen has characterised loneliness as a real and serious problem faced by all age groups in Finland. Her comments came in a TV address opening the annual Collective Responsibility fundraising campaign.

She reminded her audience of their responsibility for relatives and others. Dialogue was the answer, she said. The President called for efforts to combat both loneliness and marginalisation during periods of economic hardship...

Change in society had been so rapid that support measures designed to help young people had not kept pace with modern society. Halonen demanded that all means be applied to promote the well being of youth and to protect them from marginalisation and other risk factors

Lonelinsss is a big problem in secular Europe.  A problem that could be solved via Christian fellowship. And the problem is going to get worse with Europe's aging population where many of the families don't keep in contact with their elderly relatives.

Most of the world's men turn to sweet ladies when they are lonely. Many godless Europeans have turned to animals in a most unbecoming manner!