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Ask an Atheist

Submitted by UTAbecky on Sun, 2007-06-03 10:47.

Our campus group is going to put on an "Ask an Atheist" event. I know some other groups have done similar events. Anyone who has attended or put on an event like this:

What questions were asked? Was it well-attended?

Any advice??

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Thoughts on Ask an Atheist
Submitted by august on Wed, 2007-09-05 17:21.
I've helped to organize three Ask an Atheist events and here's what I've learned and observed:

  • All of the ones I've been involved with were titled "Ask an Atheist or Agnostic." I'm not sure how important this is.
  • The most important thing to do when running these events is to make it VERY clear at the beginning of the event that it is not a debate. The event is not about converting anyone to anything. The panel is not trying to convert the audience to be atheists and the audience should extend the same courtesy to the panel. You have gathered here to learn from each other, not to convert each other. The extent to which really valuable dialog has come out of these events has seemed to depend on how much it was clear this was educational, and not persuasive.
  • Have a moderator who is very eager and able to shut down any attempts at conversion that pop up. A good intro should take care of most problems, but some people will come in late or are just bad listeners.
  • Four people is easily enough to be on the panel. Six might be too many. Five is fine.
  • There's no harm in finding a diverse group of atheists (or agnostics) to put on the panel. Simply letting folks know that not all atheists are white men is a step in the right direction.
  • If you can get a diversity of age, wonderful. If not, all students is fine--you're a campus group.
  • You don't need experts for the panel. Members of your group will make excellent panel members.
  • Advertise the event far and wide--hit dorms, hit religious organizations, etc. Invite the whole campus community to come and learn about you.
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Thanks, August
Submitted by UTAbecky on Thu, 2007-09-06 23:09.

Thanks, August.
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I will have to think about who can moderate. We shouldn't have a problem getting 4-5 people on the panel. Diversity of age shouldn't be a problem, either, as I an semi-active in the other local atheist/humanist groups in the area. I'm sure you know the average age of members of those types of groups.
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I probably should include an Agnostic in the panel and title, as well. I tend to think all agnostics are really atheists, which is a bias on my part that I should be more aware of.
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Thanks for the tips!

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Atheist vs. Agnostic
Submitted by august on Sun, 2007-09-09 09:05.

Hey Becky,
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You're welcome.
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I often struggle with the atheist/agnostic issue myself. One of the issues in our movement is that the labels are many and confusing. I think some of the confusion centers around the fact that most dictionaries have definitions for atheist that require ardent, cock-sure belief that there are no god or gods. Whereas most of the people who actually call themselves atheists just mean that they aren't theistic--that they lack a belief in a god or gods. I know in my case that I'm open to being persuaded that there is a god or gods with the right argument and evidence, I just don't believe now. I guess by most dictionaries the fact that I'm just a bit open to the possibility that there might be some kind of supernatural power puts me in the agnostic camp.
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But agnostic feels wimpy and ambivalent. It's odd that I think of agnostic that way--there are lots of agnostics who are very hard-core: Wendy Kaminer, Michael Shermer, T.H. Huxley (who coined the term). And why should saying you don't know the answer to a question feel wimpy when there isn't enough data or a strong enough argument to know? But for whatever reason, agnostic does feel like I'm just not interested in the question enough to have an opinion.
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Not being happy with agnostic started me on the path of using atheist to describe myself. This, of course, has led to hundreds of conversations where I tell people that the dictionary is wrong and that I'm right. George H. Smith told me so. Odd, no?
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After years of fighting to reclaim the word atheist, I feel like I'm wasting all that effort to call myself an agnostic. But all that effort is a sunk cost, and there's no reason to stick to that old path just because I've invested a lot. I can't get that time back. ;-)
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Anyhow, I think that by the definition of atheist that I use (i.e. lack of a belief in any gods), all agnostics are atheists. If you don't think there's enough evidence to decide a question, why would you believe one way or the other? If you don't believe in a god or gods, you're not a theist. If you're not a theist, then you're an atheist. Yeah? Well, if you agree with George H. Smith, yes. If you agree with Merriam-Webster ("Atheist: one who believes that there is no deity"), no.

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