Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Roma · 05-18-2003, 06:48 PM

My friend from high school sent me a short little book called "5 Crucial Questions About Christianity" by Tom Short. I quote from the first chapter,

Quote:

I guess this is why the great atheist Isaac Asimov once admitted, "For years I tried to be an atheist for intellectual reasons. Finally, I realized that is impossible. I, therefore, became an atheist purely for emotional reasons."

With the little knowledge I have about Asimov, this quote seems pretty, umm, "out of context", maybe? I googled "isaac asimov" + "intellectual reasons" but turned up nothing, not even on Christian sites. Does anybody know if this quote is even legitimate? Thanks.

-Roma

Starboy · 05-18-2003, 07:11 PM

Sounds fishy to me too. Could it be yet another lier for Jesus? I'll bet the book lacks references. Is this the book?

5 Crucial Questions about Christianity

Here is his email: tim2short@hotmail.com

You could ask him where he got the quote.

Starboy

NonHomogenized · 05-18-2003, 07:14 PM

"I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time."

Isaac Asimov, "Free Inquiry", Spring 1982, vol. 2 no. 2, p. 9

make of that what you will.

Roma · 05-18-2003, 07:24 PM

Starboy,

Yeah, that's the book! I went to Xian high school with this guy's son, and Tom once spoke at our school. Of course I bought right into back then, but no longer... Seriously, you guys oughta read the first chapter of this book. It pulls out ALL the punches. Almost every single paragraph has a common creationist fallacy in it.

-Roma

GeoTheo · 05-18-2003, 07:25 PM

He's one of my favorite authors. I love "Cat's Cradle" which deals with, among other things a made up religion called "Bokononism".
Here is a line from the book. It is a poem, called a calypso, that was in the religious text of Bokononism:

Tiger got to hunt
Bird got to fly
Man got to ask:"Why, why, why?
Tiger got to sleep
Bird got to land
Man got to tell himself he understand

I think it kind of sums up his epistemology on the whole matter.
I think I would label him a skeptic.

Starboy · 05-18-2003, 07:27 PM

Dude, I think you are confusing him with Kurt Vonnegut. Another atheist sci-fi author. Asimov is famous for among other books his "I Robot" books. Not to mention the Foundation series. Those are great stories.

Starboy

Starboy · 05-18-2003, 07:28 PM

oops

GeoTheo · 05-18-2003, 07:37 PM

Oh, yeah. I think you are right. I got them confused. I am reading some short stories by Asimov that's prolly why. Both are athiest scifi aythors.

Starboy · 05-18-2003, 07:49 PM

The thought expressed in the quote is lame. It doesn't differentiate between kinds of god, just a generic fill in the blank, you know what I mean kinda god. It also implies strong atheism. In any case I was not aware that Asimov was the American spokesman for atheism. I can't recall any of his major work that is anti-religious or pro-atheist. The only American author I know of that could qualify for the title of "the great atheist" would be Mark Twain.

Starboy

abe smith · 05-21-2003, 06:59 AM

It really does piss me the-hell OFF, that Darwin carefully tailored, even suppressed his true thoughts out of "respect" for his wife's feelings; and that some of Clemens's? Twain's most forthright statements about All-That were apparently destroyed afer his death, by his wife, (and his daughter?). A good thing there isn't any hell/afterlife.....

05-21-2003, 06:59 AM	#10
abe smith Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: springfield, MA. USA Posts: 2,482	Atheists's wives... It really does piss me the-hell OFF, that Darwin carefully tailored, even suppressed his true thoughts out of "respect" for his wife's feelings; and that some of Clemens's? Twain's most forthright statements about All-That were apparently destroyed afer his death, by his wife, (and his daughter?). A good thing there isn't any hell/afterlife.....

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05-18-2003, 07:11 PM	#2
Starboy Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Tallahassee, FL Reality Adventurer Posts: 5,276	Sounds fishy to me too. Could it be yet another lier for Jesus? I'll bet the book lacks references. Is this the book? 5 Crucial Questions about Christianity Here is his email: tim2short@hotmail.com You could ask him where he got the quote. Starboy

05-18-2003, 07:14 PM	#3
NonHomogenized Veteran Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: no longer at IIDB Posts: 1,644	"I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time." Isaac Asimov, "Free Inquiry", Spring 1982, vol. 2 no. 2, p. 9 make of that what you will.

05-18-2003, 07:24 PM	#4
Roma Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ohio, USA Posts: 66	Starboy, Yeah, that's the book! I went to Xian high school with this guy's son, and Tom once spoke at our school. Of course I bought right into back then, but no longer... Seriously, you guys oughta read the first chapter of this book. It pulls out ALL the punches. Almost every single paragraph has a common creationist fallacy in it. -Roma

05-18-2003, 07:25 PM	#5
GeoTheo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Bemidji Posts: 1,197	He's one of my favorite authors. I love "Cat's Cradle" which deals with, among other things a made up religion called "Bokononism". Here is a line from the book. It is a poem, called a calypso, that was in the religious text of Bokononism: Tiger got to hunt Bird got to fly Man got to ask:"Why, why, why? Tiger got to sleep Bird got to land Man got to tell himself he understand I think it kind of sums up his epistemology on the whole matter. I think I would label him a skeptic.

05-18-2003, 07:27 PM	#6
Starboy Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Tallahassee, FL Reality Adventurer Posts: 5,276	Dude, I think you are confusing him with Kurt Vonnegut. Another atheist sci-fi author. Asimov is famous for among other books his "I Robot" books. Not to mention the Foundation series. Those are great stories. Starboy

05-18-2003, 07:28 PM	#7
Starboy Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Tallahassee, FL Reality Adventurer Posts: 5,276	oops

05-18-2003, 07:37 PM	#8
GeoTheo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Bemidji Posts: 1,197	Oh, yeah. I think you are right. I got them confused. I am reading some short stories by Asimov that's prolly why. Both are athiest scifi aythors.

05-18-2003, 07:49 PM	#9
Starboy Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Tallahassee, FL Reality Adventurer Posts: 5,276	The thought expressed in the quote is lame. It doesn't differentiate between kinds of god, just a generic fill in the blank, you know what I mean kinda god. It also implies strong atheism. In any case I was not aware that Asimov was the American spokesman for atheism. I can't recall any of his major work that is anti-religious or pro-atheist. The only American author I know of that could qualify for the title of "the great atheist" would be Mark Twain. Starboy

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