Has the New Atheist Movement Fizzled Out?

As a sort of follow-up to my previous post on New Atheism, The Naive Epistemology of the New Atheist Movement, a recent book was published by Anglican priest Alister McGrath on the sort of "fizzling" of the New Atheist movement. I've only read excerpts, but it looks promising! 


I mean, I have noticed personally that on several (by several, I mean 20+) of the prominent "atheist" blogs (which for the time will remain nameless) I regularly follow that the bloggers tend to keep repeating the same basic ideas, and thereby not really advance much discussion or ideas...


Here is a link to a concise review:
Book Review: "Why Won't God Go Away" by Alister McGrath

World Trade Center Cross - Should It Stay?

If you haven't heard, recently a steel beam cross has been erected at the site of the World Trade Center as a memorial. It's set to become a permanent exhibit at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. So the American Atheists have filed a formal complaint to have the cross removed (Atheist group wants to stop World Trade Center cross).


However, proponents claim the cross wasn't chosen because it represents Christianity, but because the symbol "provided comfort to so many people - it is a part of the history of the space." - Joe Daniels, President of the Memorial Foundation. As an interesting point, the cross-shaped girder was left standing in the midst of the wreckage, which is the why the symbol has gained fame (which makes sense given how buildings are constructed).


 He also went on to state that steel girders of other Eastern religious symbols would be part of the museum as well. Plus, proponents have stated that no complaints or concerns were filed during the discussion process. Does that matter here?


This has to do with the issue I brought up in my previous post of an "atheocracy" America's Atheocracy?. Should the government be indifferent towards religious expression in the public sphere, or should it seek to squelch religion expression in the public sphere? What do you think? How is an American Christian to view this?

The Naive Epistemology of the "New Atheist" Movement

I saw this graphic a few days ago on http://www.atheistrev.com/2011/06/why-i-am-atheist.html and felt compelled to just mention a few things because I've heard this type of argument in one way or another for quite some time now by prominent figures in the New Atheist Movement (just never this concise and direct!).

I'm focusing mainly on the comment, "If you propose the existence of something, you must follow the scientific method in your defense of its existence."

Now, lots could obviously be said and this is of course the subject of much debate. However, I want to just define a few terms very roughly and say what I think is missing in much contemporary debate.

Religion is a very loose term. How we often define "religion" today in popular Western media (at least) wouldn't even be recognizable to those who launched a fresh new “movement” or “lifestyle” in first century Jerusalem because they believed a man named Jesus from Nazareth was the promised Jewish Messiah who became the world’s Lord when he lived, died, and rose from the dead, a.k.a. Christianity (look at my posts on the Book of Acts, among others, to see why!). Let’s be clear on that, first.