“In this climate - with belief in guardian angels and creationism becoming commonplace - making fun of religion is as risky as burning a flag in an American Legion hall.” BeliefFunAtheismBecomingAngelClimatePositive AtheismBurningHallsFlagsGuardianCommonplaceLegionGuardian AngelCreationism Author:Wendy Kaminer
“When the inner child finds a guardian angel, publishers are in heaven.” ChildrenHeavenAtheismAngelPositive AtheismPublishersGuardianInner ChildGuardian Angel Author:Wendy Kaminer
“It's easy to sell good news like this, and the authors confidently rely on classic fallacious arguments. They argue by declaration, which is what makes the books so amusing. In matter-of-fact, authoritative tones, the authors tell us how plants and human beings exchange energy - or they describe what angels look like, whether or how they're sexed, how they communicate with human beings, and how they differ from ghosts. Readers might be expected to wonder, How do they know?” KnowsHumansLooksBookMatterFactsMightEnergyEasyHuman BeingsWonderAtheismReaderNewsAngelArgumentSellsPlantCommunicatePositive AtheismExpectedArguingGhostClassicToneRelyDeclarationGood NewsAmusingMatter Of Fact Author:Wendy Kaminer
“There are, however, exceptions to this reliance on feelings as evidence of truth: if, for instance, your feelings lead to disbelief instead of belief, they're apt to be dismissed as some form of denial. This is not a common problem. Usually intellectualism, not feeling reality, is blamed for disbelief. But, some angel experts suggest, there may be emotional as well as intellectual barriers to belief: unwillingness to believe in angels can reflect low self-esteem.” IfsBelieveWellsMaySelfFeelingsProblemRealityFormBeliefCommonAtheismSelf EsteemEmotionalIntellectualLowsEvidenceAngelPositive AtheismEsteemInstanceDenialExpertsExceptionBarriersRelianceDisbeliefLow Self EsteemIntellectualism Author:Wendy Kaminer
“The scarcest resource these days is reason. What's certainly striking about American culture today is the great hostility toward science and the decline of respect for rational scientific thinking. People seem to think that we are ruled by the scientific method and that we overvalue reason. If there was ever a period when we overvalued reason, I think that it was probably extremely brief. What I see now is a great deal of superstition, as much superstition as there has ever been. There are probably more people who believe in guardian angels than who understand the law of gravity.” PeopleThinkingBelieveReasonTodayCultureAngelRationalGuardianHostilityAmerican CultureGuardian Angel Author:Wendy Kaminer
