New Online Seminar: "What is Atheism?"

August 1 – August 31, 2012

Instructor: John Loftus, ThM, MDiv, author and former preacher
Instructor: John Shook, PhD, CFI director of education

This one-month, four-module course introduces the worldview of atheism by explaining its core definitions and stances, examining what it is good for, and illustrating why it is a useful position to take against religious faith in general and supernaturalism is particular.

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Course Topics:

• The correct definitions of who is an "atheist" and what is the stance of "atheism"
• The reasons why people leave religion and become agnostics and atheists
• Why atheism is a necessary and vital stance to take in today's world
• How educated atheism can make a difference against religious belief and religion's politics

Readings: Students will purchase their own copies of John Loftus' Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity (2008). Additional readings will be available online at no cost to students.

Instructors:

John Loftus, ThM, MDiv, is a former Christian minister and apologist with MA, MDiv, and ThM degrees in philosophy, theology, and the philosophy of religion, respectively, from Lincoln Christian Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. While in school, Loftus was mentored by both Dr. James D. Strauss and Dr. William Lane Craig. Loftus also studied in a PhD program at Marquette University for a year and a half in the area of theology and aesthetics, and is the founder of the popular blog Debunking Christianity. He is also author of Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity and editor of The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails, and The End of Christianity, all by Prometheus Books.

John Shook, PhD, is Director of Education and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry and Education Coordinator for the American Humanist Association. He also serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Science Education at the University at Buffalo, teaching for the joint CFI-UB Science and the Public online masters program. From 2000 to 2006 John was professor of philosophy at Oklahoma State University. Shook publishes on philosophical topics regarding science, the mind, humanist ethics, democracy, secularism, and religion. His most recent books are The God Debates, and as editor, The Essential William James. John blogs at It's Only Natural.

About CFI Institute Online courses:

CFI 100-level courses are taught at an intellectual level equivalent to an introductory college course. We expect students to participate in the class discussion at their own chosen pace, and there are no other writing requirements and no grading. These classes are entirely online — everything for the course except the book is provided on a CFI website. You will read the course lectures, follow links to other webpages, ask your questions, and participate in class discussion with the instructors and other students on our website.

There is no specific time that you must be online. There is no "live" part to these courses, and you cannot miss anything even if you can only get online at 6am or 11pm — you can log in and participate anytime, day or night, 24/7. A certificate of course completion is available to students who do participate online (as opposed to only lurking and reading, which is also an unobjectionable option for some students). Completion of eight courses at the Expertise 200-level is rewarded with the Institute's Certificate of Expertise.

Online courses are now jointly advertised by the Center for Inquiry and the American Humanist Association, and both organizations encourage their members and affiliates to consider taking them. Online courses are the most visible sign that CFI and the AHA have entered a cooperative relationship on some educational programming. That cooperation is facilitated by Dr. John Shook, who now serves as education coordinator for both CFI and AHA.

Course Fees: $70 for general registration; $60 for Friends of the Center; and $30 for college students.

To register: http://action.centerforinquiry.net/site/Calendar?id=102961&view=Detail