How to green your electronics

Treehugger has some excellent tips for greening your electronics.

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Slavery = climate change?

Andrew Basden has a fascinating table here looking at some of the reasons against road use and air traffic - they look remarkably like those used against the abolition of slavery!

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logo creator

Get your own here.[ht the generator blog]

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Christianity and society

The Kuyper Foundation's journal Christianity and Society is now to be produced solely as a pdf. Back issues are available here.


There are some great articles including Roger Henderson on how 'Abraham Kuyper became a kuyperian' (vol 12 (4)) and Colin Wright on 'Dooyeweerd made easy (well ...easier)' (vol 9(1)).

There is no subscription charge for downloading and printing off the journal. However, we ask those who do download it to consider making a donation to the Kuyper Foundation to enable us to continue our work.

Christians - the reluctant greens II

1. A failure to grasp the full implications of the cross

The cross and all that it signifies lies at the heart of Christianity. It was the only thing that the apostle Paul wanted to boast about (Gal 6: 14). The word ’cross’ has rich theological meaning and is used by Paul to symbolise all that Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection has achieved1 (cf 1 Cor 1:17,18; GaI5:11,6:12,14; Eph 2:16; Phil 2:8,3:18; Col 1:20, 2:14; for the sake of argument I am assuming Pauline authorship of Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and the pastoral epistles). Paul, alone among early Christian writers, used the word ‘cross’ in this way.

Many Christians associate the cross with personal salvation – a term that never occurs in the New Testament. It is this association that undermines any desire for environmental action. Environmental action is seen to be totally irrelevant to the cross; the work of the cross deals with individuals’ sin and enables people to have a relationship with God. Hence the Christian’s priority should be to preach the gospel and bring individuals to God, or so the argument runs.

The cross does deal with the sin of individuals and it does enable them to have a relationship with God and in this sense it is personal. However, to restrict it to that limits the cross; the cross is good news for all of creation! It is all-embracing; it touches every area and aspect of life.

The work of Jesus on the cross is central to Christianity. It follows then that it is foundational to a distinctly Christian environmental ethic. Any environmental ethic that bypasses the cross forfeits the right to be called Christian. The apostle Paul in his epistles brings to light several theological implications which have great relevance to environmental action.

(i) The cross is cosmic in scope
To limit the work of the cross to dealing with ‘personal’ sin or salvation emasculates it. Jesus achieved so much more than this. Paul writing about the cosmic Christ in Colossians gives us its full impact.2 He describes Jesus as: the image of the invisible God; the firstborn of all creation; the creator of the heavens and earth; the means of, and the reason for, the creation of all things; the pre-existent one; the sustainer of all things; the head of the church; the firstborn of the dead; the fullness of God. It is in this context that he says of Christ, that he is the one, ‘to reconcile all things [Gk: ta panta] to himself, making peace through the blood of the cross’.

Not only is he the cosmic Christ, but his work on the cross is cosmic in scope. It reconciles all things (ta panta). Some theologians have tried to restrict this reconciliation to humanity, by suggesting that ta panta is the human creation. This is unjustifiable for two at least reasons. First, ta panta is defined in v20b as ‘things on earth or things in heaven’, and secondly and perhaps more conclusively, the use of ta panta elsewhere (see, for example, Heb 2:8-10 and Eph 1 :10) indicates that it means all things without restriction. Oliver O’Donovan describes ta panta as ‘the universe as a whole’. Eduard Lohse, commentating on Colossians 1:15-20, states that it ‘emphasizes the universal significance of the Christ-event by exhibiting its cosmic dimensions and by speaking of salvation for the whole world, including the whole of creation’. Hence nothing is exempt from its power; it has implications for the whole of the created order, whether it is humans, animals, institutions, the powers, Satan or the earth. It is on this foundation that any Christian environmental ethic must rest.

(ii) The cross vindicates creation
We have already seen that the cross redeems creation; it also declares God’s love for his world. ‘God so loved the world [Gk: kosmos] that he gave his Son’ (Jn 3:16). Because all of the creation is included in the work of the cross it shows the love that God has for it. It is in the cross that God reaffirms his ownership of the earth (Ps 24:1; Job 39). Humanity is not to be redeemed apart from the created order but with it5 Indeed the earth will be the scene of God’s total completion and consummation of the ages-although it will be a renewed and transformed heaven and earth (Rev 21: 1-2).

(iii) The cross deals with the consequences of the fall
When Adam and Eve fell in Genesis chapter 3, it had consequences not only for their relationship with humanity and God but also their relationship with creation. The earth became cursed: ‘Cursed is the ground because of you’ (Gen 3:17). There is some debate about the nature and extent of Adam’s ‘fall’. Did Adam’s rebellion affect humanity alone and leave the rest of creation unaltered or did it result in a fall of creation? Walther Eichrodt describes it as a decisive event which has ‘the characteristics of a “Fall”, that is, of a falling out of line of the development willed by God’. Several things are evident from the Genesis account. The fall had consequences not only for Adam and Eve’s relationship with God and each other but also with the earth: it became cursed as a consequence of the fall (Gen 3:17). On whether this curse on the soil was intended as a curse on the rest of creation the Scriptures are silent. It may be that Paul’s description of the creation as ‘subjected to frustration’ (Rom 8:20) is a reference to fallen creation. One thing, however, is clear: all relationships were in some way ruptured-the pre-fall shalom was broken. Sin affects the whole of the earthly creation; the whole of the created order suffers, and as a consequence the whole of the created order is in need of redemption.

The cross dealt with all the consequences of the fall. On the cross Christ completed a cosmic reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19), the relationships between humanity, God and the earth, were restored and the barriers of hostility were destroyed (Eph 2:14-18). We can once more experience shalom. This, though, has not happened automatically-it is to be fulfilled by the ministry of the body of Christ. We have been entrusted with this ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). We are to bring shalom to the earth (Matt 5:9) by proclaiming the cross and resurrection of Christ.

(iv) The cross declares God’s victory over the powers
Paul’s use of the term ‘powers’ (Rom 8:23; Eph 6:12; 1 Pet 3:22) is ambiguous. Some take it to mean unseen demonic forces, others identify the powers as certain structures in society, such as the state, politics, the market economy, education and multinational corporations. It is perhaps best to see it referring both to unseen forces and the structures in society. These forces control and direct the structures and orders of society. It is these forces that lie behind much of the pollution and rape of God’s earth.

These powers, however, were created by Christ and were not created evil (Col 1:16)-they are part of God’s good creation. In some inexplicable way they became deformed by the fall. Jesus’ victory on the cross defeated the powers; he stripped them, exposed them to ridicule and led them out as a conquered enemy in a victory parade (Col 2:15),10 so that when he returns again they will be reconciled to him and will conform to the order he intended them to have. The structures of society will no longer be tainted by the fall. But now, because they have been dethroned by the cross, these powers have the potential to be transformed so that they can submit to the lordship of Christ.

(v) The cross makes us realists
The cross is also vital because it keeps us from two dangerous tendencies: liberalism and triumphalism.

Liberalism. Liberalism, with its skepticism of the miraculous and its optimistic view of humanity’s ability to save itself, dominated European Protestantism for over five decades. Its view of ‘progress’ saw the rise of a ‘social gospel’ and a kingdom that would be established on earth by human endeavour. But liberalism is a corruption of the truth, because the kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God which cannot be established by humanity. Furthermore, the gospel of the cross is not a ‘social gospel’ that sees Jesus merely as an example. Jesus does not only provide us with an example of how to cope under oppression or under injustice, although he does that. What we need is not an example to follow, but liberation. It is in the cross that Jesus provides us with a way out, that is, liberation and redemption from sin and all its consequences, both personal and global.

Triumphalism. An equal, if not opposite, error is triumphalism, the ‘Hallelujah! We are saved-we no longer need to suffer’ syndrome that characterises much of the ‘prosperity gospel’. It was in the very act of Jesus’ suffering and apparent defeat that the kingdom was established. The cross was not an easy victory; it involved the greatest act of sacrifice and suffering the world has ever seen. Victory came through suffering. The cross reminds us that in our struggle to care for the earth there will be no easy answers; in fact it will be an uphill struggle all the way, until Jesus finally returns and consummates what he achieved on the cross.

The cross then has manifold implications. Its significance to Christianity cannot be overemphasised. By failing to grasp its full implications we water-down Christianity; it becomes domesticated and irrelevant to God’s creation and the kingdom of God becomes other-worldly. It is to this misunderstanding of the gospel of the kingdom that I will look at in another post.

Christians - the reluctant greens

In 1990 I co-wrote a book with Christopher Droop called The earth is the Lord's (Regius Press, 1990). In the intrests of recycling I thought I post some excerpts from the book.

There have been many good theological and sociological studies on the reasons for the churches’ neglect of social issues. However, there has not, to our knowledge, been any study that deals specifically with Christians’ reluctance to get involved in environmental action. [This was written in 1990 when this was the case – Calvin B. De Witt has since written on this subject.] The purpose of this chapter is twofold: first to examine why Christians are reluctant greens, and secondly to expose and challenge non-biblical perspectives on life, so that the path can be cleared for the construction of a truly Christian response to environmental and ecological issues.

It is not the case that Christians have always been opposed to involvement in politics or social action. William Wilberforce, Lord Shaftesbury, Elizabeth Fry and the Salvation Army are testimony to the contrary. They were involved because of their Christian commitment. The reasons for what has been called the ‘Great Reversal’ (i.e. the withdrawal of Christian social involvement) are manifold. John Stott in Issues Facing Christians Today suggests five reasons:

• reaction against liberalism in the church;
• reaction against the so-called ‘social gospel’;
• the pessimism that followed World War One;
• the spread of pre-millennial dispensationalism, the modern idea that Jesus will ‘rapture’ the church at any moment, with the prediction that the world would get worse until Jesus finally returns; and
• the rise of middle-class Christianity and the resulting identification of Christianity with middle-class values.

These excuses are responsible for Christians not only being reluctant social reformers but also reluctant greens. There are also several other factors that underlie the lack of environmental concern among Christians. I shall outline below eight reasons excuses in subsequent posts that I believe have contributed not only to a lack of involvement in society, but more particularly, to a reluctance to be involved in environmental action.

Odds and sods

Apple Mac have hit back at the Vista wow adds:





[HT Digital inspiration]



Douglas Groothuis has another post on reading and a link to a paper by Jeram Bars on Francis Schaeffer.



Macht has some great recent posts on:



Christian eugenics , Christians and eugenics, redux and What is a creature?



21st Century reformation has a great video of Thelonious Monk playing Blue Monk



Short of blogging ideas? Then have a look at 101 great ideas that will make your blog sizzle from ihelpyoublog [HT lifehack]





David Field has a look at Tom Wright's views.



It looks like Google now offers a Presentation tool.

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Odds and sods

In July 2009 it's Jean Calvin's 500th birthday. The details for a quincentenary conference are here [HT Between two worlds]



More background on the recently deceased Herman Ridderbos are here, courtesy of PhilGons.com [HT Between two worlds]



Douglas Groothius has some tips on reading at his Constructive Curmudgeon blog. If I took seriously his point 12 I'd need a warehouse and be very poor!



Emma Darwin, Charles Darwin's wife, has her diaries online.



Free textbooks online from Freeload Press - but with adverts. [HT Google operating system]

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ASBO Jesus

The ongoing adventures ASBO Jesus is a great new visual blog by Jon Birch (ASBO, of course, being an acronym for anti-social behaviour order). Here's a great visual aid for Creation, fall and redemption from the blog:

The Dawkins Delusion

[HT parableman]

Herman Ridderbos (1909-2007)

Herman Ridderbos the Dutch theologian and author of Paul: An Outline of his Theology died last Thursday. [HT Russ Reeves]



More details are here and here.

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The fair tracing project

World Changing brings us a piece on 'The fair tracing project':

A group of computer scientists and economic geographers in the UK put their heads together over the last few months to address a challenge in food systems design. As they see it, the Fair Trade movement faces obstacles to widespread adoption due to an ongoing divide between Northern consumers and Southern producers, as well as a lack of direct, specific information for customers about particular products. Their Fair Tracing Project proposes to enhance the growth of equitable global trade systems by adding digital tracing technology to individual items so that they can be tracked, and their stories recorded, as they move from farm to table.

HT Matthew Bartlett

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Warburton on Satre mp3

Nigel Warburton, who blogs at virtual philosopher, has a short mp3 lecture on Satre's Existenialism and Humanism - or what Warburton maintains should have been called Existentialism is a Humanism.

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Christian Perspectives in Science

Calvin College's Christian Perspective in Science Seminar Series 'explores interactions between Christian faith and scholarship in the natural and applied
sciences'. A list of past (some with audio files) and future seminars are given here.



Past seminar speakers have included Alan Padgett, Brian Leftow, Charles Adams, Jaap Klapwijk, Ted Davis and Uko Zysla.

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Chaos remains

Chaos Remains now have a web site:

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Odds and sods

Charlie Cameron has now transferred all his material from numerous blogs to a wordpress site here.



Digital inspiration has a list of 10 common mistakes made by bloggers.



Technical tips: eConsultant highlights three useful sites of freeware and shareware:

• Loadium
• Softiv
• ABCFreeware

More on the 'Jesus tomb':

• Ben Witherington
• Doug Blomberg guesting on Doug Groothius's Constructive Curmudgeon blog

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Fashionable dictionary

The folks at Butterfliesandwheels.com has bought us a fashionable dictionary. Here are some interesting entries:

Acceptance


Nice, warm, cooperative way of evaluating ideas, much better than argument.

Accuracy


Exploded concept. Foolish, Platonic notion that we can get our facts straight.

Argument


Unpleasant, testosterone-driven method of supporting one's assertions, to be avoided in favour of acceptance.

Assertion

1. Essential technique, replacing the need for argument and evidence.

2. To be greeted with acceptance, rather than argument.

Assumption


Something to be examined when it is our opponent's and taken for granted when it is our own.

Defensive


Adjective for someone who insists on disagreeing with me, and goes on disagreeing even after I've said how right I am.

Demonising


Sharply criticising something that I approve of.

Education


Brutal, violent intrusion of arbitrary material into the clean innocent heads of children, which should be left empty.

Elitist


Someone who knows more than I do.

Ideology


Ideas we don't agree with. Probably exploitative.

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Talking philosophy on Dawkins

A new blog from the editors of TPM, Talking philosophy, has an interesting post on Dawkins:

Message to Dawkins: If you want to take on religion, then there is something to be said for taking on the best versions of the arguments that can be made in its favour, not the worst versions.

At least it's not just the theists who think Dawkins is shooting atheism in the foot.

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mindmaps

I love mind maps and concept maps. There are some great software that enable mindmapping- i have reviewed Inspiration 8 here for the ATM.



One web-based application for mindmapping is mindomo.



Here's a sample they created to help you learn mindmapping by doing. [HT lifehack]



NB contratry to popular belief Tony Buzan didn't invent mindmapping - Porphy of Tyros got there a while before him!

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Statistics and the Jesus tomb

Here are two great posts on the Jesus tomb and statistics:

• Magic Statistics
• Jack Poirier on Darrel Bock’s blog

Christianity and the environment conference mp3s

The recent conference lectures from the MacLaurin Institutute on Christianity and the environment are now available as mp3s:

September 23rd, 2006 - Paul Capel
Paper presentation: Our Consumption of Creation: Actions and Attitudes

September 23rd, 2006 - John Nagle
Paper presentation: The Evangelical Debate Over Global Warming

September 23rd, 2006 - Gregory Poore
Paper presentation: Life Is a Miracle: The Spirituality and Philosophy of Wendell Berry

September 23rd, 2006 - David O’Hara
Paper presenation: The Nature of Nature: C.S. Lewis’ Literary Response to Henri Bergson

September 23rd, 2006 - Matthew Dickerson
Paper presentation: Beyond Romanticism: Applications of Tolkien’s Christian Agrarian Romance

September 23rd, 2006 - Ed Brown
Paper presentation: From Garden to City: Living Theologically in the

September 23rd, 2006 - David Foster
Paper presentation: Green Religion vs. the Greening of Religion

September 23rd, 2006 - Karl Johnson
Paper presentation: Church and the Environment: Common Grace, Saving Grace, and Stewardship of the Natural Environment

September 23rd, 2006 - Susan Emmerich
Closing plenary: A Faith-Based Approach to Social and Environmental Transformation: Three Case Studies From the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

September 23rd, 2006 - Rolf Bouma
Plenary address: Rules for Intelligent Tinkering: Should Nature Be Engineered?

September 23rd, 2006 - Stephen Bouma-Prediger
Plenary address: God the Homemaker and Recycler: A Biblical Case for a Green God

September 22nd, 2006 - Cal DeWitt
Keynote address: Pristine Harmony in the Ecological Economy: Dynamic Stewardship for a Dynamic World

AoLR 2006 articles

In 2006 there were over 100 new articles on All of life redeemed. Listed here:

Baus, Gregory
Dooyeweerd's societal sphere sovereignty: neither tax based nor laissez-faire
Bert Witvoet
'Interview with Pete Steen'
Bishop, Steve
Brief Biography of Herman Dooyeweerd
Bruce Wearne
Interview with Professors Eiichi Yamamote and Michiya Murata
Bruce Wearne
Interview with Mark Roques
Bruce Wearne
Interview with Bob Goudzwaard
Bruce Wearne
Inteview with Jim Skillen
Clouser, Roy
“Faith Tectonics
Clouser, Roy
Review of Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting by John Cooper
Clouser, Roy
Review of The Challenge of Marxist and NeoMarxist Ideology for Christian Scholarship. Ed. John Vander Stelt
Clouser, Roy
"Puritanism on Authority".
Clouser, Roy
Genesis regained
Clouser, Roy
Social norms and religious belief
Clouser, Roy
Prospects for theistic science -
Eric J. Kamphof's
Masters thesis on Vollenhoven
Fernhout, Harry
Education in a pluralist society (1996)
Fernhout, Harry
Christian schooling: telling a worldview story
Goudzwaard, Bob
Christianity and economics (1996s)
Goudzwaard, Bob
Globalization, exclusion, enslavement (1996)
Goudzwaard, Bob
Bible and economy: two reflections
Gousemett, Chris
Hope of the resurrection
Gousmett, Chris
Bavinck and Kuyper on miracles
Gousmett, Chris
Humanity of Jesus
Gousmett, Chris
Jesus ate in their presence
Gousmett, Chris
Old age, new age, age to come
Gousmett, Chris
Realising your purpose in life
Gousmett, Chris
The glory of the unseen God
Gousmett, Chris
The Lord will come with the storm
Gousmett, Chris
The true temple of God
Gousmett, Chris
Free from condemnation
Gousmett, Chris
Faith in the unseen
Gousmett, Chris
Economics in Christian perspective
Gousmett, Chris
Cornerstone values
Gousmett, Chris
God has concealed himself in Jesus
Gousmett, Chris
God keeps his promises
Gousmett, Chris
God the creator of time
Hanson, David
How the reformational movement got started in the UK
Hanson, Ruth
Lives in your Hands
John Vander Stelt
Church in society (an orientation)
McIntire, C. Thomas
Dooyeweerd in North America
McIntire, C. Thomas
God's work in history: the post-biblical epoch
Olthuis, James H
Chapter 6
Olthuis, James H
Chapter 7
Olthuis, James H.
On Worldviews [pdf]
Olthuis, James H.
The word of God and biblical authority
Olthuis, James H.
The word of God and creation
Olthuis, James H.
Values and valuation
Olthuis, James H.
Chapter 1
Otto, Paul
'In the twilight of Dooyeweerd's corpus'.
Quadros Gouveais, Ricardo
Introducing reformational philosophy in Brazil: a hopeful report
Rice, Martin A.
What is a science?
Ridgway, Ian
'A Disclosing model of psychotherapy'
Ridgway, Ian
'Circumambulating interpersonal sensitive disclosure therapy using rational emotive behaviour therapy'
Roper, Duncan
Euler and the Konisberg bridges: some lessons for the philosophy of mathematics
Russell, Richard A
Looking at the medieval programme, how the church got involved and failed to reform it
Russell, Richard A
Reformation, popular literacy, callings, marriage, natural science etc
Russell, Richard A
Confessions of a book-pushing ideologue
Russell, Richard A
Where is Francis Schaeffer going?
Russell, Richard A
Going round the prickly pear of British education
Russell, Richard A
Natural theology: is it scriptural?
Russell, Richard A.
Starting with Plato and a biblical critique
Russell, Richard A.
In defence of Dooyeweerd
Schuurman, Egbert
Information society: cultural impoverishment or enrichment (c. 1983)
Schuurman, Egbert
A confrontation with technicism as the spiritual climate of the West (1996)
Seerveld, Calvin
Christian faith for today.
Seerveld, Calvin
Reformational Christian philosophy and Christian college education
Seerveld, Calvin
Creativity
Seerveld, Calvin
Vollenhoven's legacy for art historiography.
Seerveld, Calvin
Towards a cartographic methodology for art.
Seerveld, Calvin
Prov 25: 11-15.
Seerveld, Calvin
'Will you be a joke to God?' (Prov 24) .
Seerveld, Calvin
'Tomorrow is the gift of the Lord' Prov 27: 1-11
Seerveld, Calvin
'Proverbs 27 again'
Seerveld, Calvin
'How God's word in Proverbs communicates'
Seerveld, Calvin
'Uncover wrong to heal things straight' (Prov 25:2-10)
Seerveld, Calvin
Prov 27.
Seerveld, Calvin
God's gifts our thank offering - an interview
Seerveld, Calvin
Reading the Bible and understanding art
Seerveld, Calvin
A Christian tin-can theory of man
Seerveld, Calvin
Pain is a four-letter word
Seerveld, Calvin
Philosophy as schooled memory
Seerveld, Calvin
Reading the Bible like a grown-up child
Seerveld, Calvin
The gift of artistry - God's clothing for human life
Seerveld, Calvin
'The evil of authoritarianism' (Prov 29)
Sewell, Keith
Review of Dooyeweerd's Roots of Western Culture
Sewell, Keith
Mustard Seed in Australia
Simons, Petrus
Reformational philosophy in New Zealand
Stafleu, M D
'Quantum physics and the philsophy of the cosmonomic idea'
Stafleu, M. D.
Relations and Characters
Steen, Pete
'The problem of time and eternity in its relation to the nature-grace ground-motive'
Steen, Pete
Dooyeweerd and the Amsterdam Philosophy, by Ronald H Nash. Westminster Theological Journal 25: 116-118.
Steen, Pete
Review Worldly Theology: The Hermeneutical Focus of an Historical Faith, by Carl Michalson.
Steen, Pete
Review Het eeuwige leven, by Okke Jager.
Steen, Pete
Review The Basis of Christian Faith: A Modern Defense of the Christian Religion, by Floyd Eugene Hamilton..
Steen, Pete
Review Understanding God: The Key Issue in Present-Day Protestant Thought, by Frederick Herzog..
Steen, Pete
Review Set Forth Your Case, by Clark H Pinnock..
Strauss, D F M
The concept of number: multiplicity and sucession between cardinalitry and ordinality
Strauss, D. F. M.
Infinity and Continuity: The mutual dependence and distinctness of multiplicity and wholeness.
Van Woudenberg
Darwinian and teleological expanations: are they incompatible?
Van Woudenberg, R
Truth, the goal of science
Van Woudenberg, R
Design in nature: some current issues
Van Woudenberg, R
Abraham Kuyper and science
Wearne, Bruce
"Review Essay: The Calvinistic ethic and the spirit of renewal in some recent Christian scholarship"
Wearne, Bruce
Reading the Bible or Life-Direction on the Path of Scholarship
Wearne, Bruce
Electronic Tickets, Youth Despair And The Fabric Of Urban Society
Wearne, Bruce
Deism and the Absence of Christian Sociology
Wearne, Bruce
"Ticket and Travel - 20 propositions

Odds and sods

Lent has hardly started, so it seems a little premature to think of Easter, yet Triablogue has some links to interesting Easter resources.



Billy Bee is a newish blogger who has recntly discovered some neocalvinist resources.



There are a number of blogs that have dealt with the so-called 'Jesus Tomb'

• Darrell Bock
• Richard Baukham [pdf] (on Chris Tilling's blog)
• Ben Witherington

Scott McKnight has hosted a review of Vern poythress's new book Redeeming Science here and here.



An online whiteboard



spirited exchanges uk is launched

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Atheism - a faith position?

Stephen Law (editor of Think and lecturer at Heythrop College, London) argues that it's not here and here.

Is atheism a "faith position"? Anything can be, of course. But I challenge anyone to show that my atheism - or Dawkins' atheism - is a "faith position". It's not. I'll be explaining why in next blog.

In the next post he writes:

Is atheism a "faith" position? If by "faith position" we mean can't be proved beyond all doubt, then yes, it is. But then so is the belief that there are no fairies and that the sun goes round the Earth. It doesn't follow from the fact that both theism and atheism are "faith positions" in this sense that they are equally reasonable.

If by "faith position" we mean can't be proved beyond reasonable doubt, then I certainly don't accept that atheism is a "faith position". The evidence for atheism is overwhelming (though of course not everyone can see the evidence is overwhelming - this sort of evidence-blindness is an interesting feature of religious belief. That religion certainly does have the power to blind people to the obvious is demonstrated by the fact that in just 50 years, some 100 million US citizens have come to accept both that the entire universe is six thousand years old and that this is consistent with the empirical evidence).

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