Atheisms and the purification of faith

Philosophers of religion have distinguished between ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ atheism. This article considers further conceptions of atheism, especially the idea that atheism can facilitate a faith in God purified of idolatrous assumptions. After introducing Bultmann’s contention that a ‘conscious atheist’ can find something transcendent in the world, this contention is interpreted through reflection on Ricoeur’s claim that the atheisms of Nietzsche and Freud serve to mediate a transition to a purified faith – a faith involving heightened receptivity to agapeic love. The troubling question of what differentiates atheism from belief in God is then discussed in the light of Simone Weil’s meditations on God’s secret presence

Number of moths of both strains released in Fields 1, 2 and 3 during the trial period.

<p>Field 1 = diamond data points with solid line; Field 2 = square data points with dotted line; and Field 3 = triangular data points with dotted line.</p

Moth persistence after end of release period.

<p>Trapping continued beyond the last release date of 1 August 2007, to assess the rate of decline of OX1138B and APHIS populations when no longer supplemented by additional releases. Mean number of moths caught within field 1 per trap are shown by date. Filled bars = OX1138B, white bars = APHIS moths; error bars indicate Standard Error of Mean. No significant difference in persistence between the strains was found (χ² = 1.46, df = 1; p = 0.23).</p

Number of OX1138B and APHIS male moths released over all fields during the trial period.

<p>Black line = OX1138B; grey line = APHIS.</p

Moth mating performance.

<p>Initiation of mating between (a) sentinel wild type [APHIS or University of Arizona (UoA)] female moths and released OX1138B, APHIS males or wild males present in the field; and (b) sentinel OX1138B or APHIS female moths and wild males. Initiation of mating was defined as a male and female joined together in the tail-to-tail position typical of mating in Lepidoptera. Wild males also initiated mating with the females in this experiment: three on 26 July, 2007, four on 3 August, 2007 and 59 males on 15 September, 2007 (the high number on this last date reflects the typical wild pink bollworm recapture in traps late in the growing season).</p

Dispersal of moths beyond release areas.

<p>Traps were set at 200 m intervals on cardinal axes outside Field 1. Mean numbers of OX1138B and APHIS moths per trap at each distance from field edge are shown. Filled bars = OX1138B, white bars = APHIS moths; error bars indicate Standard Error of Mean. There was a significant difference in the number of moths caught at different distances between the two strains (χ² = 29.15, df = 4, p<0.01).</p

Mean recapture of three moth types in cages with pheromone-baited traps first set 3 days, 6 days or 9 days after release.

<p>Black bars = OX1138B 100 Gy; grey bars = APHIS 100 Gy; white bars = APHIS 200 Gy; error bars indicate Standard Error of Mean. There were no significant differences in recaptures between the groups on the first day of trapping or total recaptures (logistic regression model, p = 0.07 and p = 0.10, respectively).</p

The OX1138 construct and the phenotype of the OX1138B strain.

<p>(a) Diagram of the OX1138 construct, showing its functional components (nls, nuclear localization signal; see also <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0024110#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>); DsRed2 fluorescence in final instar wild type (left) and OX1138B (right) larvae, shown under bright field (b) and DsRed2 excitation wavelength light (c); DsRed2 fluorescence in wild type (left) and OX1138B (right) pupae, shown under bright field (d) and DsRed2 excitation wavelength light (e); DsRed2 fluorescence in wild type (left) and OX1138B (right) adults, shown under bright field (f) and DsRed2 excitation wavelength light (g).</p

In-field recapture data during release period.

<p>Mean number of OX1138B and APHIS moths caught per trap is shown for each field separately, and for all three fields combined. Lower recapture rates in Fields 2 and 3 than in Field 1 were likely a result of pesticide treatment in the former. Filled bars = OX1138B, white bars = APHIS moths; error bars indicate Standard Error of Mean. The recapture rates of OX1138B and APHIS moths were significantly different (Poisson regression model, 95% CI: 7.8–33.3%; p<0.01).</p