Atheists

We Americans often pride ourselves in being a fairly tolerant bunch. However, the often cited University of Minnesota study of Americans' attitudes toward various religious groups casts serious doubt on the accuracy of our common self-perception. Even in 2008, being an atheist in America is no picnic. This should give every American cause to examine his or her own tolerance.Equality gaps certainly

Theologians ← Previous revision Revision as of 15:22, 15 May 2008 Line 751: Line 751: {{-}} {{-}} - ===Theologians=== + _{_{Subscript text}_{_{Subscript text}}}===Theologians=== * [[Klaas Hendrikse]] (1947–):

The quote in the headline is from Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, Britain's biggest Catholic. How he is determined to be Britain's biggest Catholic is a mystery? Do they hold a competition for this where you're scored on how much you condemn and judge others and how little you look at your own personal failings.According to O'Connor, respect is to be paid to agnostics and atheists all the way up

There may be growing discontent among some evangelical Christians over the politicization of their faith, but the Christian extremist base remains determined to fuse religious delusion and political power. Do atheists have a role in supporting those evangelicals who wish to withdraw from the culture wars and reclaim the religious roots of evangelism from the politicians? This is a controversial question, almost certain to split atheists. And yet, it just might be something of an opportunity too.The pending "Evangelical Manifesto" is something with which many atheists may have some interest. After all, it has been described as "starkly self-critical.""That way faith loses its independence, Christians become 'useful idiots' for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes

President Bush certainly rolled out the red carpet for the Pope, raising troubling questions about preferential treatment for Christian leaders. The mainstream media coverage I saw was extremely positive, and although I can't say I went out of my way to look for coverage of this story, I certainly did not encounter anything about those protesting the Pope's visit. Finding this story about the NYC Atheists and their protest in New York University's student newspaper was an unexpected treat.According to Kate Ray, NYC Atheists were protesting "the politics of the Catholic Church and recent anti-atheist comments made by the pope." Good for them. I'm glad somebody was calling attention to these issues of which the mainstream media has been woefully inadequate.It is not that big media paid no at

Equality was a core principle of the Civil Rights movement, a movement with which most Americans would comfortably express agreement or even admiration. America's oldest Civil Rights organization has accepted atheism as a Civil Rights issue, however, many Americans remain unwilling to do so. Equality remains an unfortunately elusive goal for atheists in America.Stellar1 at de-conversion recently asked, "What if I behaved toward Christians like they behave towards me?" This is certainly an intriguing question in this context. Some of Stellar1's points:However, I have to say that I am so very tired of having other people’s religious beliefs shoved in my face. I do not behave in that manner about my agnostic view and think it arrogant for Christians to think I care about their belief system

~SonlitThis news won't surprise anyone but I thought I'd share it anyway. SourceAmong Americans who believe their personal finances are getting better, 67%say that faith and religion are Very Important in their lives. A RasmussenReports national telephone survey also found that, among those whose financesare getting worse, 55% consider faith and religion that important. The survey also found that those who are optimistic about their finances are alsomore likely than others to pray, read the Bible, and attend Church. Fifty-onepercent (51%) of those who say their finances are getting better say they attendreligious services at least once a week. Only 31% of those who are pessimisticabout their finances attend so faithfully. Most (56%) of those who are pessimistic about their finances say the

I used to think that services like Digg and Reddit would be very helpful in boosting blog traffic and reaching a wider audience. I continue to utilize them but do so with somewhat less enthusiasm. Frankly, their impact on my traffic and readership has been minimal (primarily because most of what I write gets no love there). Naturally, I was a bit skeptical when I ran across a new service, The Atheist Spot, that seems to be similar to Digg and Reddit but entirely focused on atheism.Now that I have been playing around with The Atheist Spot for a bit, I think it has real potential. Much like Digg and Reddit, users can submit their own content or that of someone else they find particularly inspiring. The community of users can vote up or down each contribution and view the top rated contributi

A lot has been said attacking religious people in the world for causing wars and killing people. Atheists are quick to point out the European wars of religion, the Crusades, Armadas, and other historical conflicts which testify to the evil of religion and that all rational people should divest themselves immediately of maintaining faith in God. All of humanity’s woes, they preach, can be traced back to the offenses of religion.Oh yeah? So we should become rational, 21st century enlightened atheists and ditch religion, because atheism is going to save the world?In the 20th century alone, over 50 million people were slaughtered by atheism.Adolph Hitler, Nazi atheist, murdered six million Jews because of their religion and possibly 3 million more people who were gypsies, minorities, handica

If you liked that one, here’s one on faith, gravity and Jesus. Others can be found here. addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fbligbi.com%2F2008%2F04%2F08%2Fmotivational-poster-for-atheists%2F'; addthis_title = 'Motivational+poster+for+Atheists'; addthis_pub = '';

Just ask Representative Monique Davis, a Democrat mind you, who recently went off on Rob Sherman as he was speaking before the House State Government Administration Committee about the governor’s recent grant of $1 million to a Baptist church.   Representative Davis had this to say: …it’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy [...]

Watch "Black Swan" author Nassim Nicolas Talub. This guy makes you think about how the "improbable" regularly happens. Here he describes the book title: ↑ Grab this Headline Animator Visit the ValuePlays Bookstore for Great Investing Books Enter your Email Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz Continued at Todd Sullivan's ValuePlays

In a rather asinine study that somehow claims to measure true happiness, the conclusion reached by Professor Andrew Clark and Dr. Orsolya Leikes in Britain was that people who believe in God are happier than agnostics or atheists.According to them, religious people were better able to cope with disappointments such as unemployment or divorce. Nothing in this study suggests that these people may be using religion as a crutch as a means to avoid dealing with reality that atheists and agnostics choose to deal with on a daily basis.There is also nothing in this study that, perhaps, agnostics or atheists would be a little happier if they didn't have to put up with the inanities of organized religion being forced down their throat day after day.The authors of the study are quoted as saying "Reli

There is reason to believe that surveys conducted to identify the number of American atheists provide low estimates, but let's assume for a minute that we can trust these data as reasonably accurate. A commonly reported number is that 1.6% of Americans identify themselves as atheists. If the U.S. population is approximately 303.5 million, this means that there are at least 4,856,000 atheists in America who identify as such. That is a lot of atheists!Given that the number of Americans reporting no religious affiliation is 16.1%, we can assume that there are at least some out there who are atheists but who do not want to identify as such for a variety of reasons. As a quick example, combining the number who identify as either atheist or agnostic gets us to 4% (roughly 12,140,000 people).But

Yesterday I read about the news that the world’s biggest monetary award given to any individual by a philanthropist organisation was won by Professor Michael Heller,72, a cosmologist and philosopher who has spent his life researching about questions such as “Does the universe need a cause?” Professor Heller won the prestigious award of $1.6million given by Templeton Foundation, and is to be

Anyone who understands the definition of atheism must acknowledge that all children are born atheists, including those born to Christian parents. Atheism is nothing more than the lack of acceptance of the theistic belief claim (i.e., some god or gods exist). A theist is one who believes that god(s) exist; an atheist is one who does not share this belief. The newborn child cannot even entertain such possibilities and thus lacks theistic belief. Atheism is the default position, and this is where we all begin.In order for Christians to argue against the reality that all children are born atheists, they must distort the meaning of atheism. They must convince themselves and their audience that atheism is a religion, a philosophy, or a worldview. They claim that atheism is an explicit repudiatio

It has been quiet around here today because I've been focused on getting the word out about the new Mississippi Atheists blog I'm working on. Since it will be a team blog, I don't expect it to take away from what I'm doing here. Of course, I do need to get a few more authors lined up because I'd like to have atheist voices from across the state represented. I'm also pleased to discover that there are more atheist groups in the state than I realized. Hopefully, I can help my fellow atheists in Mississippi by making them a bit easier to find. I figured it was time for me to do something about fostering community among atheists rather than just talking about it.Tags: Mississippi atheists, Mississippi, atheism, atheist, blog

Mississippi is a difficult place for atheists. Evangelical Christianity is a way of life here, and I encounter it every day. Anti-atheist bigotry is widespread, and the potential for discrimination seems high although I've not personally been a victim. I would imagine that most Mississippi atheists are rather careful about disclosing their lack of belief. Moreover, there seem to be very few atheist, humanist, or freethought groups in the state.If you are an atheist in Mississippi, even if you are not able to be particularly open about it, I'd really like to hear from you. Maybe we could start a team blog focused on our experiences in the state. Maybe we could get a Google group listserv going to stay connected, share information, and support each other. At the very least, I'd like to be ab

Self-professed atheists think they have come to the conclusion that there is no god through a process of critical thinking and logical reasoning. They either make the positive intellectually-certain claim “there is no god” or what many believe to be the more “balanced”, “less radical” position of “I have absolutely no reason to believe [...]

One of the most common criticisms lobbed at the newly-vocal atheist community is, "Why do you have to be so angry?" So I want to talk about: 1. Why atheists are angry;2. Why our anger is valid, valuable, and necessary;And 3. Why it's completely fucked-up to try to take our anger away from us.Read more, it's a bloody excellent blog:Greta Christina's Blog

I had the pleasure of reading The God of Atheists over the holiday break. As you all know, I’m a big fan of anything that Stefan Molyneux writes but I was not sure what to expect in regards to his fiction writing, since I am only familiar with his non-fiction writing. I know that Stefan has a creative mind but I had no idea that he could write such a complicated story in such a fluid, entertaining and enlightening way. At first I was shocked by the number of characters that were introduced. I have admittedly had problems following characters in other fiction, so I was intimidated by how many names I had to remember. I was afraid that there was no possible way I could follow all of the characters and their complicated stories. Fortunately Stefan weaved three or four subplots, wi

There is some evidence that religious believers are somewhat underrepresented in America's armed forces relative to their numbers in the general population, but it appears that Christian extremist groups are seeking to infiltrate the military to spread their mind virus. Now the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Spc. Jeremy Hall and are suing Maj. Freddy Welborn and SECDEF Gates for violating religious freedom.According to the Associated Press, the atheists are "alleging widespread violations of religious freedom" and indicating that they plan to offer "evidence showing soldiers are under pressure to adopt fundamentalist Christian beliefs."We are not talking about a general pressure to believe in any sort of higher power or a general "god and country" sort of philosophy, but fundamentalist Christianity and all it entails. The military police battalion where Hall is stationed bears the following Ann Coulter quote: "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and conver

Big news for all secular Americans came out yesterday. The Secular Coalition for America has joined the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the oldest and most respected civil rights organization in America. This marks the first time atheists will be represented in the civil rights movement. According to Secular Coalition Director, Lori Lipman Brown, it also says a great deal about the LCCR that they are willing to include us.You can find the full press release issued by the Secular Coalition for America here. This is a historic moment and one which I hope will someday mark the beginning of the end of anti-atheist bigotry in America.Recognition that the nontheistic minority must be included in the struggle for civil rights marks a milestone. There are several religious groups within LCCR's coalition, but the Secular Coalition for America is the first nontheist (atheists, humanists, and other Americans without a god belief) advocacy group to be included. Both organizations a

When I first heard about Congress passing H. Res. 847 for the purpose of "Recognizing the Importance of Christmas and the Christian Faith," I nearly crapped myself. Yes, I admit it. My initial impulse was to fly off the handle and begin ranting about this as being one more step toward theocracy. Instead, I took the time to learn something about the context in which this resolution occurred and discovered that it does not actually change anything. I am still upset, but I'm not going to the mattresses over this one.You can read the full text of H. Res. 847 here, and I will be the first to admit that it sounds pretty awful. It refers to Christianity as "great," lends credence to the idea that America was somehow rooted in Christianity, and fosters the myth of widespread persecution of Christians (in the United States of all places).But, it is important to realize that this is merely one of hundreds of similar resolutions the House approves every year, largely for ceremonial purposes. Ex

Most Christians know that we atheists are incarnations of the devil who just hang out waiting to ensnare their naive little souls, so it probably came as some surprise that one of us would take the time to tell them how they can best avoid most of us: She could join an organization that does not admit atheists, e.g., the Ku Klux Klan, the Mafia, Christian militia groups. She could join a God-fearing terrorist group that blows up abortion clinics and high-rise buildings (Oklahoma City, World Trade Center); or she could restrict her friends to those spewing venomous hate upon individuals the Bible says should be put to death, e.g., non-believers and homosexuals. To be on the safe side, there are havens of atheism that she should avoid: Ivy League universities; the Nobel laureate laden National Academy of Sciences; organizations concerned with the environment or civil rights; and Scandinavia, where the percentage of atheists is at least three times that of the United States. She should

I’ve never been an enthusiastic supporter of organized religion, of any creed. That’s not to say I don’t believe in something…but it’s not something that I can define or contextualize. It is there, perhaps belief at its most primitive. 2006 and 2007 have been the worst two years of my life. in April ‘06 I [...]

The church shootings in Colorado were a tragedy no atheist I've known would wish on anyone. And yet, Christian extremist Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council believes that "the secular media" is at least partially responsible. Not to exaggerate my own importance or anything, but I figure I'm part of the closest thing there is to any sort of secular media in America, an atheist blogger. Thus, I hope you'll grant me my right to feel more than a little aggravated over this.First things first, what exactly did Perkins say?It is hard not to draw a line between the hostility that is being fomented in our culture from some in the secular media toward Christians and evangelicals in particular and the acts of violence that took place in Colorado yesterday. But I will say no more for now other than that our friends at New Life Church and YWAM are in our thoughts and prayers.Forget that the shooter was a Christian, aggressing against his own church. Forget that he was known to be unstab

McLaren suggests at TPM Cafe: On the one hand, our religions can fan the flames of holy-war narratives –whether expressed in terms of terrorism or counter-terrorism, jihad or crusade. On the other, our religions can inspire us with framing stories of reconciliation and peace. On the one hand, our religions can foment stories of scapegoating and vilification, but on the other, they can inspire us toward compassion and understanding through stories of reconciliation and grace. Instead of baptizing greed and self-interest, our faith communities can teach us stories which promote the common good, inspiring us to creatively pursue sustainability both environmentally and socially. Instead of sanctifying the consumerism that reduces everything to a financial “resource,” our faith communities can teach us stories that inspire true reverence for the planet and all it contains – opening our eyes to the signature of God in the hawk soaring among the mountains, the school of minnows flashi

In Philadelphia, accompanying a menorah and a nativity, is a unique display called the ‘Tree of Knowledge,’ a celebration of human thought and endeavor, constructed by the Free Thought Society of Greater Philadelphia. A discussion of this tree, and its display in the context of the religious symbols of the season, is the focus of this interview, with Margaret Downey, president of Atheist Alliance International, and Father Jonathan Morris, Fox News contributor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9f3C7NDbcU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP0JmI-cPOc

Atheists living in America are well aware of the hostile attitudes with which our neighbors regard us. Those of us living in the more conservative regions may be reminded of this on a near daily basis. But our plight pales in comparison to the brave men and women serving in America's armed forces. They face a system which has long been attractive to civilian Christian extremists looking to expand their influence. Moreover, according to what the American public regularly hears from the mainstream media, they belong to a group which does not actually exist: foxhole atheists.The intent of this post is not to rail against anti-atheist discrimination, the success with which Christian extremists have infiltrated the American military, or even to point out that the regular denial of foxhole atheists is a slap in the face to the brave soldiers and marines who are trying to do their part for America. Rather, I simply want to remind everyone about Operation Foxhole Atheists, an effort to suppor

link to video The large computer generated battle in the trailer portends Lord of the Rings derivative cliche', but The Golden Compass looks fantastic and could very well be a great movie. Like TGC, The Chronicles of Narnia climaxes in one of those CG showcases. In addition, both movies have child leads, are set in a fantastic alternate reality that snuggles against our own, and are based on a children's book series that allegorizes an ultimate philosophy (Christianity for TCON and atheism for TGC). The producers of TGC hope that their movie mirrors TCON in another way: TCON pulled in an unGodly amount of money. At least part of TCON's success had to do with churches and peripherally pro-Christian institutions (talk radio) encouraging its members to view the movie. Parents entered the movie confident that they'd get two hours of "positive values." How will TGC' underlying anti-religion affect it's box office? Most people either won't know about it or won't care, but the

The California chapter of American Atheists, along with other atheist and humanist groups in the area are calling for the removal of religious references in both the pledge of allegiance and on American currency. It baffles me that such battles need to continue because such references were not removed long ago. I am glad to see that defenders of our secular Constitution continue their efforts to remedy the situation.American Atheists CaliforniaRALLY FOR REMOVAL OF RELIGIOUS REFERENCES IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND ON NATIONAL CURRENCYTuesday, December 4, 2007San Francisco Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals BuildingAmerican Atheists California, in conjunction with Bay Area Atheist and Humanist groups, will rally in front of the San Francisco Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals building on Tuesday, December 4, to support the idea of removing religious references and slogans in the Pledge of Allegiance and on national currency.In 2004, when Michael Newdow argued before the Supreme Court for remo

Tracie Harris is a graphic designer in Austin, TX. Raised in Orlando, FL, she received her BA in Liberal Studies from the University of Central Florida. Her long, slow recovery from a rabid fundamentalist upbringing led her to the creation of Atheist Eve. Source. Related PostsThose Angry Atheists…Most of the emails that I receive regarding this site usually start off with the old familiar phrase...News on AAUPC.ORGThe next phase of AAUPC (Atheists and Agnostics United to Promote Change) is taking shape and the de...Just 3 Days Left…Just a quick update for those of you that have an interest in AAUPC. Yes, there are only 3 days left...Atheists: Coming Out of the Non-Existant ClosetCall Me What You Want

Now that BlogRush angered many atheist has greatly expanded their categories, adding one for atheists under the broader religion category, is it time to give them a second chance? As you may recall, BlogRush angered many atheist bloggers by dropping most of us from their network. Others dropped in solidarity with those who were booted. Now they've added a category for us. What do you think? Should we give BlogRush another try?The appeal of BlogRush is that it may bring more traffic our way. I realize that this did not work before, but I hold out hope that such a system could work. Under the newly revamped system, it looks as though the traffic would probably be more focused (in the atheism category). It also appears that we would no longer be expected to advertise Christian nonsense in the BlogRush widget. If this is accurate, it might be worth giving the service another try.Tags: BlogRush, atheism, atheist, blogging, blog traffic

Time and time again, it seems to fall on American atheists to defend our Constitution from believers who trample it in the name of their mythical god. The Cherry Creek School District, an extremely wealthy area of Denver, CO, is the site of the latest attempt to push religion in the public schools. Believers just cannot be content with practicing their religion in their homes and churches; they need to push it on their neighbors via the public schools. Fortunately, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is once again defending the Constitution here.According to CBS4 (Denver), the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and an atheist family have filed a lawsuit to stop the Cherry Creek School District from continuing to promote religion in violation of the Constitution.The program in question, 40 Developmental Assets, is described as promoting "religious community" along with "things like family support, positive peer influence and doing homework." Evidently, the program says that childr

On my recent article Tugging at Loose Threads, Evanescent and Storbakken resumed a debate they had suspended on another blog. It was completely off topic, so I’m starting an open thread for them, and anyone else, to continue it. Evanescent’s last comment was: Storbakken said: It is not my intent to go round and round again. But I will briefly respond to your comment. The point is not that Hitler was an an atheist or a theist, rather that his ideology was based on the notoriously atheistic philosopher Fred Nietzche much more than it was based on the teachings of Christ. Hitler clearly infused religious rhetoric to win the masses and most definitely believed his own rhetoric. You’re right, the point is not that Hitler was an atheist or a theist. I don’t hold up Hitler as an example of theistic horror, even though he was an affirmed Catholic and his many speeches and sayings reflected one who believed in the Christian god. I don’t care if he did or not believe in god as

This thing has to have been created by the same group of evangelical charlatans that teach children that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago and that man and dinosaurs coexisted. Movies, TV and video games really dumbing kids down. Yep it’s got nothing to do with the fact that these douches are teaching kids the Flintstones was real. “Don’t worry about the weird guy two streets over that always wants to show you his puppy on the way home from school but for the love of christ stay away from the friggin’ atheists house!” Share This

I can follow some religious fundamentalists that claim that atheists have no morals. But only with some interpretation, and only some of the way. Most movements, including Christianity, define themselves according to “positive” and “negative” comparisons. A positive definition is when the movement makes statements about who its followers are, what they believe in, and what their opinions are. A negative definition is when the movement makes statements about what it isn’t; for example, Christians will readily state in which areas their religion differs from Islam, and the various Christian groups will gladly explain how they differ from other Christian groups. A positive definition is the religion’s “what we are” statement, and a negative definition is the religion’s “what we are not” statement. Both are valid descriptions helping define the movement, and both are moral statements of what one believes in and what one does

Lee Randolph responded to my comment over at debunkingchristianity. Here is his response: Hi thirstyjon, I am talking about something way beyond experience. I am talking about internal knowing! (Lee is quoting me - ThirstyJon here) How is your experience different from the schizophrenic who is sure someone is in the room with them, or they [...]

According to an Inside Bay Area article by Julia Scott, the founder of San Francisco Atheists, Jim Heldberg, will be honored tonight with a public dinner in San Francisco. Heldberg is the rare sort of atheist activist who fully embraces atheism and is not afraid to speak out against the importance of keeping religion out of government and politics.Like most American atheists, Heldberg was indoctrinated into Christian superstition. Fortunately, it didn't stick."I couldn't square religion with my goal of being a scientist," says Heldberg, now 66. "How does prayer work? Nobody can explain it. How can there be invisible people in the sky? I wanted it to fit, and it frustrated me that it didn't fit."Although he initially felt alienated, Heldberg was fortunate enough to find fellow freethinkers in the Bay Area. He certainly was not going to find support in the Christian community.Declaring himself as an atheist in public has caused Heldberg to receive harassing phone calls and e-mails fro

Maybe those conservatives are right and CNN really is the network of godless atheist liberals. Obviously on line polls mean very little (and we might argue as to whether atheism should be listed as a religion) but the results of this poll from Larry King Live are interesting. The question is “Which religion do you associate with?” At present, 71% are choosing atheism.

I sometimes get asked whether atheists should be more friendly to those with religious beliefs. I normally provide Hemant from Friendly Atheist as a shining example of a nice atheist. He recently discussed Michael Shermer’s belief that atheists should be positive. Well I think atheists can be too friendly and I believe that the example below shows the dangers of ‘friendly atheism’. I have to say Hemant, I think you’re taking this positive atheism lark too far! atheism, funny, Jesus

The North Alabama Freethought Association and Blair Scott, the Alabama State Director for American Atheists, want you to know about Operation Foxhole Atheists.Atheist soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines need our support in Iraq! Regardless of your views of the war, we all recognize that politicians put us in Iraq, not the soldiers. As long as politicians are keeping our men and women in uniform there, they need our moral support.For more information please go to:http://www.alabamaatheist.org/operationfoxholeatheists.htmTags: North Alabama Freethought Association, Alabama, American Atheists, Operation Foxhole Atheists, atheist, atheism, military

One by one, Steve Jobs is out to win us over to the Mac. With the new iMac desktop computers and iLife '08 software introduced last week, Apple is making great strides in creating attractive and easy-to-use computers that are different. If you are a video-editing aficionado, or even a beginner, Jobs has you now. The most interesting feature in the new iMac is contained in the new version of the iMovie video-editing software that comes free with the new desktops. The iMovie software is part of iLife '08, a big leap forward in the digital lifestyle suite since iLife '06.

Michael Gerson, in a recent article in the Washington post entitled ‘What atheists can’t answer’ argues that religion offers us the only solution to the dilemma of how we choose between good and bad instincts and that atheism fails in this regard: “Atheism provides no answer to this dilemma. It cannot reply: “Obey your evolutionary instincts” because those instincts are conflicted. “Respect your brain chemistry” or “follow your mental wiring” don’t seem very compelling either. It would be perfectly rational for someone to respond: “To hell with my wiring and your socialization, I’m going to do whatever I please.” I wish I could be kinder to him but I cannot. Why is it that all religious apologists, put on their stupid hats the moment they ponders any question with theistic content? It seems to me that there are two reasons why one might argue that religion offers us moral reasons to be good. 1. Scriptur

According to Chuck Colson, writing a guest column for Christian Post, Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens represent "a new breed of atheist" which Colson refers to as "the anti-theist." Yep, this is yet another article condemning the atheist revival. Colson focuses primarily on Hitchens, but you'll find little more than recycled arguments that don't work here any better than they did the first 30 times you heard them.Colson claims that the contemporary atheist movement is quite different from anything we've seen previously. Why? Because today's atheists "don’t want to just deny the existence of God, they want to wipe religion off the map."Colson's evidence to support this bold assertion? He takes a few of Hitchens' sentences out of context and then draws unwarranted interpretations of them which are not at all evident in Hitchens' book. Never mind what Hitchens actually says - just take Colson's word for it that his bizarre interpretations are supported.Colson says that Hitchens wr

Yesterday my girlfriend asked me if she’d left her glasses at home. I looked around some, and I said “No, I don’t think you did.” A friend asked me what I think of string theory and I said that I do not think it will pan out, ultimately. I have answered similar questions in similar ways probably thousands of times. Apparently I am an irrational fool for it, as we’ll get to in just a moment. A reader, who comments here as LakeJen, contacted me via email to share a wonderful video– “Atheism - The Religion of Fools”. The video is the work of Dr. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Aside from his work at Coral Ridge, Dr. Kennedy has authored over 60 books and is spreading the cancer through four additional organizations– Coral Ridge Ministries Media, Inc., Evangelism Explosion International, Knox Theological Seminary, and Westminster Academy. The point of Dr. Kennedy’s video is to show that atheism is fundamentally

A new energy is sweeping American atheists, secular humanists, and freethinkers. More of us are coming forward, speaking out, and taking action to preserve our secular democracy. The backlash against years dominated by Christian extremism is underway, and a grassroots movement is starting to emerge. While lacking cohesion or recognized leadership, this atheist wave is finally being noticed by the American media. In fact, some are now recognizing our growing political influence.We are fed up with religion in politics. We want a President who recognizes that it would be inappropriate for him or her to discuss personal religious beliefs while in office. We've had enough of ineffective faith-based policies and are hungry for policies based on scientific findings. We'd like to make sure that government funding is reserved for programs with scientific merit and that the programs are required to demonstrate evidence of efficacy as a condition of continued funding. We find it morally unaccep

This may also apply to those who are actually atheists but say they are agnostic for what ever reason. Coming out as an atheists may be frightening to some and much of this will depend on your family and where you live. You may be afraid people will think things that are not true. You may even be bullied by certain people. It could even affect you job. There is a solution. Grow a pair!!!

As individuals who commonly extol the virtues of rationality, critical thinking, and the application of reason, it is tempting to assume that atheists are less prone to misunderstandings and a variety of cognitive errors. However, many of us (myself included) have been making a big error when it comes to our views on Christians. It is time to fix this error, and I hope that my atheist readers will join me in apologizing to the many Christians we have wronged.Christians are a diverse bunch. While they share some central tenets of Christianity, one can find a full spectrum from right-wing biblical literalists to progressives who interpret the same bible metaphorically. Fundamentalism may be a fast-growing segment of Christianity, but it is certainly not synonymous with Christianity.We atheists often find ourselves confused over who is a "real Christian" and who is not. Pat Robertson, D. James Kennedy, and James Dobson certainly refer to themselves as Christians. In fact, it is not unchar

A new survey revealed that evangelical Christians are less concerned about poverty than the average American, while atheists are the least likely group to participate in activities to combat poverty. Overall, Americans are concerned about poverty with three out of four adults (72 percent) considering poverty to be one of the most serious social problems facing [...]

It seems a common claim that morality is impossible without religion. While I might agree that in some cases religion (or, more specifically, the fear of eternal damnation) can be a pretty good motivator, I think that a morality that doesn’t rely on religion is not just possible, but it’s a lot more desirable. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be outlining what some people think of morality without religion, why religion-based morality is potentially suspect, and my ideas on morality. God Hating Atheists Some have claimed that atheism is responsible for immoral acts, and that lack of Christian morality (ignoring the possibility of other types of morality) in schools is responsible for school shootings. Both these articles describe various violent acts and crimes committed by young USAians1, and then jump right into blaming Atheists and Darwinists (perhaps I’m missing a step in the argument, but I can’t see it - although “How to build a bomb in the public

I'd like to tell you about an interesting new website called AsktheAtheists.com. The idea is that anyone can contribute questions which are then distributed to various atheist authors, bloggers, etc. who answer them. While responses often converge to a degree, they also show that there is diversity among atheists. I recommend this site for theists with questions, others curious about atheism, and atheists who are curious to see how others might answer questions they have received. And yes, I will be one of the those attempting to answer some of the questions.From the website:The point is to provide a place where people who are interested can find out about atheism and atheists.Even so, there is undeniably a hope amongst the people contributing to the site that it will in some way help to spread the type of world-view that includes atheism. And as such it might seem like a useless example of ‘Preaching to the Choir’. But that metaphor isn't completely accurate.Every publicly avail

As you may recall, I e-mailed American Atheists using the address provided on their website on May 28th. My question for them was simple. I wanted to know why they have still not joined the Secular Coalition of America when virtually every other national freethought organization has done so. I have still not received a response of any kind. Because I still believe this is an important question, I now ask for your help.According to their website, American Atheists gives the requests of their members higher priority over those from non-members. If you are a member of American Atheists, please e-mail them with your version of the following:American Atheists seems to be the only national freethought organization which has not joined the Secular Coalition for America. I am interested in helping to foster an atheist movement, and the Secular Coalition seems like a great way to increase our political power and make sure that our growing numbers are represented. Please help me understand your

I just got an email from a lecturer of mine who’s going to be talking about the “Atheists’ distortion of the History of Science” in a couple of weeks, which I thought might be interesting to anyone living in Melbourne. Dear “God ….” fans, I’ll be speaking to the Atheist Society in a couple of weeks. “Atheists’ Distortion of the History of Science” Tuesday 12 June 2007 8 pm Trades Hall 54 Victoria St (crnr Lygon Street) atheist_agnostic@lycos.com You will have heard much of my argument before, but this time I’ll be attacking my fellow atheists’ for distorting history. It should be fun. Neil If you’re interested, email the above address, or just turn up! agnosticism, atheism, education, history, lecture, melbourne, scienceShare This

Organizing atheists has value not only through political advantages but also through increased social support. Living as an atheist in America can be lonely, especially for those living in small towns and/or in more conservative regions. Since atheists are not known for being "joiners," it can be difficult for atheists to find communities which will accept them. While I suspect that this has done much for the growth and sustained interest in the atheist blogosphere, blogs are only one way to build community. The good news is that as more atheist bloggers are starting to address community-building, some useful resources are turning up.If you live in a larger city, odds are that there is already an atheist group near you. To find out check this list at Infidels.org or Meetup.com.Those of us in smaller towns will generally have a harder time finding other atheists, so Everyday Atheism just started a new Google group for atheists in small towns. This is also where blogs can help. In fact,

Something needs to be done about Greg Epstein. He is seriously damaging the reputation of humanism, be it “religious” or “secular”. Last month he got his arse chewed about off for referring to outspoken atheists as fundamentalist atheists while promoting some shindig he was/is involved with. So what does he do in the wake? He gives an interview in the Washington Post where he again states that outspoken atheists are fundamentalists: “At times they’ve made statements that sound really problematic, and when Sam Harris says science must destroy religion, to me that sounds dangerously close to fundamentalism,” Epstein said in an interview after the meeting. “What we need now is a voice that says, ‘That is not all there is to atheism.’ “ To make matters worse, he’s now being joined by other humanist leaders such as Roy Speckhardt of the American Humanist Association: “Atheists are somewhat focused on the o

Living as an atheist in America is often a lonely experience. However, in many of the more socially conservative areas, we may face far more serious obstacles than loneliness. Identifying ourselves as atheists may bring disdain, even discrimination. Efforts to express our views on religion are frequently met with accusations of intolerance. And then there are the threats of harm to ourselves and our loved ones.We atheists are everywhere. Even in conservative Oklahoma where 95% of the people profess theistic belief, one will find atheists. Sadly, this report by Oklahoma's KFOR NewsChannel 4 indicates that some have been threatened by Christians because of their lack of belief. Is it any wonder that many atheists still do not feel safe to openly admit their atheism?The story profiles Oklahoma atheist, Kim Cole, described as one of a small number of openly atheistic people in the area. Others would agree to be interviewed only if their identity was concealed. Why?"People do have their li

I know they are incredibly busy, and their website cautions that they do not have time to respond to every e-mail they receive (especially those sent by non-members). Still, I hope the folks at American Atheists will respond to the e-mail I sent this morning. I have posted about this previously and left comments at NoGodBlog (which is supported by American Atheists), but I still have not received a clear response.Here is the full text of my e-mail to American Atheists:I would like to better understand why American Atheists seems to be the only national freethought organization who has not joined the Secular Coalition for America. As one of a growing number of atheist bloggers, I am very interested in helping to foster an atheist movement. The Secular Coalition seems like a great way to increase our political power and insure that our growing numbers are represented. I have held off on joining American Atheists or recommending your organization to my readers because of your conspicuous

Organizing atheists is often likened to herding cats. Because "atheism" refers to nothing more than a lack of acceptance of the theistic belief claim (i.e., that some sort of god or gods exist), atheists appear to have little in common besides what they do not believe. And yet, there do appear to be a few issues on which most atheists, secular humanists, and freethinkers agree and can be united (e.g., opposition to theocracy, a preference not to be bombarded with pro-religion messages, disgust over anti-atheist bigotry, etc.). However difficult organizing atheists may be, this does not mean that it is impossible or that it would not be advantageous.Imagine that you are a local politician, perhaps a member of your city council, school board, or similar body. Someone brings a complaint to you about a local ordinance, expenditure, or policy. While listening to the complainant, you realize that you agree with them. They have made a strong case for the position, and you think that they are

The Box: Canadian “Crying Out Loud For Love”; ‘Closer Together‘ (1987) . Atheism Is Aboot Humiliation As Much As… …hyper-Evangelicalism is aboot self-gratification. Not believing in God does not make you an Atheist, to be an Atheist you must have a philosophy of believing faith in any God is wrong. People speak of “not knowing what we’re fighting for” in [...]

I have heard it said in different words that there are no Atheists in foxholes; a person who claims disbelief or a lack of belief in a supreme being will pray when placed in a life-threatening situation. I am not a Theist. I am not an Atheist. If the two are different sides to the same coin, then that coin would have to be turned on its edge before I could be located – sitting somewhere on the

Most Americans associate the pro-life movement with conservative Christianity, but the two may be separable. Are there atheists opposed to abortion who would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned and who have non-religious grounds for their position? If so, what are there grounds?I think these are interesting questions in their own right, however, I would guess that finding honest answers to them might not be the goal of Tim's blog post. No, I suspect that what Tim is trying to do is suggest that I made an unwarranted inference by assuming that the individual I described in a recent post must be Christian.The thing is, even if we discover that there are hordes of atheists who oppose a woman's right to choose, that does not necessarily mean that my inference was unwarranted. When we hear of someone in America attempting to bomb a health clinic, Operation Rescue immediately springs to mind, as do the Christian extremists who advocate violence against physicians who work in women's health

Ever drawn to conflict, real or imagined, the media is now trying to make it sound like there is a great split in the atheist community over how vocal we should be in our criticism of religion. I am not convinced that this is a real conflict, but there are clearly differences among atheists in what is perceived as our responsibility to society. The mistake the media is making, as is its tendency, is one of oversimplification. Sure, there are atheists who just want religious people to leave them alone and who have no interest in expressing their opinions. There are also outspoken atheists, activists working toward meaningful change. The problem is that most atheists fall somewhere between these poles such that any artificial dichotomization is going to be misleading.It is interesting that the question buzzing around the atheist blogosphere is what to call atheists who tend toward the outspoken pole. One rarely hears people asking what we should call the atheists who just want to avoid a

I recently installed StatCounter, making it easy to explore how visitors are finding this blog. After noticing a few visits from Goosing the Antithesis, I decided to check it out. To my surprise, I found this post in which I was characterized as someone who "would try to stop everyone else from having a good time" and as seeking to "temper everyone into falling into step for an 'atheist movement' which does not exist." Is this how I am perceived among atheists? I certainly do not see myself this way, so I wonder what I might have written to give this impression.I am used to receiving everything from bible quotes to personal attacks from a handful of Christian extremists, even though most Christians who comment here or e-mail me directly have been civil, polite, and downright thoughtful. What I am not used to is what I believe is unfair criticism from within the atheist community. That is not to say that I expect to always agree with other atheist bloggers or for them to agree with me

According to the Secular Coalition for America, it did not take long for Rep. Stark's identification as a nontheist to elicit Christian outrage. I suppose it was just a matter of time. The idea that belief in gods is not necessary seems to terrify many Christians. Stark has been applauded in the atheist community, as many of us have concluded that it is about time we finally had some representation in Congress. Perhaps anything that makes atheists happy has to be inherently bad.A group of Christian seniors, the Christian Seniors Association (CSA), are using the occasion of Stark's announcement to attack atheism. They are calling on members of Congress to proclaim their theistic beliefs on the floor of the House."It is time for religious members of Congress to push back. A simple declaration of a belief in God by members of Congress on the House floor will be greatly informative for the American people. Members who wish to expand could use the ‘special orders’ portion of the Ho

Alonzo Fyfe of Athiest Ethicist recently addressed the proper way to counter the tired "Hitler and Stalin were atheists" arguments. Fyfe correctly argues that finding evidence that Hitler and Stalin were actually theists is irrelevent. In reality, it's just the same flawed argument in reverse or like saying all theists are bad because of the Crusades and the Inquisition. Instead, Fyfe takes the following tack:My sound-byte answer: "I'm sorry, but blaming me for the crimes of Hitler and Stalin is like blaming the Amish – or blaming you, by honorable adversary – for 9-11.” If my opponent will grant me a few more seconds, I would add, “You would certainly object if I were to accuse you of being responsible for these crimes. You would scream that any who would make such an assertion is bigoted and unjust. You would be right. Such a person is, in fact, bigoted and unjust. So is the person who blames all atheists for the crimes of Stalin.”It's an excellent read, and I enco

I was reading about the Origins of the World from The Nag Hammadi Library it sounds alot like what I've read in the Bible, Ezekiel 1 1-28.After reading the Gnostics view of GOD, then reading what the Bible says no wonder there's Atheists.At Alter Net there's a post about the new book by Jack Huberman called The Quotable Atheist: Ammunition for Nonbelievers, Political Junkies, Gadflies, and Those Generally Hell-Bound.It's about collected powerful quotations against organized religion and belief in God from figures such as Richard Dawkins, Phyllis Diller, Frederick Douglass, Michael Moore, Katha Pollitt, and yes, Jerry Falwell."My aim in compiling The Quotable Atheist was to heal our broken planet, essentially by eliminating the religious part. Not with nuclear weapons or lesser acts of mass murder, no -- that's the religious style, nowadays, in certain quarters -- but through argument, persuasion, and most of all (since I know perfectly well that argument is utterly useless against

Over at Faith in Public Life.org, there is a reprint of an article by Newsweek reporter Jerry Adler on recent books attacking religion. I want to focus on Sam Harris, because I have heard him featured, and heard his arguments, which offer nothing new, rehashes of centuries-old so-called "rationalist" attacks on religion. I find it fascinating that a human phenomenon that transcends race, class,

I was recently contacted by Steve from HarvestBoston, a Christian blog. Far from condemning me to hell, he expressed interest in a Christian-atheist dialogue. Steve asked if I would be willing to write something that he could share with his readers in which I explained my belief that many Christians were Christian in name only, failing to act in a manner consistent with the teachings attributed to Jesus. He thought it would be beneficial to his Christian readers. I agreed, and you can read his post here. I encourage you to visit and share your perspective with his readers as well as contributing to the comments here.This experience confirms a few things I have long suspected. First, atheists and "real" Christians (i.e., those who attempt to follow the core themes contained in the words attributed to Jesus) have quite a bit in common. Of course, we disagree on the god question, but our similarities should not be overlooked. You see, Steve agrees that too many Christians fail to follow t

Thanks to Friendly Atheist, I was able to ask the president of American Atheists, Ellen Johnson, a question about how her organization works with other freethought organizations.Friendly Atheist recently interviewed Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists recently (see interview here). At the end of his post, he offered to take reader questions and pass them along to Ellen. You'll see in his comments that I asked a question about the relationship of American Atheists to other freethought organizations and whether it might be wise to build political clout through some sort of combined organization. I suppose I didn't ask the question as clearly as I could have. My intent wasn't to suggest that all freethought organizations give up their identities and merge into one mega-organization. I was thinking more along the lines of having some sort of umbrella organization to capitalize on membership numbers while individual organization would continue to exist underneath this umbrella.

We atheists are used to being despised, especially in America. Whatever the predominant threat to America is perceived as being, you can bet we will be equated with it. For decades, we were all assumed to be Communists. As the Communist threat subsided, we are now being referred to as "jihadists." It would almost be funny if it didn't reflect the sort of intolerance about which Christians have repeatedly demonstrated their seriousness.Writing in The Christian Post, guest columnist Chuck Colson whines that American Christians are being persecuted. His evidence is that Christians are called "theocrats" or "fascists" and are described as wanting to take over America. Of course, atheists are to blame. Evidently, Mr. Colson has never heard of Christian Nationalism, Reconstructionism, or Christianism. By complaining about "anti-Christian literature," by which he means recent bestsellers by Dawkins, Harris, and others, Colson attempts to rally his Christian soldiers. However, it is his attem

Pedro's recent post at Way of the Mind got me thinking about a criticism I periodically encounter around the blogosphere and in the comments here. According to many Christians, we atheists are simply in denial. Our vast arrogance leads us to refuse to acknowledge the supreme being we know exists. Pedro did a good job of setting this criticism aside, but I'd like to add my thoughts in this post.The implicit core of the claim that atheists are being arrogant in the rejection of the Christian god has two components. First, many Christians assume that the existence of their god is self-evident. That is, no evidence is needed beyond the observation that one is alive. Think of this as a perversion of Descartes' cogito where "I think, therefore I am" becomes "I am, therefore the Christian god exists." The second component is the conviction, deeply held by many Christians, that atheism involves the elevation of humankind to the status of gods. Some Christians simply cannot fathom an existe

I was reading about the Origins of the World from The Nag Hammadi Library it sounds alot like what I've read in the Bible, Ezekiel 1 1-28.After reading the Gnostics view of GOD, then reading what the Bible says no wonder there's Atheists.At Alter Net there's a post about the new book by Jack Huberman called The Quotable Atheist: Ammunition for Nonbelievers, Political Junkies, Gadflies, and Those Generally Hell-Bound.It's about collected powerful quotations against organized religion and belief in God from figures such as Richard Dawkins, Phyllis Diller, Frederick Douglass, Michael Moore, Katha Pollitt, and yes, Jerry Falwell."My aim in compiling The Quotable Atheist was to heal our broken planet, essentially by eliminating the religious part. Not with nuclear weapons or lesser acts of mass murder, no -- that's the religious style, nowadays, in certain quarters -- but through argument, persuasion, and most of all (since I know perfectly well that argument is utterly useless against

Check out this YouTube video where Wayne Adkins, an officer in the Ohio Army National Guard, recounts his attempts to file an EO (Equal Opportunity) complaint after a general officer made bigoted remarks against atheists. In his story, Adkins explains how the complaint went all the way to the Department of the Army Inspector General and was then subsequently ignored. It's extremely disappointing and a severe injustice to see the Army treating one of its own this way.

The Secular Coalition for America is the sort of umbrella organization I have long said was necessary. They are a lobbying organization focused on changing public perceptions of atheists by providing us with a political voice. An organization such as this, composed of many different atheist groups, offers a tremendous advantage because it more accurately reflects our numbers than any single organization can.The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers has joined the Secular Coalition (see the press release). And you thought there were no atheists in foxholes! This is a great addition to the Secular Coalition.Unfortunately, this news reminds me of the fact that American Atheists are still not among the Secular Coalition member organizations. As I have previously noted, this seems like an obvious alliance which would be beneficial to everyone involved. I would like to see American Atheists join the Coalition.Hat tip to Friendly Atheist.Tags: atheism, atheist, Secular Coalition f