These ideas either get no traction or a ton of traction. But I’d love to see it work. The week of March 29th – April 6th, there’s a grassroots campaign to get atheists to put a Scarlet A as their profile picture on Facebook: … this is not about shoving anything down anyone’s throats and it’s not about being disrespectful to people who have religious views, it’s about quietly showing that there are more people than may be realised who… Read more
The Atheist of Florida group has been on a mission to get the Tampa City Council to drop their pre-meeting prayers. As this is going on, it should be noted that the council also says the Pledge of Allegiance. So how are the atheists handling that? They say it along with everyone else. But at the relevant part, they say “One Nation, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.” No mention of “Under God.” And that’s apparently pissing off council… Read more
If you’re awesome (and near Chicago), here’s where you want to be this weekend: Saturday is Skepchicamp! I’ll be at Brehon Pub in Chicago with 9234341241 (rounded down to approximately 80) fellow skeptics sharing in food and talks. I can’t wait. Skepchick Elyse has put together an awesome event and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. And on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. you can come to church with me. For reals. I’ll be speaking at Willow Chicago –… Read more
Christopher Hitchens offers his take on the Ten Commandments and proposes a set of his own in the latest issue of Vanity Fair: What emerges from the first review is this: the Ten Commandments were derived from situational ethics. They show every symptom of having been man-made and improvised under pressure. They are addressed to a nomadic tribe whose main economy is primitive agriculture and whose wealth is sometimes counted in people as well as animals. They are also addressed… Read more
Dear Richard, I’ve been an Atheist for only a year or so now. Before, I claimed myself an Agnostic, in fear of completely doubting the existence of God, and before that being a devoted Christian. My mother passed away when I was only 16 from a terminal illness, which sort of set forth my disbelief and doubt. I am only 20 now, and this is my first solid year, being an Atheist. Now that I acknowledge, and feel fervently in… Read more
Jane and her husband from Oregon don’t see their extended family very much, but when they do, it seems like a group prayer (say, before dinner) is always involved. Jane’s not hiding her atheism — she’ll answer honestly if questioned about it — but that doesn’t remove her from the group prayer situation. She writes: At public events, I just stand off to the side during the prayer, and no one cares. At Girl Scouts, I don’t say God during… Read more
Really, Pete Stark? You were arguably the most powerful atheist in the country… and you held the position for only one day?! I expected at least a full week. For shame… We still love you, though. Read more
Well, I’m shocked. Now I’ll have to sell off my entire collection… (Thanks to Brett for the link!) Read more
Reader Alise tosses out a hypothetical scenario that I don’t think is very far-fetched: Let’s say you have a religious friend. And the friend completely accept that you’re an atheist. He doesn’t try to convert you or preach to you or debate you. He’s completely fine with your atheism. What does that tell you about his faith? Would you have more or less respect for his belief system? Does that person simply not have very strong convictions? Would you feel… Read more
Reader Haley is 16, attends a high school in the South, and has been an atheist for a few years. She hasn’t read the Bible yet, but she wants to: I’ve read on a few blogs that atheists tend to know more about the Bible than many Christians and I want to be one of those atheists. I want to be able to prove to people that I understand Christianity very well, perhaps even more so than they do. So… Read more
