I’ll admit I’m just swiping this from Dave Silverman’s blog. But it’s worth reading Frank Zindler’s letter in its entirety. It comes, I think, long after we needed to hear these words and the explanation for Ellen Johnson’s dismissal, but I’m glad he wrote them: In Service of the Cause of Reason Frank R. Zindler Madalyn Murray O’Hair would be quite astounded — indeed, a bit dismayed — to see me occupying the president’s chair of American Atheists, Inc., an… Read more
50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Guy P. Harrison is a fantastic book for any new atheist — or for anyone standing on that border between theism and atheism. It’s not very philosophical, it’s not very theological, and it’s not over your head. Perhaps like many of you, when I first became an atheist, I had to think about every reason for believing in God that I had previously held. If I didn’t have a strong… Read more
When it’s in German, it just sounds all the more blasphemous… (via futruym) [tags]atheist, atheism, Christian, Bible, Christianity[/tags] Read more
Clearly, you have to act all Flavor Flav-ish or you’re just not proud of your faith: And that’s not even the disturbing picture. That distinction goes to the image here. But don’t go there if you’re at work… or haven’t eaten lunch yet… (via LOL god) [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
Somehow this story slipped by me last week. Manoj Jain — a doctor from Memphis — wrote a piece for The Washington Post where he discussed his discomfort with praying with a patient. … Although I am comfortable asking patients about their faith when I question them about their profession and their family or social support structure, I feel awkward, even squeamish, about praying with my patients. That may be because I was never taught how to pray with my… Read more
How dare they fire these professors for teaching Astrology in an Astronomy class!? ComedyJesus tells us their stories in this Expelled parody: Oh, Professor Cleo, they never should’ve gotten rid of you… My favorite quotation: “Astronomy is like AIDS to the American education system. It’s a disgrace and there is no cure.” Immediately followed by: “Does Astronomy kill people? You know what, that’s for you to decide… But yes.” Up yours, Phil Plait 🙂 (Thanks to Ashley for the link!)… Read more
Of course you already know Bill Maher’s new movie Religulous is coming out later this year. Check out the studio-created website for the film. It’s surprisingly well done! It’s called Disbeliefnet.com (a parody of Beliefnet.com). It has all sorts of goodies. They talk about the big important religions: The advertisements all look fake — but they are entirely real. The links go straight back to the ridiculous religious websites from which they came. You can also send ecards: And if… Read more
Nothing in particular brings this thought to my mind. I just think it’s an interesting question: What was the most memorable night of your life? Mine was March 23rd, 2001 — my senior year of high school. You get no further details on that. (Which clearly defeats the purpose of asking this question in the first place, I know, but whatever.) I swear it’s nothing scandalous. Feel free to share your story or not 🙂 [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
This was originally written by Derek, one of our regular commenters here and a personal friend of mine (though sort of indirectly). His intent, in his words, was… …sort of an attempt to capture in a semi-prosaic form the ways in which I identify with various views and beliefs of people and how no single label describes me completely in a “I believe all this and only this” sense. He wrote: I live in a world of people, animals, places,… Read more
***Update***: This thread is closed. Thanks for all of you who sent me emails! … I received a request from a reporter doing a piece on the rise of nontheists. The reporter wishes to speak to someone who is an atheist — but has not yet “come out” to family or co-workers. The reporter does not wish to “out” the person but would like to speak to him/her. If you *recently* came out, the reporter may find you useful as… Read more
