Christmas time is a pain in the neck for me. But this year I’m trying to be a nice atheist. Today I went to the hardware store for a light bulb and some batteries. The place had transformed since I’d been in a few days ago, from hardware store to mondo-bizarro-psychedelic-drug-trip-surreal-fantasy-forest. On my left there was a nine foot tall purple and white inflated penguin with snow cap and scarf, as if a monstrous Chilly Willy had been considered for… Read more
Blog reader Jodie was filling out life insurance forms at work and realized that she had never been to an atheist funeral. She says she wouldn’t want her own service to be in a church, but she’s not sure where it would be held. (Would it even matter, since she’d be gone?) Also, since most atheist funerals (that I’ve heard of, anyway) are less about mourning the person’s death and more about celebrating the person’s life, how do you raise… Read more
Eric Maisel wants to pick your brain: I am pleased to announce that New World Library will publish the book on atheism that I am currently writing. If you are an atheist, I want to pick your brain about how you manage your life “without gods.” I am forming a cyberspace group where we can chat about how atheists like us can live righteously, passionately, safely and well. I really want to learn from you and learn especially how you… Read more
Teen Atheist is 17. Turning 18 in less than a week (happy early birthday!). There’s an LGBT Pride March in her area that she wants to attend as a supporter. Her mom won’t let her. I approached my mother and asked her if I could go. She gave me a firm “No,” explaining that I was too young to attend such an event. “Why am I too young?” “Well, there’s the whole thing about gay marriage, and gay rights…issues that… Read more
The American Humanist Association just put out this release: Take a Stand Against Censorship! Go see “The Golden Compass” at a movie theater near you. For what reason should you go see it? Because the religious right doesn’t want you to see it. And some media commentators are saying that that’s reason enough. But there are even better reasons. “The Golden Compass” is a Humanist movie, a potential blockbuster based on the “His Dark Materials” book trilogy of Philip Pullman…. Read more
Apparently, atheism is “safe and secure” in our public schools, says one misguided letter-to-the-editor writer in the Daily Herald newspaper. She has no idea that separation of church and state is not the same as indoctrination into atheism. Judging from all the protest surrounding the new moment of silence in Illinois schools, it looks as though Rob and Dawn Sherman have not yet realized the obvious. They have won. In fact, they won a long time ago. Every day in… Read more
Blog reader Rob was in Amsterdam last week and came across a beautiful old church. It seemed to him like the church must have had empty space on its property, so to raise funds, they allowed retail shops to set up in those areas and sell their goods. The shops were “tucked into the buttresses on each side [of the church],” he wrote in an email. Like this: One of the shops that he found seemed out of place to… Read more
The whole game must have been an allegory… Which means the green turtles were actually evil atheists, and Bowser represents Satan, and Jesus spits fire! (via myconfinedspace) [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
This is the most recent version of Minnesota Atheist August Berkshire’s list of the most unconvincing arguments for God: The list has nearly doubled since I first posted it! If you’d like to download a nicer PDF version, you can do that here. To reiterate what I said in the original posting, August has said the list was written in order to give Christians (and those of other faiths) “insight as to what arguments are not likely to work with… Read more
Look no further for the perfect present to get that atheist you know and love this holiday season: a godless giftcard! All you need is this image, this website, an amount of money to put on the card, and $5.95 to make it happen. Johnny Crow is hoping that this does not violate the site’s terms and conditions: … the only problem I can see is “Texts or images that display the views, opinions or beliefs of political groups or… Read more
