We did the Christians hurting Christianity thread (and the incredible-to-read comments are still coming!), so here’s the follow-up. Have you ever met an atheist who pushed you away from atheism (whether you’re a religious or non-religious person)? What did they do? How did you feel? What advice would you have for them? Keep in mind we’re not talking about the “fringe” atheists– the ones who say everyone who is even slightly religious is a complete idiot. We’re talking about the… Read more
Download and watch this (*.mov) tomorrow while you eat some food. It’s a talk that Michael Shermer gave at a recent TED conference. It’s under 15 minutes long, it’s funny, and it explains why deluded people are prone to see miracles/visions/etc. when there are perfectly rational explanations for them. And the best part is saved for last. The bit about Katie Melua is priceless (even if you haven’t heard her music, you’ll enjoy it). Hell, just start watching at the… Read more
People had such great contributions to the “You know you’re an atheist when…” posting, that I collected a few of my favorite responses, edited them up a bit, and created a one-page PDF of the goods. You can download that PDF here. Print it, distribute it, hang it on your wall! Hope you enjoy it. Read more
This is almost too good… The man picked as Adam by a museum based on the Bible’s version of Earth’s history led quite a different life outside the Garden of Eden, flaunting his sexual exploits online and modeling for a line of clothing with an explicit mascot. Registration records show that Eric Linden, who portrays Adam taking his first breath in a film at the newly opened Creation Museum, owns a graphic Web site called Bedroom Acrobat. He has been… Read more
Duas Quartuncias has a wonderful summary of how Ken Ham (the Creation Museum guy) came to be sued, including the full background and a collection of further reading. It gives you a great summary of the case if you don’t know what’s going on Check it out here. [tags]atheist, atheism, Duas Quartuncias, Ken Ham, Creation Museum[/tags] Read more
I think this is the funniest serious article I’ve read in a long time… I didn’t know this. But I guess I’m not surprised. If you’re Catholic, you need to send the Church a formal letter (the “actus defectionis”) in order to officially leave the faith. One such letter, downloaded 30,000 times, is the main attraction at the Italian Union of Rationalists and Agnostics, or UAAR, website. … The actus defectionis must be snail-mailed to the parish where baptism took… Read more
Atheism is the featured article on Wikipedia today! We now join the ranks of other recent featured article subjects, like the Battle of Midway, Jupiter, and Frank Klepacki (?!?). I think it’s safe to say more damage will be done to atheism today than ever before. No one’s laughing…? Damn. (Thanks to Don for the link!) [tags]atheist, atheism, Wikipedia, Battle of Midway, Jupiter, Frank Klepacki[/tags] Read more
I got to meet Nica, the author of Nothing: Something to Believe In at a book signing tonight. There was a nice sized crowd there, too, which was fun to see. It was bigger than the crowd at my most recent book signing… (*Hemant shakes fists at you*) By the way, Nica also recently took part in Book Expo America, where she was part of a panel on the “rise of atheism as a religious subcategory in publishing.” Christopher Hitchens… Read more
Have any of you (Christian or atheist or otherwise) had encounters with Christians who were well-meaning about sharing their faith, but actually ended up pushing you further away from Christianity? I imagine this happens more frequently that we think. I’m not talking about Fred Phelps or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell or other “fringe” types. I mean normal, everyday people. At a church. During college. Maybe a neighbor. Is there someone who intended on helping you find God (or in… Read more
David Plotz at Slate finally finished his quest to blog the Bible. He said this about what he was doing last September: My goal is pretty simple. I want to find out what happens when an ignorant person actually reads the book on which his religion is based. Not a bad idea. Plotz is Jewish, but the same idea should apply to Christians. Reading the book your religion is based on (not just particular excerpts during church) is worthwhile. It… Read more
