godlessness
pharyngula | December 16, 2007It's a little bit of an oversimplification of the history of atheism, but it's funny anyway…and the diagram for religious history is also grossly simplified.
People have actually tried to argue to me that science is so complicated, but "god" is simpler and should be the preferred explanation…but isn't "no god" even simpler than "god"?
pharyngula | December 16, 2007Timothy Sandefur has an excellent quote from H.L. Mencken on how we ought to be responding to creationists.
This actual conflict is joined, and it is the height of absurdity for the...compromisers to seek to evade it with soft words. That conflict was not begun by science. It did not start with an invasion of the proper field of theological speculation by scientific raiders. It started with an invasion of the field of science by theological raiders. Now that it is on, it must be pressed vigorously from the scientific side, and without any flabby tenderness for theological susceptibilities. A…
pharyngula | December 16, 2007
Darn it, here's the atheist problem: we're not easily commercialized, with nothing for the corporate world to sink their hooks into. Someone has noticed.
Look for atheist perfume and you'll be looking for eternity. You won't find the works of Bertrand Russell packaged like the latest issue of Self or Cosmo, as the publishing company Thomas Nelson does with the Bible. ("Becoming is the complete New Testament in magazine format, but it wouldn't be a culture 'zine if it didn't address men, beauty, fitness and food!") Look for the atheist equivalent to Christian yo-yos and Christian neckties and…
pharyngula | December 16, 2007Albert Mohler never disappoints. If you want a peek at the smug, ignorant heart of modern American Christianity, the weekly columns of the president of the Souther Baptist Theological Seminary are good places to start. In his latest effort, he expresses surprise that atheists might enjoy the Christmas holidays. He's positively baffled that Richard Dawkins admits sharing in the traditions of his culture.
The thought of Richard Dawkins singing any carols with explicit Christian content is difficult to hold — unless the Oxford professor intends to sing of a faith he does not profess.
Stephen…
pharyngula | December 11, 2007A number of readers were peeved at the Connecticut Valley Atheists' choice of a holiday display — I was not, and I applauded their assertiveness. So what do you think of the Chester County Atheists' display?
The group's display, "The Tree of Knowledge," will include a 15-foot evergreen with color copies of book covers as decorations. Some of the book covers will include the Holy Bible, the Quran, "Ethics Without God," "Why I Am Not a Christian," and "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism."
Better? Personally, I would have left off the first two listed since they're actually more a…
pharyngula | December 10, 2007Who knew we were so wicked? Slimy Sal Cordova thinks that being
sodomized by horses is concomitant with "Darwinism", and Joe Blundo claims The Golden Compass is superfluous as a recruiting tool for atheists because we have the video game Grand Theft Auto, some stupid sitcom called Two and a Half Men, slasher movies, Girls Gone Wild videos.
I had no idea these were the rites of my ideology.
I've never played Grand Theft Auto, I might have seen ten minutes of that sitcom once before turning it off, I dislike slasher movies, and not only haven't I seen Girls Gone Wild, I think the whole concept…
pharyngula | December 10, 2007The UMM Freethinkers are having a meeting tonight, at 7PM, in Imholte 101. Our very own Michael Lackey, professor of English and author of African American Atheists and Political Liberation: A Study of the Socio-Cultural Dynamics of Faith(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), will be giving an informal talk on the varieties of atheism. Come on by and join in the discussion!
pharyngula | December 8, 2007This is an amusing reversal. Connecticut Valley Atheists put up a Winter Solstice sign in the town square, in the same place that was reserved for Hanukkah displays and nativity scenes, and while some people think it's just fine and fair, others are freaking out.
On Friday, a town crew erected a larger Christmas tree, 10 feet from the atheists' three-sided display. Mayor Jason L. McCoy said that the intent was not to block the view of the atheists' display, but to place a larger Christmas tree in a prominent position in the park. He said he directed town staff to purchase a larger Christmas…
pharyngula | December 6, 2007Yesterday, I got a request to publicize a drive to promote charitable giving by atheists; then today I'm pointed to a list of atheist charities. Perfect! Bring these two together, and we've got synergy: we should all be doing what we can to help the needy, and now we have an excellent list of good destinations for your giving.
pharyngula | December 2, 2007I'm very much looking forward to the opening of The Golden Compass at the end of this week — and we're even getting the premiere here in little ol' Morris. I'm having mixed feelings about the way it's getting enlisted in the culture wars, though. It's a fantasy movie, and it's ultimately going to succeed or fail on its merits as entertainment, not its ideology.
Still, I have to like the attitude in this Mark Morford column.
It's this: If your ancient, authoritarian, immutable belief system is threatened by a handful of popular novels, if your ostensibly all-powerful, unyielding creed is…
pharyngula | December 2, 2007
We're winning everything but the spelling bees, apparently.
(via My Confined Space)
pharyngula | December 2, 2007Here's a very useful document that I got from August Berkshire (you can also get this in pdf form from Minnesota Atheists): 34 Unconvincing Arguments for God. I guess he forgot to include all the convincing arguments for gods, but I'm sure some wandering delusional troll will try to provide some. That's OK, I'm sure August would be willing to increase the number in his title.
Anyway, maybe a better title would be "34 arguments for god, and why they are unconvincing". Go ahead and make suggestions to improve them, I think August will be checking in and following along.
34 Unconvincing…
pharyngula | November 29, 2007The dying grandma gambit is a scenario familiar to most atheists; it's been played out a few times in this thread. I'm sure you know it.
Here's how it works. An atheist says something assertive about religion; religious sympathizer retorts, "Would you say that to your dying grandmother? You atheists can't give any consolation to the dying or grieving, and all you can do is flip a finger at believers." There is usually a tone of high moral indignation, as well, and a smug expression of superiority that the faithful have over the godless.
Does this sound familiar to you yet?
I've heard it a…
pharyngula | November 25, 2007There is a Sunday School for Atheists? I think it's an interesting idea to have a special school on Sundays for people to teach their kids about ethics and family, but it shouldn't be for atheists — Christians need it more. I know they already have something called Sunday School, but I went through it, and it wasn't about values: it was about memorizing bible verses, mindless arts and crafts, and antique and false stories illustrated on a felt board.
Besides, we already have a Carnival of the Godless and a Sunday Sermonette. If we just had a felt board and some colored cloth, maybe we could…
pharyngula | November 23, 2007A Canadian school board has decided to remove Philip Pullman's books from its schools' shelves because people complained that the author is an atheist. This is a remarkable objection, obviously. I mean, we don't see school boards screaming to remove Chuck Colson's books from the shelves because the author is a convicted felon, which seems to me to be a much more serious indicator of moral turpitude than atheism, nor do we see a call to eject books by Ann Coulter because she is incredibly stupid, and is therefore a poor role model for students. It's just atheism that spurs this objection.
I…
pharyngula | November 15, 2007Here's a fun exercise: since we already have Christianity Today underwhelming us with the most compelling argument for Christianity, how about if we compile Pharyngula's list of "What is the FEEBLEST reason for becoming a Christian?"
I'll start with the easiest answer: all of them.
pharyngula | November 13, 2007That's the topic of this interview with an unruly mob of internet atheists, yours truly among them.