08.31.07
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 10:42 pm by Hemant Mehta
Josh Jarman of The Columbus Dispatch had an article about the recent rise of atheism that quotes many non-religious leaders. Even one of the religious people mentioned in the article is correct in his assessment.
First, Tom Flynn, editor of Free Inquiry magazine, on why the atheist authors are so successful:
“With (President) Bush trumpeting his faith-based initiatives in the face of the separation of church and state, you have a lot of those in the nonbelieving community who feel their civil liberties are in danger,” Flynn said.
Add that to the growing number of American atheists and you have a recipe for political activism, he added.
…
Flynn predicts that the popularity of these books is the first step in a coming wave of atheist activism. “It took a very concentrated effort on behalf of the gay community to make people realize you know a gay person,” Flynn said. “People realized, ‘Hey, I have a gay co-worker, and they’re fine.’ We need to do that for the nonreligious.”
Also mentioned is Marilyn Westfall, board member of the American Humanist Association, and co-creator of The Eloquent Atheist:
She said there is genuine concern about the strength of the religious right in this country.
“It seems that humans have gone through cycles in which religious fervor must be opposed for the sake of ethics,” Westfall said.
Finally, we have the president of the Humanist Community of Central Ohio (HCCO), Amy Birtcher:
… she has watched [HCCO’s] numbers swell from the historic average of about 40 to almost 100 in the past two years.
She said people are turning to atheist authors’ works because they validate what they have been thinking for a long time.
“New members tell us quite regularly that the Bush administration and the current wave of conservative politics brought them out of the closet,” Birtcher said.
Still, she said, atheists remain one of the most maligned minority groups in the United States. Political polls reveal that people are less likely to vote for a nonbeliever than for a homosexual, she said.
“A lot of people are afraid,” Birtcher said. “They can’t tell their families. They can’t tell their co-workers because they fear real reprisal.”
They do quote Rev. Martin Marty, a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He says this:
… just because the books reveal a cultural current in America, don’t expect a march on Washington.
The history of the various agnostic and atheist movements in this country, he said, is one of a failure to organize.
“Religions have the power to form groups,” Marty said. “When you look at the intellectual expression of atheism, it is very individualistic.”
Sadly, he’s right. As the saying goes, getting atheists to work together on anything is like herding cats. If we could actually get our &*$% together, we might be able to accomplish something and use our power for the better. If atheists supported the national non-religious organizations, it would give us all more opportunities to be heard at the highest levels of our government.
But so many atheists are wary of joining organized-anything.
Of course, no article on atheism is complete without the token religious leader who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. While Rev. Richard Burnett correctly points out that mocking the “other side” gets us nowhere, he also says that God “does not need to be defended.”
God is a faulty idea backed by no evidence and has caused a lot more harm than good. I’d say the idea needs some defending.
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 10:24 pm by Hemant Mehta
We know our non-religious troops are victims of Evangelical Christian proselytization and that people still say, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”
I hadn’t heard about this story, but it also deserves a hearing:
[Operation Foxhole Atheists] started after hearing about several atheist soldiers in Iraq that attempted to start a group at their Forward Operating Base (FOB). They were harassed by a major that threatened to go after them with the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice). The soldiers did not violate the UCMJ at all. In fact, the major, by misusing his rank to harass the soldiers and try to trump their attempt to exercise their right in the military to the freedom of religion, violated the UCMJ directly.
“Operation Foxhole Atheists” was started by Blair Scott (Alabama State Director for American Atheists) and the North Alabama Freethought Association.
OFA will send atheists in foxholes special care packages and supportive letters, but they can only do it with your help:
- Donate goods at any upcoming NAFA event or via postal mail.
- Donate money to help purchase goods and pay for shipping costs.
- Send letters and cards to OFA to be forwarded to foxhole atheists.
- Tell us about foxhole atheists so they can receive care packages from OFA.
Information on where to send any of those things can be found here.
Help them out if you can; it’s a wonderful cause for people who many people don’t even think exist.
(via Bjorn)
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism, military, foxhole
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 10:07 pm by Hemant Mehta
If you do, you could win a prize!
Amusing entries are sought, rather than gratutitously obscene ones. The deadline for entries is September 30, so get creative now! Again, the prize is a year’s free subscription to the Freethinker.
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism, humanist, humanism, freethinker
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 8:23 pm by Hemant Mehta
The Friendly Christian came into existence earlier this month.
Now, we also have the Friendly Humanist! It’s like friendly atheism. Except Timothy Mills is British. Which makes him cooler than me. So go visit him!
I’m still awaiting the Friendly Scientologist blog.
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism, humanism
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
08.30.07
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 9:51 pm by Hemant Mehta
Dale McGowan, the author of Parenting Beyond Belief, has a nifty interview with me over at his site.
You get to hear my thoughts on what an optimistic vision of the future looks like for atheists, Dale’s new meme (I’m blushing), and the Heckler story.
About that story… let me add a couple more thoughts on it.
The speech I was giving that night was the first time I had spoken about the “soul-selling” auction to an atheist audience. I wasn’t sure about what the response would be. Julia Sweeney was sitting at the front table. I never get nervous when I speak in public… but I was hoping everything would go as I had planned. All of a sudden, near the end of my speech, the Heckler started cursing out loud (everyone stopped watching me and turned to him). I don’t remember what I said in response to him, but in retrospect, I wish I had smiled and calmly said, “You’re proving my point about why atheists have a bad reputation.”
Definitely one of the more memorable conference experiences for me…
Dale’s piece on all this is here.
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism, I Sold My Soul on eBay, Hemant Mehta, Atheist Alliance International
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 9:24 pm by Hemant Mehta
There are atheist blogs all over the place, books about the subject, and web pages on non-religion that you will never have enough time to read through.
Still, it’s good to know there are young people like Shane who are able and willing to answer your questions about atheism. His responses are simply matter-of-fact about the way things are. He’s not trying to push any buttons.
Atheists are a very diverse bunch and I have been around many atheists. It seems as if there isn’t that much in common between you guys.
You also really do not have that much of a doctrine to inquire about. But I do have a question:
How come atheists target Christianity? I think it is merely targeted only because it is what most of you were raised in close proximity to on English speaking forums.
However, there are all sorts of complaints you can lodge against a plethora of religions.
You also seemingly investigated and stopped only at Christianity, why is that?
Thanks.
Atheists don’t solely target Christianity, but Atheists in the United States do tend to place more emphasis on Christianity than other religions simply because 75% of the United States claims to be Christian.
What most Christians don’t realize is that their religion isn’t the only one. When I call myself an atheist and people seem stunned that I don’t believe in god, they rarely realize that god isn’t a proper noun. “God” is not the one and only god. When Christians refer to god, usually they’re referring to Yahweh. It’s therefore interesting to note that when I asked a group of 10 self-proclaimed Christians who Yahweh is, 7 of them had no idea what I was talking about.
I’m sure that none of you believe the creator of the universe is Zeus, or Aker, or Allah, or Poseidon, or Zenu, despite the fact that they are all gods. And there are still people today who believe in all of these. In fact over 1 billion people worship Allah rather than Jesus Christ.
As for me, as I said earlier I’ve read not only the Bible, but the Book of Mormon, the Qur’an, and the Torah. I can tell you specific arguments for each religion, as well as contradictions and errors in each text, but find that most of my responses apply not only to Christianity, Islam, or Judaism, but rather to religion as a whole.
Keep in mind that there are billions of people who look at Yahweh and Jesus Christ the same way you look at Poseidon, Athena, or Zenu.
“We’re all atheists, I just go one god further.”
Be his friend. Send him some appreciative words. We need more people doing what he’s doing.
And while you’re at it, check out this site’s own short-and-sweet “Atheist F.A.Q.”
(Thanks to Mriana for the link!)
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism, MySpace
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 8:17 pm by Hemant Mehta
It’s a spoof. But dammit, I laughed.
The premise: The New Atheists are so aggressive, that the different religions are working together in opposition.
“It really started with Jews for Jesus,” says Father Paul Pelletier of St. Columbkill’s parish in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, referring to the evangelical organization that seeks to convert Jews to Christianity, “but without the Spanish Inquisition” he adds with a chuckle. He has formed a new group–”Catholics for Copernicus”–named after the 16th century Polish astronomer whose conclusion that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe contradicted accepted religious dogma. “In retrospect, we really shouldn’t have thrown Galileo in prison for teaching this stuff, but what can we do, other than say ‘My bad’.”
Of course, religions will never unite against atheism. They’re too busy hating each other. Hell, many Christians can’t even get along with people who are of a different denomination.
It reminds me of the Emo Philips joke:
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump. I ran over and said: “Stop. Don’t do it.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” he asked.
“Well, there’s so much to live for!”
“Like what?”
“Are you religious?”
He said, “Yes.”
I said, “Me too. Are you Christian or Buddhist?”
“Christian.”
“Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
“Protestant.”
“Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”
“Baptist.”
“Wow. Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”
“Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too. Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?”
He said: “Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915.”
I said: “Die, heretic scum,” and pushed him off.
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism, The Spoof
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 6:43 pm by Hemant Mehta
Roberta Stewart, a Wiccan war widow, was not invited to a meeting with President Bush earlier in the week, even though he met with other families who have lost loved ones in Iraq.
Stewart told local media that she was concerned that her exclusion was an intentional snub for her leadership in an Americans United-sponsored lawsuit that forced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to allow the Wiccan symbol of faith on government-issued grave markers.
Today, President Bush called her personally to apologize for not inviting her. He added that “he would not discriminate against someone because of their religion.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State issued a press release commending the President for doing this:
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “The president has done the right thing, and his apology to Stewart should be commended. All veterans of war, regardless of their faith, should be honored and treated with the utmost respect, especially from their commander-in-chief. We are pleased the president recognized his slight of Stewart was wrong.”
…
Today, during an interview on Lynn’s nationally syndicated radio program “Culture Shocks,” Stewart also commended Bush for apologizing.
“I just now got off the phone and personally spoke with President Bush,” Stewart told Lynn. “I am happy to say that he did give me his deepest condolences. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and I do have to give him kudos that he at least took the time to call, give his condolences, and apologize for the VA problem.
“He apologized for the exclusion and the error that was made and said that he admired me for my spirit and thanked me for accepting his apology and said that he hoped he would have the opportunity to someday meet me,” Stewart continued. “I was very pleased with the way the conversation went, very pleased that he did call and put this right.”
So the next time you want to bash President Bush, just pause for .00002 seconds and remember this before proceeding.
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
08.29.07
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 8:48 pm by Hemant Mehta
Quick: Name a religious piece of art!
.
.
.
Good. Now: What’s your favorite poem about atheism? Painting…? Creative non-fiction piece…?
.
.
.
Hard, isn’t it?
Now, there is an attempt to remedy the lack of literary/artsy works in the atheist world: The Eloquent Atheist.
It’s an e-zine that:
…hopes to provide an outlet to nontheists who would like to publish creative, thoughtful, expressive writing (no rants), and writing that focuses on “reclaiming” the lives and works of nontheists, which have often been neglected in (or deliberately excised from) mainstream accounts of history.
Submissions can be made here. The requirements for submissions are also on that page.
The magazine was started by Marilyn Westfall (a board member of the American Humanist Association) and fellow atheist Michael W. Jones.
Why did they start this up? Marilyn says this:
… to fill a niche, serving as an outlet for creative writing by nontheists of all stripes. There are few venues that publish poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, by atheists, humanists, and freethinkers; we hope to remedy that, with this zine.
It’s a lofty, but much needed, goal. So submit something worth reading and check out the site!
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism, writer, essay, published
Share This
Popularity: 3% [?]
Permalink
Posted in Friendly Atheist at 7:54 pm by Hemant Mehta
Last week, someone wrote this letter to a newspaper:
Dear editor, A few days ago I found a kitten on the sidewalk at the end of Cotton Street. It was dehydrated and very weak. It had laid down on the sidewalk to die. It has a 50 percent chance of survival. I am doing everything I can to save it. To the person who committed this horrendous inhumane act, I have a question for you. Are you an atheist?
It was cut off there. I wasn’t sure if the writer was serious or not… The full letter wasn’t available until today.
Conclusion: Bigot.
Here’s that full letter:
Dear editor,
A few days ago I found a kitten on the sidewalk at the end of Cotton Street. It was dehydrated and very weak. It had laid down on the sidewalk to die. It has a 50 percent chance of survival. I am doing everything I can to save it. To the person who committed this horrendous inhumane act, I have a question for you. Are you an atheist? Because people who believe in God do not commit inhumane acts against animals. Instead they show love, compassion and commitment from their hearts toward their pets. You will pay for the evil sins you have committed against this innocent animal. I would give this some serious thought. Judgement day is coming.
Marion English
Wrong about atheists being evil.
Wrong about all believers in God being humane to animals.
Oh. And wrong on the spelling of “judgment.”
A trifecta of ignorance topped with a heap of idiocy.
Siamang suggests a revised letter that would never have run in the paper (or, if it did, it would’ve gotten a bigger reaction):
“To the person who committed this horrendous inhumane act, I have a question for you. Are you a Jew? Because people who believe in Christ do not commit inhumane acts against animals.”
He also includes a well-written letter to Marion English. Here’s a part of it:
I have a question for you, Mr. English: Where did you pick up your attitude toward atheists? Was it your church? Does your church teach you to hate, distrust and impugn the morality of atheists? If not, where did you learn this? Who taught you the lie that only a godless atheist would kill kittens out of spite or a lack of empathy? Is this how you treat people with different beliefs from you? Is this the standard of Christian behavior, to accuse innocents of crimes merely because they have different beliefs? To smear an entire cross-section of the population because of a crime you merely imagine must have been committed by one of our number? Is this showing Compassion to All?
Nicely said.
Technorati Tags: atheist, atheism
Share This
Popularity: 2% [?]
Permalink
« Previous entries
