11.30.08
Posted in General at 8:58 pm by Hemant Mehta
Members of the Colorado Coalition of Reason (COCORE) recently paid to put up 11 atheist billboards, a variant of a common billboard being put up by local groups around the country:
Two of those billboards will not be going up, though, because Christians complained to the media company owning the billboard space, Next Media, which then said no to carrying the atheists’ message.
The obvious question: Who cares what the Christians think in this case? The billboards are not about them. They’re not even mentioning, much less attacking, their beliefs.
As one blogger implies, how can the atheist billboard be considered offensive when the following type of billboard can be found all over the place without problems?
Yet, the Christians persist. Already, there have been threats from them:
The hate mail and nasty, threatening phone messages began almost immediately.
Much of it has been directed at Joel Guttormson, who mostly has been serving as a spokesman for COCORE, as they call it.
Twenty-two and a Metro State junior majoring in theoretical mathematics, Guttormson also is president of the Metro State Atheists, one of the 11 groups that make up COCORE.
“It’s been kind of wild, kind of outrageous,” he says of days since the billboards went up.
“It has been mostly Christians who’ve been calling and e-mailing,” Joel Guttormson said, “which is strange since the message is not directed at Christians or anyone from any religion.
“You know, if you see an ad for migraine medicine and you don’t have a migraine, why would you care?”
Almost all of the feedback, he said, has been from people who say the billboards denigrate Christians. He says he still has no idea how that is possible.
…
“Have you seen the billboard? Tell me where any of them mentions evil or hate. Why is everyone so mad?”
So what kinds of Christians would get upset at the mere questioning of God’s existence?
This kind:
John Matson, of Denver, was so mad after seeing the Santa Fe Drive sign that he dashed off an angry letter to the billboard’s owner.
“It is a despicable act to allow that sign,” the 60-year-old man said in an interview, “and for just a few pieces of silver.”
He went on COCORE’s Web site, and it made him even angrier, John Matson said. It is trying to gather, he said, “a constituency of what I call mob rule.”
“I know they’re atheists, and my opinion is they want others to believe the same thing. The billboard misrepresents their purpose,” he said. “Their agenda is wolf-in-sheep’s clothing political. Why don’t they just say it.”
“They want others to believe the same thing?” Yes, and it’s a good thing Christians have never wanted that…
(Hell, anyone with an opinion wants others to believe the same thing. That’s not a bad thing.)
I wonder how upset Matson would be if the first word was removed from the billboard… (I imagine he’d be ok with that).
The problem is not that someone disagrees — that’s to be expected. It’s that people like Matson are trying to stifle speech.
Guttormson adds that some Christians have had the right perspective on this: they may disagree but they defend the rights of the atheists.
It’d be nice if the two camps of Christians would talk to one-another.
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Posted in Humor, Mike Clawson at 8:29 pm by Mike Clawson
Pastor Mike here…
So we get out of church this morning where my three-year-old has heard the Annunciation story in Children’s Church (i.e. the story of the angel visiting Mary and telling her she’s pregnant with the Messiah), and after telling us all about it, she goes on to say that “It’s just a story. It didn’t really happen.”
Now I’m wondering how I managed to raise such a little skeptic. 
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Posted in General at 1:02 pm by Hemant Mehta
The headline on Reddit reads:
Hundreds dead after Atheist and Agnostic gangs clash in Nigeria
You can see where that story leads…
The question: Is that headline making a fair point?
Some people will argue that this is not simply a religious conflict; there are plenty of other factors that go into it.
But religion sure makes it easy to divide people up in an “Us vs. Them” mentality…
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Posted in General, Humor at 10:31 am by Hemant Mehta
Apparently, The Astrological Magazine ceased production last year.
Why?
This screenshot may give you some indication:
Anyone else see the irony…?
(via Hindu Atheist)
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11.29.08
Posted in General, Politics, Richard Wade at 2:19 pm by Richard Wade
by Richard Wade
I am gratified by the thoughtful comments to my post Do You Really Support Freedom of Speech? Some of the comments have been so thoughtful that they have attributed all sorts of extra thoughts and meanings to me that are simply not there, so I’ll attempt to clear up some people’s misconceptions and incorrect conclusions about what I meant:
My list of five ways to respond, A through E, was not intended to be exhaustive. Of course there are many other ways to respond. Those five ways are a distillation of the basic ways that I see how people tend to respond to the issue of suppressing freedom of speech that does not agree with their opinion. The post is a thought experiment, not an accusation or a judgment of your character. I only suggested that we look into ourselves. No need to get indignant or defensive.
I neither said nor implied that upholding free speech as a principle for all people means that we should not loudly disagree with those opinions that we find objectionable. Disagreeing is not the same as suppressing. Upholding the right is not the same as agreeing with what is said. Protest against the CONTENT of the offensive billboard all you want, just please don’t protest against someone’s right to USE the billboard.
I neither said nor implied that this issue about which I am passionate should be everyone else’s passion too. A few comments correctly pointed out that people have their own priorities. One person correctly observed that there are terribly important issues about which I am not passionately involved. That is all correct, but beside the point I was trying to make.
I acknowledge I made a mistake in using the words “belief” and “support” synonymously. They often are used that way, but in this case I should have used the word “support” consistently through the whole post and contrasted it with “believe.” “Believe” in the strictest sense is a thought, while “support,” in my opinion, has to be an action. This contrast leads to the point I was trying to make, and the one that pushed people’s buttons:
What I should have said and explained more clearly is that in the scenario I described, doing nothing is not supporting freedom of speech. You may “believe” in that principle, but believing is only something that happens in your head, not in your actions. You can think all sorts of thoughts but it is only your actions that make your life what it is. Thoughts have no mass. They will not tip the most sensitive scale. If you think one thought or its opposite, it has no meaningful existence if you do nothing about it. Speaking or writing your thought to communicate to others is the first level of action, of its being real. Getting personally involved in the events pertaining to your thought is another level, a more powerfully real action. We all do what we can about things that matter to us, but merely thinking a thought like “Freedom of speech is important” without an action coming from it is doing nothing.
You are what you do, not what you think.
One commenter said that I was taking the stance that “you’re either with me or against me.” No, my stance is that you’re either part of the solution or part of the problem. That is because of the power of apathy. The vast majority of people are very apathetic. Public apathy is what allows freedoms to be lost and despots to rise to power. We are all apathetic about issues which do not directly affect us, so we do nothing other than perhaps think thoughts. In that way we are part of the problem. Doing nothing about an outrage does not mean you are “for” the outrage, as one person said I was implying. Of course not. BUT doing nothing other than thinking thoughts like “Gee, those people should have the right to speak their opinion” means you may believe in free speech but you’re not being SUPPORTIVE of free speech. If you speak up, or write, or donate, or march or demonstrate, then your support is real.
Actions speak louder than words, but mere thoughts don’t speak at all.
My main point is that if you “believe” in free speech only in your head but you do not support it with your hands and feet then please consider that that will not be sufficient if you want to continue to enjoy that freedom. There are many people who want to take that freedom away and they’re doing much more than just thinking thoughts. Thomas Jefferson said, “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” But vigilance, being watchful, is not enough. Lots of people just watch as their freedoms are eroded. I would say the price of liberty is unceasing action.
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Posted in FFRF, General at 2:00 pm by Hemant Mehta
Yeah, you don’t technically celebrate Christmas, but that won’t stop you from asking for presents or buying something for yourself.
Here’s are some of my recommendations for atheist books you’ll want this holiday season. (And by that, I mean I want them this holiday season.) Some of them have been around for a while, some you probably haven’t heard of, and some won’t be published until next year (but you can pre-order them now).
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Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief (by Dale McGowan)
This book, by the author of Parenting Beyond Belief, takes secular parenting to a new level. It deals with issues such as moral development without religion, death, and dealing with religious people (including extended family members). Also included is a list of over 100 activities non-religious parents can do with their children (the activities are specific to secular parents, I presume).
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Everything You Know About God Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion (edited by Russ Kick)
This is an easy-to-read collection of writings about atheism and the problems with religion (contributors include Richard Dawkins and Neil Gaiman). The pieces are quick and snappy; perfect for toilet reading.
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Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists (by Dan Barker)
This is about the journey from fundamental Christianity to hardcore atheism, as written by the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. He describes his former self as the type of Christian you “wouldn’t want to sit next to on a bus” so it’s amazing to read how he became non-religious coming from that world. Even more touching is the chapter on how he explained that decision to friends and family members who couldn’t believe what he was doing.
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Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Secularism (by Paul Kurtz)
Kurtz is the founder/chairman of the Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry. In this book, he explains why God is not necessary to explain secular morality. The topics covered include animal rights and sexual/reproductive freedom. It’s heavier reading than other books on this list, but you’ll finish it feeling optimistic and appreciative of being a Humanist.
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Disbelief 101: A Young Person’s Guide to Atheism (by S.C. Hitchcock)
This one won’t be available for a while, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s essentially The God Delusion-lite — More humorous, however, and with several illustrations.
(On a side note, I’m curious who designed the cover image. While it might appeal to teenagers, it not-so-subtlely perpetuates the notion that atheists are vandals. That’s not the intention, of course. Still, it’s not a very positive image…)
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The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever (selected by Christopher Hitchens)
This book is a collection of some of the best writing by atheists throughout history — from David Hume and Bertrand Russell to Penn Jillette and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. In case you don’t want the entire book, you can read many of those essays (at least the ones that are in the public domain) online.
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Christian No More: On Leaving Christianity, Debunking Christianity, and Embracing Atheism and Freethinking (by Jeffrey Mark)
Another strong book about a Christian who became an atheist. This one discusses specific church doctrine and Christians beliefs as well as the misconceptions many Christians have about science and the scientific method.
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Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Freethinker (by David Eller)
This book is for those of us who’ve already read all the “atheist primer” books. We know the basic arguments in favor of atheism. Now we want more. Questions raised and answered in this book include: “Why must Atheists stop ’speaking Christian?’” and “How are gods created, and are they being manufactured today?”
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The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life (by Austin Dacey)
This is a manual on how and why non-religious people should pursue a progressive agenda. Obviously, one would expect atheists to stand up for reason and science and chuch/state separation. But Dacey also explains why we ought to support “freedom of belief, personal autonomy, equality, toleration, and self-criticism.” Religion isn’t the only framework for those morals and we need a resurgence in secular morality, he argues.
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Living Without God: New Directions for Atheists, Agnostics, Secularists, and the Undecided (by Ronald Aronson)
This book isn’t about being an anti-theist. It’s focused on positive atheism. Aronson talks about the inequalities in our world and why they are there, what we can hope for with a secular worldview, and what we ought to be doing to make this world better.
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Do you have any additional recommendations?
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Posted in General at 8:00 am by Hemant Mehta
Apparently, I’ve been saying several words incorrectly my entire life without realizing it.
It took a group of my sophomore Geometry students to finally point this out to me… and now they won’t allow me to proceed with class unless I correct myself.
For example:
Picture. I say “pitcher.” They say “Pick-chur.”
Figure. I say “figger.” They say “fig-yur.”
Length. I say “lenth.” They say “Lane-th.”
(Update: I’m now adding to the original list:)
Tuesday. I say “Chews-day.” They say “Toos-day.”
Coupon. I say “Q-pon.” They say “Coo-pon.”
Sword. I say “sword” (with a “w”). They say “sord.”
Every time I say one of these words — and it happens a lot in a Geometry classroom — I hear giggles followed by the words, “Don’t you coach the Speech Team?”
Now, I’m wondering which other words I’ve been mispronouncing all my life…
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11.28.08
Posted in General at 9:00 pm by Hemant Mehta
The question is: Will a Christian actually buy one now?:
Also, how come Satan is naked while Jesus gets a t-shirt…?
(Thanks to Rose for the link!)
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Posted in General at 7:00 pm by Hemant Mehta
Neece at Heaving Dead Cats offers 10 reasons why atheists are morally superior to religious fundamentalists:
No god tells me to hate gay people, so I have no reason to hate them. In fact I think if gay people love each other and want to get married, more power to them. Why should we stop love and caring? I encourage it.
…
No god tells me to pray instead of seek medical attention. I believe in all kinds of scientific research and medicine. I even believe in stem cell research. I also think a woman has a right to choose what to do with her body…
…
No god promises eternal life to me, so I understand that this life is precious. I take personal responsibility seriously, and I live my life the best way I can because it’s the only one I’ve got. I value the lives of others too, for the same reason…
There’s plenty more where those came from.
Of course, not all people of faith follow these principles — not even all who call themselves fundamentalist. But we all know or have heard of far too many people who do act like this — who claim that they know what it means to be “moral” and that we atheists couldn’t have any proper knowledge of that word without God.
Given a choice, would you rather live in a world full of “moral” atheists who create their own definition of the word or religious fundamentalists who strictly follow someone else’s definition?
I find that to be an easy choice.
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Posted in General at 5:00 pm by Hemant Mehta
Joe M. has an answer to that question: Don’t bother playing the game.
Also remember that the person that wishes you a “Happy Holiday” has no way of knowing if you are christian, jewish, muslim, or atheist and is honestly just wishing you well for the season. Take that as the kindness that it is.
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Atheists: remember that this season does have religious meaning to a majority of folks. In the spirit of goodwill, show [a] little extra patience for those who feel the need to pray over dinner or anything else. You are not obliged to participate, but it won’t kill you to sit in silence for a moment.
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Do yourself a favor and don’t indulge in the media-manufactured farce of the war on Christmas. Instead, drive through your neighborhood and enjoy your neighbor’s hard work on the lights, drop a few bucks in your donation box of choice, show your kids the constellations in the Christmas skies, and hold your family tight as if it’s the last holiday you’ll spend with them.
That’s how you win the War on Christmas. Don’t play.
Nicely said.
(via Merit-bound Alley)
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