NotesWe challenge the whole concept that you canât be good without God. We challenge the idea that religion is important in the first place, and that really makes them uncomfortable.Unfurl
NotesHereâs the thing: If youâre using the holiday season to go out of your way to be an asshole to someone, believer or non-believer, youâre doing it wrong, and I wish you would stop. Thatâs not a war, itâs a slap fight and itâs embarrassing. As a non-believer, when someone says âMerry Christmasâ to me, I say âMerry Christmasâ back, because generally speaking I understand that what âMerry Christmasâ means in this context is âI am offering you good will in a way I know how,â and I appreciate that sentiment. Left to my own devices, I use âHappy holidaysâ because I know a lot of people who arenât Christians (or at least Christmas-centered) and that seems the best way to express my own good will; the vast majority of people get what Iâm doing and appreciate that sentiment too.FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesI try to deny myself any illusions or delusions, and I think that this perhaps entitles me to try and deny the same to others, at least as long as they refuse to keep their fantasies to themselves.FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesPoe's Law is an axiom suggesting that it's difficult to distinguish between parodies of religious fundamentalism and its genuine proponents, since they both seem equally insane. For example, some conservatives consider noted homophobe Fred Phelps to be so over-the-top that they argue he's a "deep cover liberal" trying to discredit more mainstream homophobes. FeedUnfurl
NotesPoe's Law is an axiom suggesting that it's difficult to distinguish between parodies of religious fundamentalism and its genuine proponents, since they both seem equally insane. For example, some conservatives consider noted homophobe Fred Phelps to be so over-the-top that they argue he's a "deep cover liberal" trying to discredit more mainstream homophobes.
Poe's Law states:[1]Unfurl
Notes<blockquote>In his new book, "God, No!" atheist magician Penn Jillette tells how he was challenged by conservative radio host Glenn Beck to come up with an atheist's version of The Ten Commandments.</blockquote>Unfurl
NotesGee, ya think? "God may have created man in his image, but it seems we return the favour. Believers subconsciously endow God with their own beliefs on controversial issues.
"Intuiting God's beliefs on important issues may not produce an independent guide, but may instead serve as an echo chamber to validate and justify one's own beliefs," writes a team led by Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."Unfurl
Notes"During the the hours of 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. the Atheist Agenda, a student organization of The University of Texas at San Antonio, had a table on campus with the purpose of exchanging religious scripture for pornography."Unfurl
Notes"Free articles and resources by best-selling author and TV co-host Ray Comfort that will help you to pull the plug on the rising tide of atheism."Unfurl
Notes"We hear so much these days about how traditional religious family values are necessary for raising moral children who can grow into accomplished adults,â said American Humanist Association Executive Director Roy Speckhardt, father of two. âBut we humanists have known for a long, long time that ethical humanist values build character. The number of moral and accomplished humanists is legion. Weâve been honoring the greatest of them every year since 1953 at our annual conferences. Now Barack Obama has given us the opportunity to share this truth with those from around the country who come to our nationâs capital to share in the inauguration experience."Unfurl
Notes"Ask yourself: how has "elitism" become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. When it comes to choosing the people whose thoughts and actions will decide the fates of millions, then we suddenly want someone just like us, someone fit to have a beer with, someone down-to-earthâin fact, almost anyone, provided that he or she doesn't seem too intelligent or well educated."Unfurl
Notes"I wasnât that hungry tonight so I just thought I would make some toast when all of a sudden it popped up and I was staring at the face of NOBODY in the toast! NON-HOLY WHITE BREAD! What are the chances of an atheist getting a piece of toast that looks like nothing! Somebody call the media! I havenât been this shocked since I found the Flying Spaghetti Monster in my vermicelli."Unfurl
Notes"By the way, I didn't want to single out just the cracker, so I nailed it to a few ripped-out pages from the Qur'an and The God Delusion. They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet. You are all human beings who must make your way through your life by thinking and learning, and you have the job of advancing humanity's knowledge by winnowing out the errors of past generations and finding deeper understanding of reality. You will not find wisdom in rituals and sacraments and dogma, which build only self-satisfied ignorance, but you can find truth by looking at your world with fresh eyes and a questioning mind."Unfurl
Notes"It might make sense to think that many such geeks simply find something as simple as a creator an overly simplistic explanation for something so elegant."Unfurl
Notes"The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) changeUnfurl
Notes"however the direction and splatter patterns of the crumbs as well as the changing shades emanating outwards from this black hole were very clearly similar to the chaotic-dynamic non-linear patterns that one would expect following the big bang"Unfurl
Notes"If they fail in their appeal, Eleanor Katherine may have to leave the only family she has ever known and await adoption by another couple whose religious convictions satisfy the State of New Jersey."Unfurl
Notes"This has been a hard piece to write, and it may be a hard one to read. I'm not going to be as polite and good-tempered as I usually am in this blog; this piece is about anger, and for once I'm going to fucking well let myself be angry."Unfurl
Notes"This has been a hard piece to write, and it may be a hard one to read. I'm not going to be as polite and good-tempered as I usually am in this blog; this piece is about anger, and for once I'm going to fucking well let myself be angry."
I want to talk about atheists and anger. This has been a hard piece to write, and it may be a hard one to read. I'm not going to be as polite and good-tempered as I usually am in this...Unfurl
Notes"Private, quiet faith is one thing. But when the guy holding the launch codes believes the end of the world could come any day and that's a good thing, those who believe lives are limited to one per customer have a problem."Unfurl
Notes"I am an atheist and a professor at Virginia Tech. Dinesh DâSouza says that I donât exist, that I have nothing to say, that I am nowhere to be found."Unfurl
Notes"The atheist may find himself in hell for his disbelief, but at least he is not a traitor. Until God accepts that religion is His responsibility and can provide some real proof and guidance as to His plan, He is completely unworthy of our worship."FeedUnfurl
Notes"Their intent was to encourage atheists to come forward and put their souls on the line, showing others that you don't have to be afraid of God."Unfurl
Notes"I think that in an election cycle or two you will see an atheist business leader emerge as a legitimate candidate for president. And his name will be Bill Gates."Unfurl
Notes"Together we should be working toward a point in the not-so-distant future where the words "Santa Claus" or "Kris Kringle" or "Father Christmas" create the same response as fingernails on a chalkboard."Unfurl
Notes"You all just started calmly talking. And talking. And talking. We got more responses to this article than to any piece in memory. Brimstone quotient: low."Unfurl
Notes"If you insist on keeping the myth of the effectiveness of prayer alive, you owe the rest of us a justification in the face of the evidence."Unfurl
Notes"We cannot, of course, disprove God, just as we can't disprove Thor, fairies, leprechauns and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. But, like those other fantasies that we can't disprove, we can say that God is very very improbable."Unfurl
Notes"Atheists are often asked, "If you don't believe in God, why do you care about religion?" This is one atheist's answer to that very question."Unfurl
Notes"It's always such an honor to be hated by people who believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old, was conjured into existence in six days, and that not believing their god appeared on Earth, like Zeus before Leda, means your non-existent soul will burUnfurl
Notes"I'd like to think that one of these days we'll leave superstition and delusional thinking and Jerry Falwell behind. Scientists would like that, too. But for now, they like their grants even more."Unfurl
Notes"Imagine that you live in a world where 90% of the people around you sincerely believe in something that appears to you to be downright whacky, if perhaps relatively pleasant on the surface in many respects."Unfurl
Religious People Less Driven By Compassion Than Are Atheists And Agnostics, Study Says
Atheism in America: Why wonât the U.S. accept its atheists? - Slate Magazine
Reminder: Tis the Season Not to Be an Ass â Whatever
34 Christopher Hitchens quotes that wonât offend you (probably) - 22 Words
Poe's Law - RationalWiki
pull the plug on atheism
Sam Harris on Sarah Palin and Elitism | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008 | Newsweek.com
Einstein writes of 'childish superstition'
Daily Kos: Dinesh D'Souza, Atheism, Virginia Tech [Second Update]
Atheist's Wager: First Post