Atheism
razib | November 30, 2009A friend of mine pointed me to an interesting weblog, Here in Glitner. From the "About" page:
Reflections from my life as a Muslim, perspectives on Islam in my true life as a non-Muslim. I was a Muslim woman, a Muslim wife, a Muslim mother, a Muslim sister. I wore hijab, abstained from pork, obeyed my husband, studied quran and sunnah, and avoided all forbidden and doubtful things as much as I could. And then, slowly, from the blip of one thought to a full-blown realization more than five years later, I emerged into my true life, into reality, and realized my atheism. As you will read,…
gregladen | November 22, 2009This week is Thanksgiving in the United States. This means that over the coming weekend many Americans will be putting up Christmas decorations in and outside their houses. Many children will be putting finishing touches on their letters to Santa. The shopping malls will start to fill and while economists examine and measure the retail sales bump for signs that the world will not end, we, as a nation, will come together to incrementally crank up the material contents stored in our homes and the corresponding mass of our public landfills.
But what do Atheists do on Christmas?
We declare…
sa smith | November 20, 2009I am so pissed off. I didnt get out of the lab until quarter till 6 tonight, so there was no friggen way I could get down to OU to see Barker (feed/potty Arnie, feed/potty me, 15 mph on I-35... I would have gotten there by the time his presentation was over. Why the hell is it that on Friday nights I have loose, whatever plans, I can sneak out early at 4, but the Friday I want to leave early, I end up being wrapped up in BL-3 till 5 fourty-fucking-five???? RAAAAAGE!!!)
So I was all hyped up for some quality atheist entertainment, and Im at home instead.
...
So Im going to bitch about…
gregladen | November 17, 2009From an "unknown greater good" to "evil is necessary to prove God's existence" it's all a lot of hooey and post hoc justification.
August Berkshire has a new version of his list, here.
sa smith | November 15, 2009Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation is going to be speaking at OU this Friday!
November 20
6:30 pm
Dale Hall
I-35 is Hell in the evening rush hour (last time I went to Norman we were going 15 mph. on an interstate. RAAAAAAGE!!), plus its a Friday, so all you OKCers make sure you leave early enough to get there on time!
Dan is going to be speaking on 'How to be good without God'.
Know what will be funny? If CFI cancels their invitation cause they insist Dans speech be pre-approved, and he wont change stuff they dont like, and then he shows up anyway, and we all beat-up/mace…
grrlscientist | November 15, 2009tags: religion, fundamentalism, christianity, humor, satire, funny, evolution shmevolution, Edward Current, streaming video
Edward Current comments about all of the ignorant evilutionists (including me) who are contaminating the world with our crazy ideas. Nevermind that we have proof and the religious wingnuts do not.
grrlscientist | November 14, 2009tags: religion, fundamentalism, christianity, Why Do Atheists Care About Religion?, imrational, streaming video
How does religion impinge upon each American's rights? This video should open your eyes to the ridiculous, backwards and utterly nonsensical laws that control our lives because of someone's religious beliefs.
grrlscientist | October 25, 2009tags: atheism, African-Americans, christianity, muslims, JohnBeezy3, streaming video
This video discusses something that I've often wondered: Where are the Black Atheists?
ejohnson | October 23, 2009
This week, the Oprah Winfrey Show aired an episode reporting on the quality of life in Denmark. Here, Oprah sat down with a group of Danish atheists and discussed the role of religion--as well as expansive access to healthcare and education--in an improved lifestyle. In somewhat of a surprise to non-religious viewers, Oprah seemed supportive of the concept of atheism, taking "one tiny step toward mainstreaming atheism," as PZ Myers reports on Pharyngula. Greg Laden took note of Oprah's coverage and reported on his blog that "Oprah seemed interested in [atheism], but also said that she just…
gregladen | October 22, 2009Those of us who live in Minnesota have suspected this for a long time.
It is all visible in the following video. PZ is the one with the two big zeros on his shirt:
The University of Minnesota is apologizing for a bit by its Goldy Gopher mascot poking fun at a praying Penn State football player.
A video made before last Saturday's game at State College shows Penn State defensive end Jerome Hayes kneeling in prayer in the end zone, in front of Minnesota's cheerleaders.
Goldy Gopher then kneels in front of Hayes. When Hayes stands up, so does Goldy. The mascot tries to make some contact, but…
gregladen | October 22, 2009Below the fold is the video of Oprah and her encounter with Atheists.
"So you don't believe in a higher being? ... I'm puzzled. I'm confused. You don't believe in god ...? Maybe you believe in you don't know you believe ... maybe it's more spiritual ..."
Oprah, has anyone ever told you that they assume you would prefer to not be black? There are people who think that, you know. I certainly hope that if someone said that to you ... something like "I can't believe you'd want to be black. Wouldn't life just be easier if you were white...." that you would not find such a thing offensive…
gregladen | October 21, 2009For reasons you need not know, I just did something very odd ... watched about ten minutes of Oprah. And I watched as she sat and had a bite to eat with a table of atheists. Whoa.....
The atheists were Danish women in Copenhagen. They talked about the system of government, economy, social services, and so on. And at one point Oprah said "I heard you claim to be happier because you are not involved in religion" or words to that effect. Oprah seemed interested in that, but also said that she just didn't understand it.
Overall, this was a very interesting event. Oprah was displaying for…
grrlscientist | October 18, 2009tags: religion, fundamentalism, christianity, hate mail, Richard Dawkins, streaming video
Richard Dawkins responds to some hate mail sent by those architects of brotherly love, god's own followers, christians.
grrlscientist | October 17, 2009tags: religion, fundamentalism, christianity, atheist meets god, Edward Current, streaming video
It's the moment of judgment for one fool who says there is no God. Christians, get ready to laugh as he learns his eternal fate!
gregladen | October 15, 2009I have been to Uganda a number times, but only illegally or by accident, in which case I was in the remote bush, or in transit, stopping at Entebbe Airport, so I can't say that I know much, directly, about the culture there. However, I have spent months in Kenya and years in Zaire/Congo, and a little time in Tanzania and Rwanda, so I've kinda got Uganda surrounded. I can tell you that the political culture and government of Zaire/Congo, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are very, very different from one another. At the same time, all of these countries have certain commonalities that are relevant…
gregladen | October 13, 2009Chesley Sullenberger is the pilot who successfully crash-landed his plane in the Hudson River after both engines were lost to goose strikes. His book, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, is out today.
A while ago he was asked at which point he started praying as the plain went down. He said ...
... that he was not praying, but rather, concentrating on how to land the plane safely.
The writeup of his book and the publicity does not talk about god or prayer, despite the fact that this event is constantly being called "The Miracle on the Hudson."
Simply put, I would like to…
grrlscientist | October 11, 2009tags: atheist life, godlessness, Imagine, streaming video
This video is a list of famous people who are atheists, put together for a school project and using John Lennon's song "Imagine" as the background music.
grrlscientist | October 10, 2009tags: atheist life, godlessness, streaming video
Being an atheist, you believe that this is the only life, and live it to the fullest. Atheists and skeptics lack proof and evidence of certain deities and spiritual beliefs. So there is no intent for us to harshly bash other religions and forms, for we humbly have our own perspectives in life.
If you however think that atheists are a threat to the general community, first take a look at the mirror. Millions of people have died just because of religion, "religious" wars, and rejection due to contradictory beliefs.
"Skeptic does not mean him who…
gregladen | October 7, 2009Have you arrived to read this post because you don't like the sound of the title? Does it piss you off? Good.
A repost from last election season.
Listen. When I was a child, in Catholic School, I was told (by the nuns, older kids in school, and some other adults) not to trust the Jews. It was literally true that the Catholic rhetoric in this small but significant city in an an Eastern US state was that "The Jews killed our God."
I was told to not go near the Jewish Temple, especially on Friday or Saturday, because it would be too easy to stumble on a ceremony. In second grade, I was…