4.25.2010

Childfree Atheists

childfree-poster

As an atheist who has chosen not to have children, I am used to hearing things like, "But you are exactly the sort of person who should be having kids." I understand that this is a compliment, and that's the way I try to take it. Still, I find that it gets tiresome after a while. I have never had any interest in having children, and I'm about as confident as anyone could be that this is not going to change. I think we can generally agree that someone who does not want kids, does not particularly enjoy spending time with children, and does not envy the lives of his friends with children probably isn't the sort of person who should have kids of his own.

4.18.2010

Life After Atheism

1190644973350.jpg

I do not believe in any sort of gods, and this makes me an atheist. By itself, being an atheist does not compel any sort of action on my part. My atheism tells you something about what I do not believe but virtually nothing about what I believe or how I live my life.

When my atheism is combined with my beliefs in the importance of civil rights and awareness of public attitudes toward atheists, it makes sense that I am motivated to promote atheism as a civil rights issue. Similarly, when my atheism is combined with my conviction that theistic belief (i.e., that some sort of god or gods exist) is harmful to society, it makes sense that I am motivated to speak out against religion, work to reduce its influence, etc. And yet, I would welcome no longer having to think of such matters. Life after atheism sounds pretty good.

4.16.2010

National Day of Prayer is Unconstitutional

nationaldayofprayer.jpg

Yesterday turned out to be a big day for proponents of church-state separation. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, determining that the federal law establishing a National Day of Prayer violates the establishment clause of the Constitution.

This case goes back to 2008, when the FFRF sued then President George W. Bush and his press secretary Dana Perino. Of course, the defendants are now President Barack Obama and press secretary Robert Gibbs. The law establishing a National Day of Prayer goes all the way back to 1952 when Rev. Billy Graham helped to establish it.

4.13.2010

Rational Christianity

jesus just at your dinosaur

I have often thought of atheism as the logical outcome of reason applied to the question of gods. But is there any way in which we could conceive of a rational Christianity? That is, could one arrive at Christianity through rational means without any reliance on faith?

Intuitively, this seems quite unlikely. Christianity is based on faith (i.e., belief in the absence of evidence), and we know that faith is inherently irrational. But could someone arrive at Christianity with no faith whatsoever? Is it at least possible to imagine a Christianity existing without any sort of faith?

No matter how much we strive for rationality, we all have irrational beliefs. We all make mistakes. We all follow false leads at times and end up convinced of things that simply aren't true. What if a religious believer (albeit mistakenly) believed that he or she had sufficient evidence to support the existence of some sort of god? This person would be wrong, but would it at least be possible to imagine a god belief that was entirely void of faith?

4.04.2010

Happy Zombie Jesus Day!

Zombie Jesus

Today is the day that many Christians around the world celebrate the supposed resurrection of a man who has been dead for over 2,000 years (if he lived at all). Believe it or not, some of these Christians go so far as to claim that they have a "personal relationship" with this re-animated corpse and that they love him. Best of all, they insist that he loves them back, that he "saved" them, and that he is active in their lives in various ways. You know, I love horror movies as much as the next guy, but this all seems like a bit much.

Still, it is not my intent to rain on anyone's parade. Far be it for me to tell anybody that they shouldn't celebrate Easter if they enjoy doing so. In fact, I think there really is something worth celebrating today even for this atheist. I plan to celebrate the joy I feel in knowing that I managed to escape this particular delusion and move on with my life.

Yes, I suppose I do get to celebrate that every day, but Easter still seems like a great excuse to spend some time reflecting on it. I used to believe many of the absurd things most Christians claim to believe. I no longer do. If that sort of progress isn't worth celebrating, I'm not sure what is.

And besides, what atheist doesn't love Zombie Jesus Day? Not only does it cap off a great weekend of fun, but the imagery of Zombie Jesus roaming the Earth and feasting on the brains of those who believe in him is fun. Christians have taken more than enough holidays away from pagans; maybe it is time that atheists take one from them and turn it into something that we'd enjoy.

4.03.2010

The Truth About Easter Eggs

Are your children playing with Lucifer's testicles?

I don't recall where I found this picture. It seems to be all over the Internet this time of year. It has to be a joke, doesn't it? There couldn't really be such a book, could there?

What does it say about Christianity that it is even remotely possible that something like this might exist and that its author could be serious? And even if it is a joke, I imagine we've all seen Christian tracts that were even stranger than this.

When I see this sort of thing, it makes me think about how some of the Southern Baptists here in Mississippi react to Halloween. They actually seem to be scared by the idea of demons walking the Earth! So why is it that much of a stretch that we'd be able to find Christians quaking in terror over the idea of innocent children playing with Satan's balls?

I still think it has to be a joke, but the ambiguity seems to convey something meaningful about Christianity. Much of what many Christians believe is silly enough that it is understandable that it is not always easy to tell the difference between it and a joke.

Update: It appears that Landover Baptist may be responsible for this gem.

4.02.2010

How to Promote Atheism With Almost No Effort

hot air balloons

So you think atheism is worthwhile, do you? You'd like to see more people abandon religious delusion and embrace reality, huh? You'd even like to see atheism become the norm in your country, wouldn't you? Okay, prove it.

What if I told you that you could promote the central message of atheism (i.e., there probably aren't any gods) without having to leave your home? What if you could do it from where you are sitting right now, without having to spend a dime and with almost no effort whatsoever? This might sound too good to be true, but I don't think it is. There are plenty of things we can do to make more atheists, and promoting atheism is one of them.

4.01.2010

The United States is Not a Nation Under any Sort of God

Cross in Flag.jpg

Whenever an atheist brings up the many problems associated with the inclusion of "one nation under god" in the pledge of allegiance, one can be sure that other atheists will dismiss the complaint as unimportant. I've been on the receiving end of this dismissal countless times, and I expect at least some of you can relate. Of course, the criticism is not usually that correcting the pledge is unimportant but that it is less important than so many other areas of necessary action. It is a matter of deciding how to pick one's battles.