I Am Fascinated With Idiocy

When I first started doing the now-discontinued Idiot of the Week series here at Atheist Revolution, it was intended to be nothing more than a humorous poke at people who did or said something stupid. I thought it would be fun to break up my usually serious tone with some "Hey everybody, look at the moron" sort of material. Even atheists need a good laugh every now and again! Not surprisingly, most of the "winners" were Christian extremists, but I did try to acknowledge others who needed someone pointing at them and laughing.

Hiding One's Faith to Get Ahead

Many atheists hide their lack of faith for fear of negative consequences (e.g., being fired from their jobs, family conflict, physical assault, social ostracization). It is understandable that some would need to do so, and I would imagine that Muslims, Jews, and other non-Christians living in rabidly Christian communities might feel similarly. But it rarely occurs to me that some prominent Christians might have to hide their faith for fear of not being perceived as the right kind of Christian. According to Think Progress, Glenn Beck may be just such a case (update: link no longer active).

The article describes how Beck, who makes Mormon promotional videos in which he discusses his Mormon faith in detail, conceals his Mormon religion from his largely evangelical fundamentalist Christian audience. He is smart enough to realize that the sort of Christians who make up his core audience do not generally consider Mormons to be Christian at all. So he pushes a vague sort of pro-faith position and omits details about his own Mormon beliefs.

But I Really Want It (And I'll Distort Reality to Get It)!

One of the most frustrating aspects of growing up has to be the realization that one is not going to get everything one wants and that this will be true no matter how badly one wants it. We're all familiar with the image of the young child with hand outstretched toward the object of his or her desire, shrieking, "But I want it!" Below a certain age, the child does not understand that wanting something badly is no guarantee that he or she will get it. It is also not a sufficient justification for why one should get it. Some of us outgrow this; some do not.

Maybe this isn't entirely fair, but I sometimes see the Christian as having something in common with the demanding child. No, I wouldn't apply this to all self-identified Christians. After all, I am convinced that many Christians do not believe much of what they claim to believe. But for those who do, I cannot help but see some parallels to the child.

Huffington Post is No Friend to Reality-Based Community

As far as progressive blogs go, Huffington Post is tough to avoid. Many of the stories I see being re-tweeted trace back to HuffPo. They have some top-notch people writing for them, and they are also one of the few left-wing blogs that is big enough to do some solid investigative reporting. They even run quite a few stories relevant to atheism. Unfortunately, I have finally reached the conclusion that I can no longer link to them. As good as their political content is, HuffPo is notorious for promoting quackery.

If You Could Deconvert Someone...

This post is inspired by an excellent pair of questions asked of me on my Formspring account (update: this account is no longer active). The initial question was as follows:

If you knew someone who you thought you could deconvert (and not fundamental or evangelical about their beliefs - but it gave them comfort of seeing lost friends again), would you do it?

This question makes one assumption that I question - that it is possible for one person to deconvert another. But we can set that aside and answer as if such a thing was possible. My brief answer was that I would choose to deconvert the person if I thought I could, noting that false comfort is still false.

What is God?

Photo by  Tester on Unsplash

What is god? If you don't have a clear answer to this question, then I have one additional question for you. How can you claim to worship something you can't define and don't understand? What does it look like to worship such a thing? More importantly, if you aren't sure what this "god" is, how is worshiping it any different from worshiping nothing at all?

What is god? Is it an idea you've derived from one of the many versions of one of the many "holy" books? Since these texts were written by humans, how can you be so sure that the ideas they describe are accurate? What leads you to think that their understanding of god(s) was any better than yours would have been had you not read their words? You may have noticed that the god(s) described vary between books and even within books (e.g., the main god described in the Old Testament is very different from the one mentioned in the New Testament). Which is the correct god, and how do you know?

Do Christians Interfere With Your Ability to Buy Beer?

A look inside a self-service Systembolaget in Södertälje, Sweden Created by me October, 2006 in Södertälje, Sweden (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I live in a dry county. That means that I cannot buy beverages containing alcohol within the county because stores are not permitted to sell them. The fact that I can be in a normal county where alcohol sales are permitted in about 15 minutes makes this a minor hassle. And since I work in and do virtually all of my shopping in the nearby normal county, the hassle is barely noticeable. At least, it is until I stop to think about it.

The county in which I reside remains dry because the large numbers of Southern Baptists living here want it that way. Local business owners (especially those who own restaurants) periodically manage to put our dry county status on the ballot. The Southern Baptists mobilize on an "alcohol is evil" platform and defeat the measure again and again. So I cannot buy alcoholic beverages near my home because Southern Baptists don't think I should be allowed to do so.

We Need Secular Community Resource Centers

Alonzo Fyfe (Atheist Ethicist) has come up with a wonderful idea: secular community resource centers. While marveling at a massive mega-church near his home, he began to imagine what could be accomplished by using the money, time, and energy required by such a project to create something truly useful. How many times have you looked at a church and had exactly the same thought?

Alonzo's description of what a secular community resource center might be like sounds great. This sort of thing could be quite valuable, especially in smaller communities where there are few alternatives. Here are some excerpts from his post, accompanied by some additional thoughts:

It has a large lecture hall, with large televisions and an excellent sound system where people can go to see entertaining speakers talk about current events and how they relate to the lives of the people in the community.

Not only would such a great venue attract secular speakers, but it could be used for movie nights (e.g., Jesus Camp, Religulous, etc.) or live webcasts from atheist conventions.

Another department would be concerned with parenting. A third would be concerned with health issues - with collecting resources and providing assistance to members who have an elderly parent or a disabled child or family member to help care for.

The idea would be disseminating secular expertise to assist attendees with all sorts of life problems. I'd also love to see atheist support groups to help atheists navigate the complex challenges of living as an oppressed minority. Imagine the social and educational activities that could take place at such a center.

Sure, something so massive sounds like an impossible task. Alonzo recognized this and provides a follow-up post explaining how to get started with developing a center. I think you'll agree that it is more than manageable. And best of all, areas with functioning atheist groups already have a tremendous head start.

For more on this topic, see More Thoughts on Secular Community Resource Centers.

Idiot of the Week: James Hartline

James Hartline is a Christian extremist based in San Diego, CA. He's managed to convince himself that he is "being used to confront the powers of darkness in San Diego" and has made a name for himself on some of the usual platforms (e.g., the 700 Club, American Family radio, etc.). Like many who do what he does, Mr. Hartline has realized that making absurd claims loudly enough will produce an audience. And like many other Christian extremists, he crosses into idiocy on a regular basis.

It was not surprising that Mr. Hartline would be opposed to the recent efforts by nearby Lemon Grove to reach out to the GLBT community. Their tolerance must have really upset him. You see, Lemon Grove decided to feature the city's GLBT community by hosting an inclusive pride celebration at the Lemon Grove Branch Library.

Tithing for Atheists: Foundation Beyond Belief

Foundation Beyond Belief is an organization designed to make it easier for people to support charities that do not proselytize. The idea is simple but effective. Members are encouraged to set up automatic monthly deductions to support a rotating selection of charities. Think of it sort of like a secular version of tithing. Cool idea, huh?

The Foundation features ten charities per quarter, and members can select how they would like their contributions distributed among them. This provides a nice degree of flexibility, making it rather easy for a member to allocate his or her contributions as desired.

Paranormal Experiences

Are atheists simply hard-headed sorts who have never had the sort of inexplicable experiences that so many others interpret as evidence of supernatural entities? Maybe we've been surrounded by ghosts, angels, and demons and have just bee too stubborn to see them. Have you ever had an experience that you considered paranormal at the time? If so, how were you able to override that personal experience to reach the conclusion that none of it was real?

Like many people, I had a variety of experiences during my teenage years that I interpreted as evidence of paranormal phenomena. Collectively, I am now content to explain these experiences as resulting from a complex interplay of developmental factors, substance abuse, stress, personality characteristics, and emotional problems. At the time, however, they seemed perfectly real and difficult to explain.

What Happened to the History Channel?

Human memory is a fragile thing, subject to all sorts of biases that can make it impossible to distinguish between real and false memories. When I think back to the quality of the programming aired on the History Channel several years ago, it seems like it was far superior to the sort of thing they are airing now. I'm not sure if this is an accurate memory or is just a matter of me viewing the past through rose-colored glasses. But have you seen some of the crap they are now showing?

A 4th of July Tradition I Can Support

Many blogs have posted content about the Fourth of July (American Independence Day) this week. This led me to one fascinating tradition some people have adopted as part of their celebration. I don't know who to credit with the idea because I have seen it many times. But you know what? I've finally found a way to celebrate the holiday that makes sense to me and one I can support.

The idea is simple, and I am surprised I hadn't thought of it before. Devote some time on the 4th to reading some of the classic documents of American history. Not the revisionist garbage swallowed by Christian extremists like Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), but the original material. There are so many good ones to choose from, but I'll start with these:

• Declaration of Independence
• U.S. Constitution
• Treaty of Tripoli
• McCollum v. Board of Education Dist. 71, 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• Engel v. Vitale, 82 S. Ct. 1261 (1962)

There is much the Christian right does not want you to know about American history. Fortunately, the information is out there and can be accessed with little effort.

The 4th of July has never been my favorite holiday, and this tradition won't change that. But it does give me another way to think about the day and highlight something worth celebrating.

In Defense of Westboro Baptist Church

You've undoubtedly heard of Pastor Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. The church, largely consisting of Phelps' own family, is infamous for protesting the funerals of American soldiers killed in combat and other high-profile funerals. Evidently, the Phelps clan believes that any untimely death is the result of cultural acceptance of homosexuality.

I detest what this Christian extremist church stands for, and I find their tactics to be utterly despicable. But I defend their right to protest, even when such protests include holding anti-gay signs at funerals.

As much as I hate what they are saying, I defend their right to say it. This is what free speech is about. Anybody can defend speech with which he or she agrees. That's easy. The real test is hate speech. As long as Westboro Baptist is not inciting violence or breaking some other law, they should be free to protest. We don't have to like what they are doing, but we need to let them do it.