11.30.2011
Viewers of Fox News are Misinformed
11.23.2011
Catholic Sex Abuse Investigator Convicted of Child Porn
11.22.2011
The Other Christian Holiday Traditions
11.21.2011
Community Service is Not the Answer in Combating Prejudice Against Atheists
In recent post summarizing some of the findings from an article about anti-atheist prejudice published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) wrote that there are two ways atheists should work to counter our negative image:
First, we have to continue doing community service — serving at food banks, donating to charity, giving blood, etc. Show people that we can be good without god.
Second, we have to let people we trust know that we’re atheists. People think poorly of atheists because they don’t think they know any. It’s a shock to their system when they find out someone close to them doesn’t believe in a god… so shock them! Let them know that someone they already trust is an atheist.
The scientist in me wants to point out that this is an empirical question. That is, either or both of these two strategies might work and should be framed as hypotheses until they can be adequately tested. Setting that aside, I'd like to explain why I think Hemant may be right about his second recommendation and wrong about the first.
11.18.2011
Delighting in Hell
I suspect that some Christians experience a sense of sadness from their conviction that the vast majority of the world's people are destined for the hell they imagine. But there is another group of Christians who does not seem to feel this way at all. This group of Christians, a group which I have repeatedly encountered throughout my life, actually seems to delight in the thought of people suffering in their hell. I am sure you have seen the gleam in their eyes when they talk of their hell. You may have even noticed the joy they seem to experience at the prospect of others who do not agree with them suffering for eternity.
11.14.2011
Pull of Misanthropy is Difficult For This Atheist to Resist
Do you ever feel like you are teetering on the edge, tempted to give into frustration and just quit? Maybe it is when you are given the illusory choice between voting for the conservative candidate who is bought and paid for by corporate interests or for the slightly less conservative candidate who is also thoroughly beholden to corporate interests. Or maybe it is when you realize that the majority of your neighbors still believe in angels or that evolution remains "controversial" among many of those with power over how your child is educated. The problem is that this list of things many of us find demoralizing could go on for several pages and still would barely scratch the surface. On so many important metrics, we simply aren't close to where we should be.
11.10.2011
I Did Not Choose to Be an Atheist
I could not simply start believing something I do not believe because I thought there might be something in it for me. Belief does not work this way.
11.07.2011
U.S. Motto Inaccurate: American Atheists Do Not Trust in God
"In god we trust" has been the national motto of the United States since 1956. It appears on our currency, in our courthouses, and in several government buildings. Some consider it purely ceremonial, void of any religious meaning. Others believe it reflects our status as a "Christian nation." And among secular Americans, only a small minority seem to think it is worthy of our attention. I happen to disagree with this position.