- The Road Not Taken
The Loft • May 30, 2006
It was one day several months ago, while I was still in graduate school in New York City, I went to Manhattan's Union Theological Seminary to check out some books from their library to review for Ebon Musings. As I passed through the doors, I felt the momentary flash of irrational anxiety that I sometimes [...]
- Memorial Day
The Rotunda • May 29, 2006
In the United States, this Monday is Memorial Day, established by Congress to commemorate America's war dead. Across the nation, the day is marked by parades and solemn ceremonies, 21-gun salutes, roll calls of the names of the fallen, and flags, wreaths and ribbons placed on the graves of veterans. These ceremonies are familiar to [...]
- What Are You, Stupid?
The Garden • May 28, 2006
There seems to be a perception among religious people that atheists believe all religious people to be stupid, ignorant, or deluded. (Witness a recent question on the Yahoo Answers service.) Where this perception comes from is something of a mystery - given how severely underrepresented atheists are in the media, it is almost certain that [...]
- Sacred Ponds, Sacred Cows
The Rotunda • May 26, 2006
In a recent post, A World in Shadow I, I wrote about how religious superstition was hindering the efforts of health workers to eradicate several treatable Third World diseases. For example, one village in the remote region of Ogi, Nigeria refused permission to treat their local "sacred pond" with a mild pesticide that would wipe [...]
- Little-Known Bible Verses: The Sin of Sodom
The Library • May 24, 2006
One of the biblical stories from which the modern-day religious right draws the most inspiration is the fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The religious right has assumed that the sin for which they merited this fate was rampant homosexuality, to the point that "sodomite" has become a derogatory synonym for homosexuals. (Consider the Jack [...]
- Onward Christian Soldiers
The Rotunda • May 23, 2006
The Bible has always presented a schizophrenic view of the Christian god's attributes. On one hand, he is styled the "Prince of Peace" who exhorts his followers to resist not evil, to turn the other cheek, to love one's enemies, and to put up the sword lest one perish by it. On the other hand, [...]
- A World in Shadow I
The Library • May 22, 2006
The New York Times recently ran a series, titled "Diseases on the Brink", that surveyed five diseases - polio, measles, dracunculiasis (also known as guinea worm), blinding trachoma and lymphatic filariasis - that it may be possible to eradicate, if the political will of the world community is up to the task. All these diseases [...]
- Loose Marbles III
The Observatory • May 20, 2006
Shanksville / Flight 93
The last of the four planes hijacked on 9/11 was Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers apparently attempted to storm the cockpit and regain control of the plane. Here it is somewhat difficult to tell what the filmmakers' hypothesis is, other than their certainty that Flight 93 did [...]
- Loose Marbles II
The Observatory • May 18, 2006
The World Trade Center
The second part of this series deals with claims made in Loose Change about the collapse of the World Trade Center. Unlike the Pentagon, there is video evidence explicitly showing the two planes crashing into the Twin Towers, and so LC does not deny this (although other conspiracists have explained this away [...]
- New on Ebon Musings: The Pilgrim's Progress
The Foyer • May 18, 2006
A new essay has been posted on Ebon Musings, a review of the famous Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress. The review follows the book's format in chronicling the journey of the main character, "Christian", from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, commenting on the trials and tribulations he experiences along the way, and [...]
- Loose Marbles I: Debunking 9/11 Conspiracy Theories
The Observatory • May 16, 2006
It seems to be part of human nature that any event of great scale or significance will inevitably engender conspiracy theories. The Kennedy assassination and the moon landing are two recent events that have spawned some of the most durable and complex examples, but there are many more, swirling around nearly every major world event [...]
- Physician, Heal Thyself
The Rotunda • May 15, 2006
I mentioned in an earlier post that I recently came across Freethought Radio, the Freedom from Religion Foundation's new weekly radio show, which I highly recommend.
The very first episode, which I was listening to the other day, made me aware of a shocking violation of the separation of church and state. This latest outrage, [...]
- The Quiet Revolution Continues
The Garden • May 14, 2006
Unlike most religions, atheism has no single founder or point of origin. Becoming an atheist is not a matter of joining an existing establishment or swearing allegiance to a creed, but rather of waking up to a simple realization about how the world works. If religions grow like moss, a uniform carpet starting from a [...]
- Healthy Pledges for a "Responsibility Non-Ball"
The Rotunda • May 13, 2006
By Alexander Weaver
(Editor's Note: Please welcome Daylight Atheism's first guest writer! Alexander Weaver is the author of the essay "Answers to 11 Questions for Atheists" on Ebon Musings.)
Recently, several bloggers brought to my attention one of the creepier trends that's caught on in South Dakota, the "Father-Daughter Purity Ball." This is more or less what [...]
- Remodeling
The Foyer • May 13, 2006
I've made some changes in the site code:
The SecureImage plugin, which generated those annoying verification code images, is no more. (I'm confident this will be among the more popular changes.) I'm not planning to replace it any time soon, but we'll see how things go. Hopefully, this change will encourage more visitors to leave [...]
- Shattering Stereotypes
The Garden • May 12, 2006
In a previous post, Should Atheists Evangelize?, I defended the position that nonbelievers should speak out publicly in defense of atheism. It seems obvious to me that, if we are to act in accordance with that principle, we should come to a general agreement on how to go about it and what methods are most [...]
- The 12th Carnival of the Liberals
The Rotunda • May 10, 2006
Welcome, one and all, to the 12th Carnival of the Liberals! Today we have a selection of some of the best liberal and progressive writing on the Internet for your reading pleasure and consideration. My name is Ebonmuse, and I'll be your host for this edition.
My weblog is called Daylight Atheism, and my primary purpose [...]
- Carnival Time Tomorrow
The Foyer • May 9, 2006
The 12th Carnival of the Liberals will appear at Daylight Atheism tomorrow. It's still not too late to get a submission in, if you haven't yet done so - I'll accept entries up until midnight tonight, Eastern time. Just as a reminder, the topics I'm especially interested in are as follows:
Separation of church and [...]
- Book Review: Breaking the Spell
The Library • May 7, 2006
Daniel Dennett has written about free will, consciousness, the mind, evolution, and natural selection. In his latest book, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, he turns his attention to a new topic, the origin and role of religion in the human species. Although Dennett is avowedly an atheist, this book is not about [...]
- Science is a Way of Knowing
The Observatory • May 5, 2006
A common accusation leveled against science by its enemies is that it is too closed-minded, too dogmatic, too authoritarian. From creationists to "alternative medicine" advocates to New Agers, the defenders of pseudoscience argue that science is closed to new ideas, set in its ways, unwilling to challenge conventional wisdom. If only science would examine our [...]
- Theocracy Watch III: Education Edition
The Rotunda • May 3, 2006
Never satisfied with compromise, never willing to accept anything less than complete dominion, the forces of theocracy are again on the attack against the constitutional guarantees that have made the United States of America what it is. In particular, there has lately been a rash of cases targeting those who are most vulnerable - the [...]
- The 29th Philosophers' Carnival
The Library • May 1, 2006
The great Library at Daylight Atheism has been outfitted for an auspicious occasion. Merry bunting drapes the tall shelves of books, balloons congregate near the ceiling, and waiters quietly circulate bearing trays of drinks. Already the symposium is in full swing, and philosophers from every era and society in human history are circulating around the [...]
